Repairs at Bulldog Field won’t cause a delay in preparations

CAPTION: Parts of the retaining wall at Bulldog Field came apart because of 16 inches of rain in Burnet during the Fourth of July weekend. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography

Flooding during the Fourth of July holiday caused some damage to the retaining wall on the home side and pulled up parts of the artificial turf at Burnet Consolidated Independent School District’s Bulldog Field.

Bulldog Field is the school district’s No. 1 outdoor venue for high school football and soccer games and outdoor graduation ceremonies.

The damage happened on the tail end of the school district taking a week off from June 30-July 4.

New athletic director Grant Freeman, whose first day on the job was July 7, praised the efforts of the Facilities and Operations staff under the direction of Brian Gilmore.

“Big credit to Mr. Gilmore and the operations staff,” he said. “They were on it. So thankful they were. I work very closely with a lot of people. They have done an outstanding job of being proactive. They jumped on it and were ahead of it.”

The good news, Freeman said, is that representatives of RS3 Turf and the local company that built the retaining wall indicated repairs can be done in time for the 2025 football season.

“The turf company has looked,” he said. “They don’t feel as bad about it as we do.”

They thought the turf could be repaired in the next two weeks, he added.

The builder of the retaining wall said “it’s a really easy fix,” the athletic director said.

Officials theorize that when the Student Activity Center and new home parking lot between that facility and Bulldog Field was being constructed a couple of years ago, a new waterway was inadvertently created.

“Water flowed into the retaining wall,” Freeman said.

Another project — installing new LED lights at the facility — will continue as planned, the athletic director said. The school district’s board of trustees approved that request during its June board meeting.

“That’s still going to be on schedule,” the athletic director said. “There’s a lot of activity at the stadium in the next four weeks.”

The first day of football fall training camps for high schools in the state is Aug. 4. Members of the Bulldog football program will officially begin preparing for the start of the season on that date. Traditionally, the Bulldogs have an intrasquad scrimmage the first Saturday that ends the first week of training camp.

Burnet will welcome Fischer Canyon Lake for a scrimmage Aug. 15. The home opener is against Georgetown East View at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5.

Freeman said he has been in conversations with head coach Ben Speer about the stadium, the construction needs and the schedule. They along with the football staff have created plans in case Bulldog Field isn’t available for use until after Aug. 4.

“Good thing about our coaches and staff is that they’re ready to pivot, which is really great,” Freeman said. “Coach Speer and his staff are ready to make that pivot if needed. We’ve given him a couple of options to make sure our kids get their work in.”

The athletic director noted the facility directly behind Burnet Middle School and the Student Activity Center remain options. And Speer said coaches can create schedules to ensure the Bulldogs get the crucial work in they need during the month.

“We can get creative with the schedule as well,” Freeman said. “This Burnet staff is great.”

While his first week may have been more challenging than most anyone anticipated, Freeman couldn’t commend his new colleagues enough for all they did to ensure the students can continue to train and get ready for what promises to be another school year of terrific outcomes.

“I want to re-emphasize how great our operations and maintenance staff was,” he said. “Our janitorial staff and our maintenance staff have been top notch.”

CAPTION: Bricks from the retaining wall on the home side of Bulldog Field have been moved and stacked. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography