ROANOKE COUNTY & LYNCHBURG, Va. (WFXR) — You can add Northside’s Viking Stadium and Jim Hickam Field as the latest facility in our area to say goodbye to natural grass. Over the summer, crews put a new artificial turf down.
Northside was the last high school in Roanoke County to get the artificial surface. As you can expect having the new field is a win-win for the football program and Vikings athletics.
“It will allow all of our sports teams at the high schools to participate on that field. The biggest thing it does for our football program is that it gives us a place to play in inclement weather for practice,” said Northside head coach Scott Fisher.
New paint and a new scoreboard will also be something Vikings fans will see at the stadium this fall. Northside is having a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the turf on Friday, Aug. 25 at 3 p.m. before their home opener against Pulaski County.
Over in Lynchburg at Liberty Christian Academy (LCA), the Bulldogs are making the move to their own 4,000-seat stadium on campus.
For years, LCA played their home games at Liberty University’s 25,000-seat Williams Stadium. Head coach Frank Rocco said even though it was their home field, they felt they were on the road due to transporting gear to Williams Stadium. Now, they look for a true home-field advantage.
“Hopefully now we are at a 4,000 seat stadium and put 4,000 people in there. People are elbow to elbow and emotions get going. I really think it would be a great venue for high school football,” said Rocco.
The Bulldogs will have their first game at their new digs on Sept. 8 as they host Franklin County.
