Ron Seibel: Macon high school football stadiums need work

The 2015 high school football season is starting to settle into the history books.

This time next week, The Telegraph will make its annual All-Middle Georgia presentation, honoring the best the area had to offer. And while the only Middle Georgia school to win a state championship was Covenant in the GICAA, there were definitely a number of strong performances this season.

Before we wrap things up and move on to other things, there is an issue that needs to be raised when it comes to high school football in Macon-Bibb County.

Simply put, the condition of the three high school football stadiums used by the six public school teams in Macon is deplorable.

From locker rooms to restroom facilities, field conditions to press box conditions and the general upkeep of the stadiums themselves, a lot needs to be done to give the county's student-athletes a respectable place to play.

Let's start at the Ed DeFore Sports Complex, where it's not unusual for one or both teams to spend their pregame time or halftime break sitting in the northwest end zone, camped out outside a small locker room building overwhelmed by heat.

While Westside is able to retreat to its own on-campus fieldhouse, the locker room issue becomes acute when Rutland or Howard is hosting an opponent at that stadium.

Those players sitting in the end zone better hope that rain hadn't come that week. Several times this season, the playing surface at Ed DeFore was a muddy mess.

Fans didn't have it much better. On several occasions, there was no soap or even paper towels in the men's restroom. In addition, paint and signage in the concourse show considerable wear.

Up in one of the press boxes, a large puddle had formed on a warped folding table before one game early in the season, the product of roof leaks. In another press box, some of the electrical outlets don't work.

All of this in a stadium that was built less than 20 years ago.

At the older Henderson Stadium, some basic work has been done in recent years in order to satisfy building codes, including reinforcement of the press box and removal of old carpet from the locker rooms. But the stadium is still 50 years old, the iconic tunnel on the visitors' side isn't used anymore, and the field itself isn't in the best shape.

Indeed, the high school stadium in Macon that might just be in the best shape is Thompson Stadium, a small facility used by Northeast for most of its home games.

Is this the kind of front door Macon wants to present to the community and its visitors? Is this putting student-athletes, marching band members and cheerleaders in Macon-Bibb County in the best position to do well?

To be fair, the stadium situation in Macon is a complicated one. Henderson is owned by the city-county government, not the school district, as is Ed DeFore, which fell into county ownership after Westside boosters were unable to make payments on a construction loan soon after the complex opened in the late 1990s.

Between the consolidation of the city and the county and the shenanigans that went on under previous school superintendents, it's quite possible that stadium maintenance simply fell through the cracks. But with county government stabilized and new leadership in the school district making progress on things, it's time to start addressing this situation.

This isn't about appeasing the football diehards who want palace-like facilities like those in Texas or even the northern suburbs of Atlanta or the powerhouse programs in south Georgia. This is about respect, pure and simple. Respect for the players, coaches, band members, cheerleaders, parents, fans and others who represent the county's six public high schools in a positive manner.

Until all of Macon-Bibb's high schools can get their own stadiums, something needs to be done to make the Ed DeFore Sports Complex and Henderson Stadium presentable.

It doesn't matter who owns the stadiums. It's time to do right by the student-athletes of Macon.

Contact Ron Seibel at 744-4222 or rseibel@macon.com.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Ron Seibel: Macon high school football stadiums need work ."