To the editor:
The recent negative publicity about the state of the King George School system athletic playing fields has been very embarrassing. There has been quiet debate for many years about whether to build a new football field at the new high school or renovate the Thomas Lomax Hunter Amphitheater.  
I believe that while many were waiting for a new field to be built at the new high school, maintenance of the existing field became almost non-existent. Combined with too much use by too many organizations has lead to the current state of disrepair.  
It now appears that the emergency situation created by sanctioned officiating organizations declaring Hunter field unfit for play due to safety concerns, has caused the School Administration to re-visit whether to renovate Hunter field or build a new facility at the new high school.
To me, the answer is extremely clear. Hunter field could be one of, if not the very best high school football fields in Virginia. The natural bowl shape is irreplaceable. When you build a football field on a flat parcel of ground; especially if there is a track around the field, the angle of viewing is very poor. Hunter field provides the best viewing for spectators of any field in the Fredericksburg region.
The negatives of Hunter field are easily remedied. The existing visitors’ bleachers should be eliminated. The hillside bleachers on the home side should be extended to follow the natural hillside shape of the bowl and a section should be designated as the visitors section. We would be treating our guests very hospitably with a much better opportunity to watch their team and keeping them from having to make the walk around the field. Before others suggest that it is not good to have opposing teams sit next to each other, it is done in every college and professional stadium in the country. They would also be closer to concessions and restrooms.
Move the bus garage and buses to a new state of the art maintenance facility. The need for an improved garage for maintaining the fleet of buses is long overdue. Pave the area and make it parking.  
Tear down the existing concession stand and press box and build a modern facility. The current wood frame and galvanized metal building was built by members of the now defunct Quarterback Club in the early 1960s and has served the schools well through the years. It is time for it to be replaced. Restroom facilities need to be addressed as well.
Obviously the field and turf require upgrading. A watering sprinkler system needs to be installed and the field needs to be properly crowned. New/improved lightning needs to be installed as well as a new scoreboard.
While the thought of a new field is appealing to many, I don’t believe they realize what they would be losing in the process.  We don’t need to pay a company $250,000 to do a feasibility study. That money would be better spent on a portion of the renovation. The new high school is a beautiful school, but I don’t believe they set aside adequate room to build a proper football stadium. They also didn’t build a single trophy case for athletics or build a storage room for the football equipment — $42 million just doesn’t go as far as it once did! There is a general lack of leadership concerning athletics and providing facilities for our students and the community.  
While everything wouldn’t need to be done at once, experience shows that if you don’t do it all at once, it won’t get done later. So, do it now and do it right. Once it is done, access needs to be limited so it is not a victim of over use. A good turf surface needs limited foot traffic.  
Please, do not move the football field. In the words of Joni Mitchell and the Counting Crows, don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone! Thomas Lomax Hunter is a treasure that is in need of renovation. The end product could be something so special that all of King George could be proud.  A new field at the new high school would be just another field.
Gary Butler