UPDATE: In the Dec. 13 issue of The Roar, this story claimed that SCHS would be pursuing alternate venues for the 2020 graduation ceremony. That information is incorrect. Graduation will still be held on the main field.

Santa Clara High School has been undergoing numerous changes in the past year, and there are no plans to stop construction any time soon. The back field and main field will be renovated to provide SCHS with new turf by the start of next school year.

Principal Gregory Shelby, as well as students who participate in sports on the back field, are aware that the current field conditions can make sports practices difficult. According to soccer player senior Lindsey Crocker, the girls’ soccer team must practice on the back field, which could potentially lead to future issues.

“Since the back field isn’t as well taken care of, the ground is uneven,” Crocker said. “We’ll be used to the unlevel ground, which will make playing in turf more difficult.”

Soccer player senior Victor Garibay agrees the back field can make practices difficult, but he believes it can also provide SCHS with a home field advantage.

“It causes the ball to move in a weird way due to the holes and stuff on the ground,” Garibay said. “We get the advantage since we’re used to playing in those types of conditions.”

Shelby confirmed that both the back field and the football field will be renovated. Renovations for the back field will start April 1, 2020 and are expected to be done by mid-June.

“The reason for that is that for us, the much bigger project is the back field,” Shelby said. “This allows us to have one of the fields open for track.”

While SCHS is remodeling the back field, Wilcox will be renovating their main field. During spring, Shelby said, SCHS will be sharing their track with Wilcox sports teams. As of now there are no plans of renovating the SCHS track, but Shelby acknowledged it is due for repair.

SCHS main field renovations are set to begin once the back field is finished in mid-June and are expected to be done by the end of August. However, renovations will not begin until after graduation, and the class of 2020 will still have their ceremony on the main field, according to Shelby.

Many feel the time is necessary for SCHS to pursue a new main field. Soon the school will possess newly-renovated fields, which should be worth the effort in the future.

“It should end up being a really nice venue,” Shelby said.