New Riley Field near completion

Above is a demo of the video board/scoreboard that was recently ordered and will be posted at the new and improved Riley Field adjacent to California High School, thanks to a generous monetary donation made by the E.M. Burger Foundation, California.
Above is a demo of the video board/scoreboard that was recently ordered and will be posted at the new and improved Riley Field adjacent to California High School, thanks to a generous monetary donation made by the E.M. Burger Foundation, California.

With the first home game of the 2014 football season just around the corner for the California Pintos, eyes are on the construction site at the "new and improved" football field adjacent to the high school on 50 Highway. Some are wondering, "Will it be done in time?"

According to California R-I Schools Superintendent Dwight Sanders, the answer is yes. "We're hoping the vast majority of the project will be done by 'Meet the Pintos' on August 8. We're in good shape at this point. We did have 22 rain days out of 45 that impacted production, but we're at a good place now. We have five contractors and our maintenance crew all working well together to get the job done."

That work includes not only the football field, concession stand, restrooms and the weight room addition, but also upgrades and improvements at all three campuses as a result of the passage of the bond issue in April.

Also new to the football stadium will be a video board, thanks to a generous donation made by the E.M. Burger Foundation, California.

"I had inquired about a video board, and discovered it's something we could not afford," Sanders said. "The E.M. Burger Foundation contributed up to $65,000 for the video board, and with the cost of the installation, it will probably cost every bit of that."

Sanders said the video board, which was ordered July 18, will be connected to the top of the current scoreboard. "The video board is manufactured by the same company as the scoreboard we are currently using, so the two products should marry together very nicely. The end result will take approximately 12 weeks to be completed, and then there will be time for the installation. It probably won't be operational until the end of this season."

The Pintos' first home game is at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 22, against Boonville.

California High School Activities Director Rick Edwards, who is also assistant football coach at CHS, as well as the California Middle School Activities Director and CMS Asst. Principal, said, "In the 90's, we had the second-winning program in the state, but our facility was one of the worst. I'm very excited about the new field."