Demopolis sports fields to get $1.6M in new lights; new softball coach hired

The athletic fields at Demopolis High School will be getting $1.6 million in new lights in the next year.

The Demopolis school board on Thursday voted unanimously to sign a lease-purchase agreement to buy new lights at the football, baseball, track and softball fields. The baseball fields will also get new metal poles with the lights to replace the aging wooden poles, Superintendent Dr. Adam Pugh said.

The school district will buy the lights through a cooperative purchase agreement with Sourcewell and then bid out the labor and installation, Pugh said, adding the lease agreement will be over seven to 10 years.

The new lights will be installed in time for spring sports to use, while football will play with current lights this season and get the new LEDs for next fall, Pugh said.

The school board had a lengthy report from a representative with an artificial turf company to consider replacing the football, baseball and softball fields with turf that includes a shock pad made to reduce injuries. Pugh said the football field’s condition is in bad shape, with poor drainage that requires a lot of manpower for maintenance. He wanted to look into whether the turf, which is used at many other high school and college fields, would be easier to maintain. No estimate was given on cost, and it would be next year before the switch would be considered.

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Head football coach Dustin Goodwin had turf at his previous high school, Russellville High, and said it made a difference for the team and for maintenance.

“I came here to make this place special, and this is one thing that could make our play special,” he said. “What we have now takes a lot to get it functional, and it still isn’t good enough.” 

Mark Heaton, athletic and facilities director, said many man hours are spent fertilizing, irrigating and caring for the grass field, when “time could be spent with kids.”

An estimate of cost wasn’t given at the meeting, but the Montgomery County school district in Maryland recently spent $1.2 million for a new turf field at their high school’s stadium.

In other sports news, the school board hired a new softball coach. Trae Embry, who has won 10 state championships in fast pitch and 10 in slow pitch in his career, will be moving to Demopolis to take over the softball team leadership. He most recently worked at Choctaw Central High and has been named coach of the year in Mississippi.