Radford renovates its press box

There were plenty of helping hands behind the renovation of the press box at Radford’s John Velasco Stadium this summer.

Hunt Corp. and Amii Construction had vital roles. Amii is headed by Radford alumnus Aaron Amii, athletic director Kelly Sur said. Also involved were alum and New York Jets tackle Wayne Hunter and former HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya.

The press box now has more space for the scoreboard operator, coaches and video camera operators. And, yes, the press.

Moanalua field upgrade coming

The goal was synthetic turf for Moanalua’s football/soccer field.

But with that on hold, there will still be upgrades on the way after football season. Athletic director Joel Kawachi said the field with be crowned, which means a new drainage and irrigation system, soil and grass.

The process is under way, with bids out and no contracts awarded yet. But if everything goes as planned, the work will be done in the winter season. That means Moanalua’s soccer teams will play all matches away.

By spring, the hope is that everything will be done. The track and field program will have new runways and settings for everything inside the oval, Kawachi added.

Lush green grass at Kahuku

The football field at Kahuku High School is unusually green.

It is almost thick and strangely soft. The old, hardened patches of rock-solid dirt? Almost nonexistent. Brigham Young-Hawaii groundskeeper Dwight Fogel intends to keep the field that way. His volunteer work at the facility means the Red Raiders will benefit from his knowledge and persistence. Trimming the grass to a 1.5-inch height on a consistent basis is the key, Fogel said.

"The clumpy grass is disappearing. Keeping it cut short, so it doesn’t seed," said Fogel, who plans to help maintain the field year-round. "I’ll be here as long as they want me to come here."

Kahuku coach Reggie Torres kept his team off the game field until last week, before the opener against Punahou. His smile said it all.

"It’s something new for us. We’ll need to practice some days on it, but we’ll minimize it," he said.