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Dayton Daily News (Ohio)
The track at Oakwood's Lane Stadium is open to the public during the day and restrooms are accessible on the north side of the concessions building. For the first time in school history, Oakwood High School will now have a dedicated sports facility to accommodate soccer, field hockey, boys and girls lacrosse and track.
OAKWOOD - Oakwood students, donors and faculty members will unveil their new, $4 million athletic stadium Saturday.
The project, Lane Stadium, was paid for with donations from boosters and members and the community.
The stadium, which will seat about 700 spectators, will be the new home for Oakwood High School's soccer, track, field hockey and lacrosse programs. Football games will remain at Mack Hummon Field behind the high school.
Oakwood Principal Paul Waller raved about the community's involvement in helping raise the money necessary to complete the project.
"It's amazing that almost this entire facility and everything you see here was privately funded," said Waller. "We're really blessed to have such a supportive community."
Approximately 250 donors contributed to the Oakwood Athletic Project's vision for a new stadium, including private boosters and fundraisers from Oakwood students.
The project's namesakes Doug and Gay Lane - two of the biggest supporters of the project - will be in attendance for the official opening.
"We had an opportunity because of the generosity of Doug and Gay Lane and some other wonderful donors, boosters and Oakwood Athletic Project committee to put this dream together," said Waller. "We're glad to see it's here now."
Most of the stadium has been completed for a few weeks, from the field turf to the bleacher seating. In fact, teams have already taken advantage of the field for team practices.
The field at Lane Stadium has synthetic turf with special concussion padding, designed to lessen impact shock and extend the life of the field, according to Oakwood Schools Treasurer Kevin Philo. The facility was also built to support people with disabilities, making it "handicap-friendly, not just handicap accessible," according to Philo.
"It's a premier facility and we're looking forward to many, many years of our community enjoying this."
Though open to the public, there's still more to come to Lane Stadium including a $78,000 press box and the completion of a regulation-sized track that will surround the field. Both are scheduled to be completed during the district's spring break, according to Philo.
The concession building houses a variety of useful amenities for the athletes and the public including a training room featuring a partnership with Kettering Health Network, two team rooms, restrooms with public access outside of official school events, concessions in partnership with Grinders and storage for field and facility maintenance equipment.
While the stadium will be used primarily for sporting events, it's also regarded as a feature to the community, with the facility being available to residents during the day. It's also available to vendors who may want to rent out the facility for other events.
"It's something for the whole community," said Philo. "The first priority is Oakwood schools, but we want to be friendly to our public, especially since they're the ones who paid for it."
The dedication ceremony, which is opened to the public, is scheduled for 9 a.m. March 11 concession stands will be open during the ceremony with tours for boosters and student athletes after the ceremony.
The events will be followed by two varsity lacrosse scrimmages, beginning at 1 p.m.
Contact this reporter at tremayne.hogue@coxinc.com
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