Alpena upgrades to turf field for the 2019 season

ALPENA, Mich. — The Alpena Wildcats are counting down the days before they can take the field and check out the turf, but first they are on the road in Escanaba before hosting Sault Area on Friday, September 6.

Thanks to a generous donation the field will be known as Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium. AstroTurf is great because it makes the game faster and does not really get affected by weather and mud. The turf is going to last for a long time, and seniors like Kelley Stark can’t wait to play on it.

“Oh it’s going to be fun,” said Stark. “We can play a lot faster on it. It’s always fun playing on turf.”

The turf has many useful purposes other than hosting games. It stays warmer than real grass, so the snow will melt faster and that means softball and baseball players can get outside sooner. Lines are drawn up for multiple sports, which will definitely help athletes in the future.

“This is a facility that they can now measure up and say hey we don’t have to take a back seat to the Traverse City schools,” said Alpena Athletic Director Tim Storch. “We have facilities as nice as anybody. When you look at this turf field, when you look at the scoreboard, when you look at the new lights this is a top notch facility.”

The turf should be ready by the time the Wildcats boys soccer team takes the field for their tournament on Saturday, August 24.