RHS band gets $392K turf field for practice

RUSSELLVILLE — Members of the Russellville High School band program will soon begin using a new turf practice field behind the band room.

City Schools Superintendent Dr. Tim Guinn said a combination of state and local funds were used to pay for the $392,000 project.

He said discussions about turf replacement projects for football, baseball and softball facilities sparked an interest in the project.

“For years our band has had to carry all of their equipment to the driver’s ed parking lot for practice, or the football stadium,” Guinn said.

He said transporting instruments and equipment across campus became increasingly difficult as the band program grew to more than 170 students.

RHS Band Director Jeremy Willis said transporting instruments and related equipment to remote practice areas created major logistical challenges with students and staff spending 45 minutes to an hour each day handling transportation and setup.

Limited setup time forced the band to split many rehearsals into sections, he said.

Bad weather and field conditions caused the band to lose approximately 18 or 19 outside rehearsals between July and October 2025. Willis said repeated marching rehearsals often damaged the previous grass practice field and made it unusable after rain.

Willis said the turf drainage system should allow students to return to practice much more quickly after rain.

“With this field, if it rains in the morning, it drains right off, and we can just get right out there,” he said.

The new field sits only a short distance from the band building, eliminating the need to travel more than 1,000 feet between rehearsal areas.

Willis said the turf field is safer because it eliminates concerns about uneven surfaces, holes and ant beds, all of which affected outdoor rehearsals.

He said the field includes regulation football markings and a drainage system designed to prevent standing water.

Board of Education member Kim Clonts, a former member of the Marching Hundred, said the band practiced on the driver’s ed parking lot for decades before crews installed the new field.

She said relocating the band room to near the auditorium eventually made transporting equipment to practice areas more difficult and time-consuming.

“By having a turf field behind the band room, this will make band practice more efficient and safer,” Clonts said.

Willis, who marched in the Russellville High School band from 1995 to 1999, said students reacted enthusiastically when they saw the field.

“They were like young children on a playground,” he said.