It's a project a few years in the making, but the economy pushed it back a couple times.
Western Albemarle High School is in the process of upgrading its track and tennis courts to bring its facilities on par with other schools in central Virginia.
The project started right after the school year ended.
It'll cost hundreds of thousands of dollars of county funds to redo a 20-year-old track and 15-year-old tennis courts.
The track has not been suitable to host a track meet for the last two years because of cracks in it.
The tennis courts also featured cracks because of age and had drainage system issues. Two tennis courts had tartan surfaces that struggled to keep up with wear and tear.
Whereas private donations funded all of the football field and its FieldTurf 18 months ago, this upgrade has been in the county budget and is sorely needed.
"Both programs are really excited, and we're really happy that we're able to provide them a first-class facility at this point," said WAHS athletic director Steve Heon. "Both the boys and the girls programs have had great success, and we're hoping that this will only continue to provide them the facilities they need to remain competitive. It probably creates as good as a facility as there is in the area. Both Albemarle and Monticello also have outstanding facilities, but ours will now be on par with theirs."
The project is expected to be complete August 8.
Field space and improving grass fields are two issues Western wants to address in the future.
