Work Begins On Ontario Track And Lights

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ONTARIO – As numerous schools are doing this summer, Ontario High School has recently jumped into the summer construction season with two projects scheduled.

Tiger fans driving by the facility will soon see the lights surrounding Tiger Stadium replaced and relocated. After a winning bid of $325,000 by Musco Sports Lighting, Ontario fans can look forward to “football under the lights” this upcoming fall with new and improved illumination.

Musco, in business since 1976, is a worldwide leader in providing lighting in sporting venues including work in Florida after Hurricane Ian, construction at Red Bull Arena for Major League Soccer, lighting for Grand Prix racing in Dubai and the X Games in Aspen in 2024.

The improvements will benefit not only football but also track and field events in Ontario and in the future, both boys and girls soccer will move to play on the home field from their current games played at the fields at Alameda.

Equipment is currently being moved to Ontario to begin construction immediately with a completion date of October 4. The Ontario football schedule coincides with the construction as the Tigers start the season on the road.

After 15 years and more than a few patches, Ontario track and field team will have a new surface as the Tigers host the 4A Greater Oregon League meet this upcoming spring.

The crews working for Musco Sports Lighting will be able to grab some lunch with crews from Beynon Sports as work on both projects will be simultaneous.

Beynon Sports had the winning bid of $780,066.58 with the work also to begin immediately.

The company makes a return trip to Oregon for the Ontario project after completing Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon in 2021. Beynon Sports also has installed tracks at Auburn University, Texas A&M and Stanford University.

The project will include a complete resurfacing along with curbing with a polyurethane coating.

As with the lighting project, the completion date is October 4, months ahead of the track and field season and well ahead of the Tigers hosting Baker, La Grande and Pendleton for the district meet. In addition to the student athletes’ use of the track, community members will also continue to enjoy use of the new facility.

“The district is proud community members are able to use the track and that will continue with the completion of the new track,” said Ontario superintendent Nic Albisu. “With all the construction, we are asking the community to stay off the track and away from the construction for safety reasons for a few months.”

Albisu says the district planned for these two projects for some time and had set aside money for a number of years planning for the two expenditures.

“It is important to the district and we are proud we don’t have to ask the taxpayers for a bond for these projects,” she said. “These two projects have been on our agenda for some time.”

In addition to the local walkers in the morning and the Tiger team, collegiate track fans also have reason to cheer. The Chukar runners of Treasure Valley Community College use the Ontario track to train.

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