by Joe Janowczyk, BHSU Sports Information

SPEARFISH, S.D. – The initial construction of original Lyle Hare Stadium began roughly 53 years ago today in 1960, and beginning on Wednesday, June 12, 2013, the first steps to the newest and most extensive renovation in the stadium's history officially got underway.

After 111 seasons from 1899-2012 and 881 games played on natural grass in BHSU football history, the first step in the nearly $3 million renovation project has been completed with the installation of 70,000 square-feet of the newest all-weather, synthetic grass field turf.

The company, Geo-Surfaces, has provided the new playing surface that will now bring the BHSU athletic department, students, local schools, and others in the community an opportunity to have a stable, unquestioned durable playing surface moving forward.

The entire renovation project includes two separate phases of upgrades.

The new field turf is the first project of Phase 1. The second project of Phase 1 will be a new and much larger scoreboard and video board in place of where the current scoreboard is on the field's south entrance.  In total, Phase 1 is estimated to cost just over $1 million.

One of the industry leaders in athletic scoring technology, Daktronics, was awarded the contract for the new scoreboard.  Construction for the scoreboard is set to begin on Aug. 26, 2013.

The scoreboard's dimensions will be roughly 41-feet high by 39-feet wide, located close to where the current scoreboard has been at the stadiums south entrance.  The video board itself will be 22-feet high by 39-feet wide – making it the largest outdoor scoreboard-video board of its kind in the state of South Dakota.

The new field's inaugural home game where the newest additions will be on display for the first time will be on Sept. 21, 2013 at 1:00 p.m. versus Colorado School of Mines.

Phase 2 will be the addition or remodeling of the stadium press box and surrounding area by and around the bleachers, which will cost almost $2 million. Fundraising for this phase will be a continuous effort and Athletic Department Staff are hopeful to secure the funding to move forward with this second phase within the next few years.

Director of Athletics, Jhett Albers, is pleased with the progress of the renovation project to date and stressed how beneficial these improvements will be to the entire university and surrounding community, pointing to the field's improved safety.

"The field will be able to handle more events throughout the year.  Having a turf field will allow us to do many things without worrying about ripping up the field for the next group the next day, and the most important part is the safety aspect of this type of field," Albers said.

The reason for choosing Geo-Surfaces to provide and install the new field is how they use a shock-pad mat system under the artificial grass that will provide a more stable and safer playing field for everyone involved.

Another benefit to the university will be the sustainability, ease of upkeep, and how cost efficient it will be when it comes to not having to cut, water, or paint the field.  The field will also provide the community more opportunity to use it for events outside of solely sports that will surely help the city of Spearfish economically.

Albers went on to describe the overwhelming support for the renovation and believes the decision to make the upgrades will provide endless benefits to the student-athletes but also create a more dynamic fan experience on game day for all Yellow Jacket fans.

"In the end we are still a small community, and its great to work together to improve upon the existing facility, and provide a top class venue for the University and community of Spearfish to share.  It's currently the only official lighted football field in Spearfish that has the size and seating capacity to accommodate multiple levels of programs."  

"We look forward to these renovations, and are excited to get this project underway this summer," Albers said.

To view the time lapse video of the construction and installation of the new field, click here.

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