When will P-CEP turf fields be usable again? Nobody’s talking
The Plymouth-Canton Educational Park’s two turf field stadiums have been closed since Aug. 24, forcing the district’s high school football and soccer teams to find alternate sites for home games. The P-CEP grass field is still usable.
It appears Plymouth High School’s Sept. 15 homecoming football game will be played at a home-away-from-home site — and the location of the highly-anticipated Plymouth-vs.-Canton football game could be held in Livonia, Northville or another western Wayne County community due to the ongoing closure of the Plymouth-Canton Educational Park’s two artificial turf stadiums.
A storm that dumped close to 7 inches of rain on Canton Aug. 24 caused flooding at the two venues — and they haven’t been used by the three high schools’ football or soccer teams since.
Gates to the west turf stadium are locked and secured with yellow caution tape.
Why haven’t the fields been usable the past two weeks? And when will they be usable again?
Answers are hard to find.
Answers elusive
SocialHouseNews.com reached out to coaches whose teams have been impacted by the closures, but they have not been given clear reasons for the closures or a timeline as to when the stadiums will be usable again.
Plymouth-Canton Community Schools communications professionals have not responded to queries from SocialHouseNews.com regarding the issues with the fields.
The stadium closures have forced Canton’s varsity football team to play two scheduled home games during the first three weeks of the 2023 season on the road.
On Friday night, the “host” Chiefs will play Novi at Northville High School’s varsity football venue.
P-CEP home games have also been moved to Livonia Churchill High School.
Frustrating situation
Parents of P-CEP athletes impacted by the closures have told SocialHouseNews.com they are growing frustrated by the lack of clarity surrounding the situation and the lack of transparency from the district.
One coach told SocialHouseNews.com he heard water from the floods flowed underneath the fields’ artificial turf, creating an uneven — and dangerous for athletes — surface.
Replacing the turf fields could carry a price tag in the millions of dollars — but only a handful of people know if this is a potential scenario.
And they’re not talking.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
