El Dorado’s multi-purpose facility, located next to Wildcat Arena at the high school, will be open for business whenever the athletes return to practice. The facility was completed and originally opened in October but issues with the turf surfaced. El Dorado football coach Steven Jones said the turf was fixed a couple weeks ago during Spring Break.
“There will be a lot of different groups that will have an opportunity to practice in it,” said Jones, who said it was already getting a lot of use back in the fall. “Cheer used it a little bit. Track has been in there, cross country, I mean everybody has been able to take advantage of it when we had it open in the fall. When we get back, everybody will be able to have some time in there.”
The facility will offer an alternative for the football team, especially during inclimate weather. Especially on hot days, it could be considered a safer place to practice.
“It’s great. Having it in the summer, you can really use it at different times throughout the day. Maybe at an afternoon practice, you’re going to be 15 to 20 degrees cooler inside that building than out under the blazing sun,” Jones said. “It allows us to practice at any time of the day. We can get everything done that we need to do. The only aspect of the game that you can’t practice in there is punting the football. That’s something we’ll have to go outside for. But, kickoffs, field goals, all of that, we can do all that stuff inside. We’re looking forward to getting into it. It’s a weapon for us.”
The field is 120 yards long, which is a full football field plus two 10-yard end zones.
“We have nets that suspend down with the goal posts weaved into the nets,” Jones said. “On the bottom of that, there’s a soccer goal that’s weaved into that as well for the soccer team to use.”