As of now and into the foreseeable future, the Wayne Jamison Field complex is closed to the public. For those planning on attending games at the Little League or high school baseball field, access to both fields will have to come from the foot bridge from Bridgeport City Park and the track is completely shut off for public use, according to Bridgeport High School Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Matt DeMotto.

 

The closure of the track and the need to go to the baseball field via the foot bridge has nothing to do with vandalism, overuse of the facility or any other issue that has occasionally come up in the past. Instead, the promised replacement of the artificial surface that will be followed by the removal and installation of the all-weather track began this morning.

 

“The crews arrived at approximately 9 a.m. and obviously the first thing they’ve got to do is cut the turf,” said DeMotto. “They have the machinery here to roll it up and remove it.”

 

As was the case with the first installation of turf a decade earlier, FieldTurf will be the company – and brand – installing the replacement surface. DeMotto said school officials talked with FieldTurf to see if there were any re-uses of the existing surface soon to be a thing of the past.

 

“What they told us was that there really aren’t any uses for this,” said DeMotto. “ … There are four dumpsters set up and it’s my understanding they’re going to haul it away.”

 

The new field and track surfaces have been talked about for years. Bridgeport High School has raised a substantial portion of the funds needed for what is a combined $712,000 effort. However, the school also needed a substantial commitment from the Harrison County Board of Education to make it happen. The BOE provided $427,200 of that total – or 60 percent.

 

Labor as the result of those funds, as DeMotto mentioned, began today. As a result of that labor, heavy machinery is also operating at the complex and materials will be inside the complex, which could present safety issues if the public was allowed to congregate and travel through those areas. That is the reason the complex being shut down.

 

“It’s totally closed to public use until further notice and that notice may not come for several weeks; well into the summer,” said DeMotto.

 

As mentioned above, DeMotto said those using the Little League field will be asked to park at City Park and use the parking lot behind the high school to get to games. They can reach the field by crossing the footbridge between City Park and the baseball fields.

 

“It’s just a little bit extra of a walk and it’s a safety issue with all the heavy machinery. The foreman working here said it needs to be shut down. We certainly agree with that,” said DeMotto.

 

There could be one exception to that. If Bridgeport is able to win a regional semifinal game Tuesday at Grafton High School, the Class AA regional final game would be played at Bridgeport. He said it’s possible the field would be opened for that one event with the standard access.

 

“They may allow people to walk through and enter near the concession stand, but that’s the only possible exception that we’re looking at right now and we’re not sure of that at this time,” said DeMotto.

 

If BHS wins, DeMotto said he will inform the public on how to access the facility. Once the turf project is complete, work on the track will begin. It could take several weeks to install the turf, which is a much shorter process than the initial round of work. The reason for that is that the infrastructure – field being leveled, drainage and other issues – were done the first time.