HEARNE, Texas — With broken windows, outdated equipment, and a locker room that sits beyond repair, Hearne ISD Athletics has used their stadium for decades.
Now, as a brand new field is being developed, Athletic Director Ricky Sargent walks through the field house for hopefully the last time.
“The push for us now, is to have adequate dressing facilities for our opponents and for our kids,” Sargent said.
Plans to rebuild the district’s 94-year-old stadium started at the beginning of 2023, as 15ABC walked viewers through the facility.
“We’re just excited for everything to actually happen at this particular time, and for our kids and our community to see this," Sargent said.
"We are just pleased with everything right now."
Crews are set to install turf in November, and surface the track in December.
Sargent recalls that his last seven years on this property haven’t been the easiest for his athletes.
“We’ve had some challenges — we’ve had times where we have had to rent other stadiums because of either flooding or our lights were inoperable, now that is to be no more," Sargent said.
Community member Andrew Pedroncelli has worked closely with the community and private donors to help raise funds without putting the remodel on the shoulders of tax payers.
“It’s hard to ask people to continually to pay because the taxpayers already fund Hearne ISD," Pedroncelli said.
"The push was to try to get this done without Hearne ISD funds — the biggest chunks have been done that way, and we’ll see if we can get the remainder of it done the same way."
As Sargent looks at a field under construction, he already sees the beauty in what is to come.
“My hope is that we will have the entire community out here, kids and their smiling faces, our school board members, staff, and everyone in Robertson County to come out and see the great things that are happening,” Sargent said.
Construction on the new Hearne ISD stadium is said to be completed in early January 2024.
