The "Field of Dreams" Campaign
Anderson Boosters continues a fundraising campaign to support Anderson High School's new state-of-the-art athletic facility. The Boosters completed the project in 2003. This project is totally funded by the Boosters and no tax dollars were used to build it. We want to make sure everyone understands why this is an important and needed project for our high shcool.

Why was it needed? Anderson High School's athletic facilities were designed in the 1960's before there were girls athletics teams and when the Forest Hills School District had one high school. Since that time, the total number of athletic teams at Anderson has grown from 5-7 teams to 48 teams and 25 different sports today. Overall, Anderson athletic facilities serve 863 student athletes and 130 marching band members annually. There are not enough practice fields, forcing teams to practice and play games off site, away from trainers, phones and sometimes facilities. The practice fields on-site frequently suffer from overuse and do not have the opportunity to recover after bad weather, resulting in unsafe practice and playing surfaces. This expansion has put tremendous stress on Anderson's athletic facilities as it has with so many high schools across the country.

Unfortunately, Anderson's options in addressing this problem are somewhat limited. There is no additional land to be acquired and developed to support this demand. Therefore, the Anderson Boosters, recognizing that the Forest Hills School District did not have the resources to remedy the situation, decided to step up and raise the money to provide the best solution possible within the constraints of the land available. They replaced the grass surface in Brown Stadium with a third generation artificial turf surface. This option provided the following benefits to the Anderson community and Forest Hills School District:

• An all-season, all-weather playing surface, which will support football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, track and any other sport that plays within the surface size currently at Brown Stadium.
• A field that may be used for both practice and games.
• A safe, reliable practice and playing surface for the Anderson Marching Band.
• A safe, all-weather surface for intramural sports, physical education classes and other outdoor educational opportunities.
• An all-season, all-weather playing surface for use by community youth athletic clubs.
• The surface will provide an option for FHSD teams and bands to host district and regional competitions, thereby opening up new opportunities for our students.
• Reduce the cost of maintaining Brown Stadium turf and free up personnel to maintain other FHSD propety.
• Increase the attractiveness, vitality and economic possibilities of Anderson Township with the increased number of people who will be traveling to Anderson to participate in activities on the field.

If you are interested in helping with our "Field of Dreams" campaign, please contact Wayne Rod at awrod@emmert.com or 232.0680.

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