By JAMES EVANS
Rutherford County Schools
Blackman High School’s football field will have a new name and a new surface before the beginning of next season.
The school has secured enough private donors to install artificial turf on its field. The proposal — which comes at no cost to taxpayers — has now been approved by the Rutherford County School Board.
School leaders hope to have the turf installed well before the next football season, which opens with Blackman facing Alcoa.
At that time, the school also plans to name the field after the late Bart Smith, who owned the land where the Blackman schools now reside. His wife, Clarissa, is one of the donors who contributed a large portion of the funding for the turf and its on-going maintenance, principal Leisa Justus said.
The artificial turf field will be a first for a high school in Rutherford County.
The list of donors is as follows:
- Clarissa Smith
- GM of Murfreesboro
- Rogers Group
- Redstone Federal Credit Union
- Blackman Youth Football
- Sloan’s Motorcycles
- Kona Ice
- Tri-Star Title
- John and Debbie Harney
- Ole South
- Lee Company
- Wilson Bank and Trust
- Tire World
- Blaze Pizza
- Zaxby’s on Fortress
- Mark Pirtle Development
- Aggregate Systems, Inc
- Tennessee Orthopaedic Alliance
