Why some Richland 2 schools may see football season tweaks from more than just virus
If the high school football season starts as scheduled in late August, there’s a chance Spring Valley and Richland Northeast might need a place to play some of its games.
Renovations to Harry Parone Stadium, located on Spring Valley’s campus but also the host to RNE home games, might not be finished in time for the start of season. The first regular season game in the state is scheduled for Aug. 21 — that assumes the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t push back the start of the season.
The renovations, which include the installation of a turf field, won’t start as planned this month because the stadium is hosting Richland County School District Two’s graduation ceremonies June 1-5. Spring Valley and Richland Northeast each have three home games combined during August and September. They’re scheduled to play their annual rivalry game Sept. 11.
“Nothing has been determined yet. We are just making some backup plans just in case there are some delays in construction,” Spring Valley athletic director Tim Hunter said. “We don’t want to get caught with no place to play if that happened.”
One of the options for the two schools is to play games at Westwood High School, which is in the district. District 2 Stadium at Blythewood isn’t available on the dates Spring Valley would need them.
Schools have been closed since mid-March because of the the coronavirus. The spring sports seasons were wiped out, but schools and coaches are cautiously optimistic that football and other sports will happen this fall.
Training for the fall sports season will be allowed beginning June 1, but the S.C. High School League hasn’t said what that will look like — and there’s at least a chance that date could be changed.
Harry Parone Stadium isn’t the only Richland 2 stadium getting upgrades. Turf will be installed at District 2 Stadium, located at Blythewood High School, as well as at Westwood’s football field. Installation of the turf at both stadiums might happen as early as this week.
New on-campus stadiums will be constructed at Richland Northeast and Ridge View high schools. Those should be completed in time for the 2021 season. Ridge View will play all of its home games this year at District 2 Stadium at Blythewood.
The new stadiums and upgrades are part of the $467 million approved in the 2019 bond referendum, which will fund construction, maintenance and improvement of the district’s schools. Some of the improvements include new roofs, new stadiums, weight rooms, new buses, HVAC replacements and, in some cases, new schools.
Construction for the $9.8 million Center for Knowledge North in Blythewood happened in January.
