Colts softball team takes new field
Play ball!
That’s what they’re doing at the new competition softball field at Arlington High School. The brand-new field is now open for practice, and the team is loving it.
“Having a brand-new home field is amazing,” said senior Isbell Priddy, No. 9 on the softball team.
And long overdue, according to Arlington High softball coach Valarie Henry.
“Thirty years to be exact, and these young women deserve it,” Henry said. “Taking the players out to the field for the first time was like Christmas morning, seeing the smiles on their faces and wonderment in their eyes.”
Arlington High’s softball team – and all district softball teams – play their games at a softball complex near Workman Junior High. But the 2019 Bond program called for each high school to get its own competition field so the softball teams can host their home games on their campuses.
Arlington High’s field is the first in the district to open and was done in conjunction with the larger bond construction project currently underway at the school. The field that was the team’s old practice field was completely renovated with new grass and dirt, plus new dugouts, bleachers, concessions, press box and scoreboard.
The one thing still missing is lights. But once the lights can be installed, the Lady Colts will start hosting their home games on campus.
And that’s a big deal.
“It means that we can have the feel of what a real home game is,” Priddy said. “It also means that we might get more school-related fans since they no longer have to travel to a different location for a ‘home game.’”
See more photos of the new field.
Martin High School’s field is next and will be built in conjunction with the Glaspie Field and band hall addition construction project just getting started at the school. Work on Bowie and Seguin high schools’ fields will start this summer. And Lamar and Sam Houston high schools’ fields will be built in late 2025 at the same time that their stadiums – Cravens and Wilemon – are renovated.
Watch Bond 2019 construction update
Check out the latest 2019 Bond construction update video here.
Kelly Horn, Arlington ISD assistant superintendent of facility services, reviews the 2019 Bond construction progress made during the fall and highlights the projects in 2024. See video and photos from three new elementary schools, new playgrounds, groundbreaking ceremonies, renovations at Short Elementary, construction at Arlington High School and Bailey Junior High, and more.