by Perryn Keys
Beaumont Enterprise
PORT NECHES – The grass looks so lush and green that even a cow might feel her mouth water. The soil looks so black and fertile that even the guy from Miracle-Gro might look over his shoulder.
But these days, The Reservation at Port Neches-Groves is something like a Los Angeles tanning salon. It’s all fake, all plastic and changing by the minute.
As part of the $10.2 million overhaul to PN-G’s football stadium, a work crew has put the finishing touches on FieldTurf, a new-age playing surface that looks and feels nothing like its AstroTurf predecessor.
“You look at this and you say, ‘Golly, it’s not like it used to be,'” said Matt Burnett, the school’s head football coach, athletic director and a PN-G alumnus.
“The thing is, you think about how much we use this field now. You’ve got the freshman teams, JV and varsity. Then you’ve got the boys and girls soccer teams, and other teams coming in and playing here. You think about it – that’s a lot of use.”
Although dozens of schools in Texas have installed FieldTurf or similar surfaces, Port Neches-Groves is the first school in the area to lay down the plastic grass.
FieldTurf, a Montreal-based firm, has been around for a little over a decade. It was the first to usher in the new era of artificial grass, which looks and feels nothing like the old, flat carpet that was first used in the Astrodome and went out of vogue in the early 1990s.
Last Tuesday afternoon, a FieldTurf crew scooted along on a tricked-out golf cart, sweeping up and down the field in a lawn mower’s pattern, steadily dumping more infill on top of the fake grass along the way.
The end zones are purple, with “INDIANS” painted in white with black trim. A PN-G logo also is painted at midfield.
The new grass at PN-G is one of many renovations to the football stadium this summer. Construction crews are hustling all over the property, speaking to each other in English and Spanish, working on a handful of projects at the same time.
The home-side bleachers already have been knocked out, and a new press box, concession stands and restrooms are in the works. A massive scoreboard and video screen will stand at the north end.
Once construction is complete, only the visitors-side bleachers will remain. (Both sides of the stadium, however, will get new restrooms and concession stands underneath.)
If this project sounds like it’s a massive one, well, it might be. And if it sounds like PN-G is in a race against the clock, well, it is.
Training camp begins in less than a month for most teams, and football season will arrive in less than two months. And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s summertime in Southeast Texas, which means the threat of afternoon thunderstorms is almost daily.
Thunderstorms, of course, halt construction projects. And as any homeowner probably knows, delays seem to be the norm when it comes to building (or renovating) anything.
“We’re just going to be patient,” Burnett said. “When you’re in rebuilding mode, there’s always something new.”
The Indians already had planned to play the first month of their schedule on the road, allowing the contractor more time to finish.
But already, PN-G has agreed in principle to play its first district home game at Memorial, a few miles down the road in Port Arthur.
PN-G’s district opener is Sept. 26. It is supposed to be at home, against Little Cypress-Mauriceville.
Burnett, however, said he has talked to Memorial coach Ronnie Thompson about borrowing the Titans’ field – which, by the way, was rebuilt at a cost of more than $500,000.
Thompson and Burnett stumbled upon the idea after they had discussed other matters.
They happen to go back more than three decades. Thompson was an assistant coach at Lamar when Burnett played there as a defensive lineman.
Thompson and Burnett were planning a preseason scrimmage between PN-G and Memorial. The discussion branched out, and one thing led to another. Before long, they talked about the soon-to-be flying hammers at The Reservation.
“If you play ’em, try to beat ’em. If you can’t beat ’em, help ’em,” Thompson said. “PN-G – that’s our backyard rival. We’re right next door, and Matt’s as honest as the day is long. He’s doing everything he can to keep the pride and tradition going over there. So if there’s any way we can help him, we’ll do it.”
