Paschal High School is unveiling Bill Allen Field, which has been under construction since the summer and now features a state-of-the-art synthetic field turf, this week.

 “The turf was selected for wear and tear purposes,” said Kirk Jefferies, manager of the Paschal Legacy Project, which raised funds to build the field. “The old field was dirt 90 percent of the time and the new turf will uphold bad weather as well as provide safety to our student athletes.”

While FWISD approved Paragon Sports to construct the field in the spring, fundraising was needed to complete the project. According to Jefferies, the project committee has raised $780,000 of the $860,000 necessary to fully fund the field construction.

Money raised for the project has been a combined effort of the Paschal pyramid schools – the elementary and middle schools that feed the high school – booster clubs and local foundations such as the Amon Carter foundation, Happy Davis foundation and other charitable trusts.

Because it is the only available field on campus for Paschal, it will be in constant use. Paschal band, freshman and junior varsity sports as well as various local middle schools will use the field for competition and practice. While no official agreement has been reached, Jefferies said the TCU lacrosse team would also use the new facility. In addition to the field turf and painting of the field, the money raised for the project was used to construct an overhang that covers the visitor’s bleachers and a new security fence around the facility.  

“We did the overhangs for two reasons, one being to cover the stands during times of bad weather during events on the field and also to give students a covered area to sit and eat during school lunch hours,” Jefferies said.

A ribbon cutting ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at Bill Allen Field right before the Paschal freshman team football game.