‘Getting it back on its feet;’ High school football field damaged by tornadoes remains under repair

Greenville City Students returned to school today, but the school district has been working all summer long rebuilding the football stadium that was damaged by tornadoes.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00 p.m., the new turf at Good Samaritan Stadium means Greenville could be back to hosting their Friday night football before long.

The football stadium was destroyed by tornadoes that hit Greenville High School’s campus in May. Athletic Director Aaron Shaffer said he was the first to see the damage at the football stadium.

“It was a little heart-wrenching that night to come out and see our stadium, which has been here for 100 years, in the condition that it was in that night,” Shaffer said.

The tornado made the stadium unusable. It tore up the turf, bleachers, and more. Shaffer said he knew immediately that the stadium needed to be rebuilt.

“Quite honestly, it happened pretty much the next day,” Shaffer said.

While the stadium was being worked on over the summer, the football team still needed to prepare for the upcoming season, so they used old practice fields.

“When you play sports, it’s a year-round process for most of them. So just really, really glad that our kids and coaches were able to persevere through the early parts of summer,” Shaffer said.

New turf was put in the stadium on Wednesday, Crews are continuing to finish up the renovations, including a temporary press box that will just be used for this season.

“It’s been amazing to watch it really come to life in terms of getting it back on its feet. So there’s still a lot of work to be done, and there are some hurdles to get over, but we’re hopeful to get back in here earlier, rather than later,” Shaffer said.

School leaders hope to wrap up the work on the field this week, and the goal is to have it ready for their first home game on Sept. 6.

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