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Westhampton Beach's new varsity turf track and field is nearly complete. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
Construction of the new track and field at Westhampton Beach High School will be ready in time for the varsity Hurricanes football team's home opener on Friday. DESIRÉE KEEGAN
The Westhampton Beach football team will be playing its home opener on a newly-installed turf field Friday.
The project is one of many that were included in a $33 million infrastructure upgrade, instructional updates and health and safety improvements and approved by voters in October 2022.
Of $4.2 million set aside for athletics, $1.4 million paid for turf and track replacements. The lining of the field, new goal posts and soccer nets was also included in the renovation cost.
“We are looking forward to getting a chance to play on the field,” said varsity head football coach Bryan Schaumloffel. “We have been watching [The] LandTek [Group Inc.] work on the field all summer long. It has been a long wait to get back, but it should be worth it.”
LandTek has installed turf and grass fields, fencing, tennis courts, bleachers, concession stands and more for professional, collegiate and high school teams, and even municipalities across the Tri-State area and beyond. The Bay Shore-based company has installed turf at Stony Brook, Fordham, Farleigh Dickinson, Rutgers, Penn State and Villanova universities, among many more, and high schools including East Islip, Mt. Sinai and Comsewogue, and others on the East End, like Springs School.
Schaumloffel said the field shines from afar with its two-toned green turf — alternating shades of green every 5 yards — bright white Hurricanes written in each end zone and large “WHB” logo for Westhampton Beach sitting in the middle.
Senior quarterback Will Gambino said he and his teammates have peeked over the fence to see what the progress looks like all summer long.
“It will definitely be an honor to be the first team to play on it,” he said. “The turf looks a lot brighter than our old one, and really makes the place look nice.”
And renovations to the high school varsity field are only just getting started. The other $2.9 million will cover replacing the bleachers, press box and field house — work that will begin in the summer of 2024.
As for the current project, the last section of the track surface was completed on Friday, and all that remains is the painting of the lines.
“I am very happy with how the project turned out,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Carolyn Probst. “The appearance and quality are top-notch, and I am confident the new track and field will serve our students and community well for many years.”
Westhampton Beach, which is off to a 2-0 start with big wins over Harborfields and Comsewogue, will host East Islip on Friday at 6 p.m. It kicks off a stretch of three home games, with the Hurricanes welcoming Smithtown West on Friday, September 29, and Hauppauge on Friday, October 6.
“The new turf looks awesome and I couldn’t be more excited about it,” said senior running back Nolan Michalowski. “We haven’t been able to step on it all summer. So now that it’s done, we are all super eager to get play on it. Home openers are exciting enough, to be the first people on the brand-new turf is even better.”
