PORT ANGELES — A Civic Field face-lift would not only be good for athletes and spectators, but also would benefit entrepreneurs by attracting visitors to the North Olympic Peninsula, the leader of an effort to pass a 20-year, $4 million renovation bond in the Aug. 7 election said Tuesday.
Civic Field Bond Committee President Steve Zenovic said artificial turf that would cost $3 million would replace the existing grass that makes it impossible for Port Angeles to host Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association tournaments.
Installing artificial turf could double the existing usage of the Race Street facility, which is closed from November to March because the field usually is saturated by water, Zenovic said.
Zenovic appeared at the Port Angeles Business Association’s weekly breakfast meeting to seek the group’s support for the measure, which would cost city property owners about 18 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property valuation, or $36 a year for 20 years.
“This can be the focal point for sports for the entire Peninsula,” Zenovic told about two dozen meeting attendees.
The bond would cost $5.5 million, including interest, over its 20-year lifespan.
“Let’s step up and get done what we can as soon as we can,” Zenovic said.
“This is a community that steps up and helps.”
Zenovic gained an ally in PABA President Dick Pilling, who said after the meeting that the PABA board will consider supporting the measure at its regular meeting Monday.
“I can’t see a down-side to it,” Pilling said, calling the bond measure good for North Olympic Peninsula businesses — which will lose out this week on visitor traffic because the field is unusable.
Soccer playoffs
The Port Angeles High School soccer team, which qualified for the playoffs, could have started its post-season today at Civic Field if the facility met WIAA standards, city recreation coordinator Bill Peterson said Tuesday in an interview.
The team wanted to play at Peninsula College, which has the artificial turf required by the WIAA but not the required night lighting, he said.
Civic Field has lighting, but that also would be replaced — including the poles — for $845,000 if the bond is approved.
“The sports lighting on the field does not meet any kind of standard right now,” Zenovic said, adding that the poles are too high and sit on 30- to 40-year-old footings.
When the spring high school sports season begins, “we can’t get on [Civic Field],” Peterson added.
“It’s so wet and sloppy, we can’t get on it to do anything to get it ready for them to play on,” he said.
New grass and new artificial turf are equally safe, but as grass deteriorates, “the injury rate goes up,” Zenovic said.
“On a turf field, that’s not such a problem.”
Playoff games
He added that it would be hard to predict how many playoff games could be played at Civic Field but noted that the Neah Bay, Sequim and Port Angeles football programs also would benefit by not having to play elsewhere in the post-season.
Zenovic said the city also would gain revenue from a renovated Civic Field by setting fees for opposing teams to play there.
“When Port Angeles goes to Silverdale to play a tournament, they write a check,” he said.
City soccer programs for youths to adults would benefit greatly from a renovated field, Zenovic added.
“Adult soccer in Port Angeles is huge,” he said.
“They have tournaments every couple, three weeks.”
Life of turf
A turf field lasts 10 to 15 years. It then must be replaced for $1.2 million to $1.4 million, an amount less than initial installation because the turf, not the underlying infrastructure, is replaced, Zenovic said.
Turf replacement costs could be covered by annual savings of $80,000 to $100,000 a year, an amount now spent on maintaining a grass-covered facility, Zenovic said.
Civic Field, completed in 1941, consists of a football and soccer fields and a baseball diamond that all share space, Peterson said.
But the locker rooms that all the sports share do not have hot water, so a boiler that’s been red-tagged would be replaced.
Depending on the kind of boiler purchased, it would cost between $40,000 and $96,000.
After their games, football players pile on their bus and take showers at Port Angeles High School, Zenovic said.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at paul.gottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
