Piedmont High School and the Piedmont Unified School District will celebrate the re-opening of Witter Field on Wednesday, Aug. 14. The ceremony is open to the public and will begin at 5:15 p.m.
“Hope to see the community out,” said Highlanders athletic director Tyler Small. “It’s been long overdue for the community.”
“We’re putting a ribbon out there. I’ve got the huge scissors. Just excited to bring the community together to celebrate the patience that went into this as well as the vision to make this happen.”
Witter Field is home to Piedmont’s football, soccer, lacrosse and track and field teams. It’s also used by Piedmont residents for various recreational activities.
The project, originally expected to be completed early in the 2023-24 school year, was subject to several delays. But the new track was filled in over the summer and is now ready to go. The artificial turf field was available in the spring for Piedmont’s boys and girls lacrosse programs and the tail end of soccer season.
“It looks wonderful,” Small said. “It (the track) opened up Friday. The cross country team went out there Friday afternoon for their practice. The kids say it runs great. That’s the more important thing.”
Small recently took over for former athletic director Bradley Smet and didn’t have to suffer through the construction. But he’s happy to live with the results.
“The kids are super-excited,” Small said. “I’m super-excited that we’re going to be able to host seven home football games, at least eight flag football games.”
Last year, the boys football team had to play all of its games on the road. The girls team, in its inaugural season, played a few home games in the outfield of the baseball field.
The field was damaged over time by heavy winter rains and especially during the 2021-22 school year, which forced both soccer teams to play most of the season on the road. The construction delays kept both teams off the field last winter until the end of the season.
Small said he’s looking forward to the first competitions.
“August 30, we have our first home football game,” he said. “We hope to have a packed house for that. We have a flag football scrimmage next Friday (August 23). It’s nice to have a home so that the community can come out and support the kids.”