Up close, there are a number of signs that the facility is not so up-to-date.

The group in charge of the facility is embarking on a capital campaign with a goal of raising $1 million for renovations.

“The Warren Sports Boosters are requesting the support of the Warren community and alumni around the world to revitalize War Memorial Field so that our youth, student-athletes, and the greater community can enjoy it for the many years to come,” President Michael Boyd said.

The field’s history is important in understanding the current circumstances.

“Many Warren County alumni and residents recall the ‘old’ War Memorial Field located at the corner of Lexington and South Carver Street adjacent to the Warren YMCA,” Boyd said. “Generations of Warren athletes played football on Saturday afternoons often in less-than-ideal situations. As the Warren soccer program grew in the early 1990’s the field was utilized even more and made field conditions even less desirable.”

That field was a Warren County School District facility, but the Warren Sports Boosters decided to take on the project – and ownership of a new facility.

“In late 1996 the Warren Sports Boosters Board of Directors recognized that there was a dire need for War Memorial Field to undergo a significant renovation,” Boyd said. “With the understanding that these renovations would come with a significant price tag, the Warren Sports Boosters made an agreement with the WCSD to lease the property with the understanding that the WSB would take on the funding and renovations on behalf of the Warren community as to not burden the WCSD and Warren county taxpayers.”

There was no shortage of naysayers.

“This undertaking by the WSB was said to be a far reach for the small community of Warren with initial estimates coming in at $2.4 million to construct a stadium-like facility,” Boyd said. “The final design would feature home and away bleachers, construction of new locker rooms, a new turf playing field, and installation of a track.”

“This new stadium would be able to accommodate football, track and field, and soccer as well as provide a facility for community use for marching bands, fundraising events, sports camps, and a partnership with the YMCA for membership use,” he said.

That “ambitious” facility was completed in 1999.

There has been normal wear-and-tear, from competitions and practices and from the elements. The primary natural enemy of the turf is sunlight. The track is more susceptible to cold, especially freeze-thaw cycles. There have been renovations, patches, updates, and the turf was replaced once.

“After 20-plus years of community use, the current conditions of the track and field require a complete replacement,” Boyd said. “The track is the original from the 1999 installation and the turf was last replaced in 2008.”

The life expectancies of those facilities are much shorter – “the field is intended to last 8 to 10 years… the track is intended to last around 15 to 17 years,” he said.

The longevity of the surfaces is a “direct reflection on the folks who work so hard to keep up on routine and special maintenance,” Boyd said.

“Over the years, the Sports Boosters have taken great care of the facility,” Vice President Dave Adams said. “The maintenance we’ve done has extended the life of the field and track.”

Routine, and even special, maintenance only go so far.

The pile of a football field – the height of the blades of artificial grass – should be at least two to three inches. That looks good and provides some padding for the bodies that crash into it.

There aren’t many blades that long at this point, and most of the blades are no longer standing upright – that is the job of the infill. Anyone who has played on the field and taken shoes full of flecks of black rubber has interacted with the infill.

Some of the blades have weathered the test of time worse than others. The blades of yellow that makes up certain lines are worn down to nubs.

The track has been patched about as much as it can. Areas along the finish line – also the start line for any race that includes a multiple of 400 meters – is worn down to asphalt.

When the track material is thin, there is no way to patch it – a patch would stand up above the surrounding surface, creating unsafe conditions.

Over time, the track is the expensive part of the facility to maintain.

The drainage around the track has repeatedly filled up with beads from the degrading track, reducing the drainage capabilities at a facility that is already in an area prone to flooding. Volunteer efforts have been able to clean those out so far.

The bleachers are holding up well, Boyd said. A thorough power-wash should be about all that is needed for another year of seating spectators.

The locker rooms are original – including shower heads that cost about $2,000 each to replace. Those parts are difficult to find after 20 years and the boosters are hoping to replace them with equipment that is more maintenance friendly.

There are leaks in some of the roofs of storage buildings.

The sound system could stand some improvement.

The goal posts are rusty and could use some work.

All of those improvements and replacements take money.

“The total cost of a complete track and field replacement is approximately $900,000,” Boyd said. The boosters have set a goal of $1 million to cover additional spending “for new athletic equipment and repairs that need to be made to the locker rooms, bathrooms, and the stadium sound system.”

While the land War Memorial is located on is owned by the school district, the boosters do not take funds from the district, Boyd said.

“We rely on donations, ticket sales at the sporting events at the field, as well as fundraisers, selling of programs, etc., to not only support the athletic teams and run that stadium, but we have also started an endowment with the Community Foundation to support our annual student athlete scholarships.”

“Our mission statement continues to be: To enhance and enrich the athletic programs provided by the Warren County School District,” Boyd said. “That has been achievable through the generous Warren County community, including business, foundation/charitable, and personal donations.”

The capital campaign would be separate from and in addition to the group’s typical activities.

“The Boosters do provide funding for banquets as well as financial support towards purchasing awards for athletic success such as winning districts, etc.,” he said. “We don’t anticipate the capital campaign to negatively affect the ability to continue to award these nor will it impact our annual scholarships. The Boosters continue to be prudent and economical in our spending as well as taking proper care and maintenance of all of our assets to ensure the fullest useful life of the field, equipment, etc.”

“Warren Sports Boosters are a 501(c)(3) organization consisting of volunteers and funded by the generous donors of the Warren community,” he said. “A GoFundMe account has been established for individual donors in the hopes that the capital campaign can reach beyond current Warren residents and include alumni of Warren County that no longer live in the Warren area.”

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https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/warrensportsboostersinccapitalcampaign

Mail to the boosters may be addressed to Warren Sports Boosters, P.O. Box 643, Warren, Pennsylvania, 16365.

The group has a Facebook page.