Delta has dedicated $13 million to the renovation of its athletic facilities, which have been closed for home games of the Fall and Spring semester due to safety concerns.
As of the 2022-23 season, football players, track and field athletes, baseball and softball players for Delta have been advised to play their home games and events at McNair High School and other programs and schools instead of their own fields due to poor playing surfaces on their fields and the turf being too dangerous to play on.
In addition to that, cross country athletes have been practicing at areas that have soft surfaces, such as the soccer complex on Morada lane and the levees near Stagg High School.
“It breaks my heart every single day to see our track in this condition,” said Lauryn Seales, head coach for the women’s track and field and cross country team. “And while we have a really great program here, it’s extremely difficult to attract talent when it has been said that we have the worst facility in Stockton. It is a disservice to the athletes, to the program, and to the school.”
Players, coaches and staff members are upset as well.
Assistant football coach Gary Hyman said that although student athletes can practice at any program or school, it would be easier to practice at Delta instead of another place since they have all their equipment here at Delta.
“I think openly it would be easier for us to practice and have our equipment here at Delta. All of that is easier when you’re at home,” said Hyman. “We’re practicing at McNair because of the problems with the facilities. We couldn’t be more excited about the future because of that. And if it’s McNair, then it’s McNair. We can practice at any program.”
Freshman inside linebacker Trey Burggraff wished that he could play on their own home field, but he and his team told each other they had to simply move past that issue.
“Of course, we would love to have our own home field we can play at, but everyone just came together and said that we gotta do what we gotta do like we don’t want that to bring our season down,” said Burggraff.
On top of that, the athletic fields were loved by the community and they were also used for specific events as well.
“The athletic fields have a large impact on the community through rentals,” said Joe Gonzales, interim vice president of Instruction. “The rentals allowed for a connection to the community that our students, alumni, employees, and families could come and cheer for events such as: United Way Baseball and Softball All Star Games, Kennedy Games, Special Olympic Games and Youth Track and Field.”
Other students have not missed this issue, either.
“Students have been complaining about leaving Delta College due to the athletic fields situation. They’d rather go to a school that has amazing and stable athletic fields,” said Kaiden Gibson, Student Representative of Delta’s Board of Trustees.
Delta’s football field, Lawrence A. DeRicco Field, and the Merv Smith Track Complex were both established in 2008, while the Bucky Layland Softball Complex and the Nick Cecchetti Baseball Field were both established in 2009.
Although the softball players practice at Delta, they’re still required to play their home games at different fields such as McNair High School and Billy Hebert Field.
“I am a little disappointed for the girls. They came to Delta to play at Delta,” said Jim Fisher, head coach of the softball team. “We all know upgrading facilities takes time. But, we will push ahead and do the best we can with the current circumstances. This is just a new obstacle for our softball team to overcome.”
As for the baseball players, they’re also required to play their home games at McNair and Billy Hebert Field even though they practice at Delta as well.
“It is disappointing not being able to play at home but getting a new field is long overdue and worth the sacrifice,” said Reed Peters, head coach of the baseball team.
As of September 2022, the Board of Trustees have approved to remodel and fix the athletic fields.
The design/build RFQ and RFP process for the athletic fields will be from October 2022 – January 2023. In addition, the board approval for the design/build choice will be around February 2023.
Furthermore, the design/construction for the athletic fields will be around March 2023 – December 2024.
As for football head coach Gary Barlow, he’s more focused on the football team succeeding in the regular season.
“I simply just move past this situation and mainly just focus on the regular season for football”, said Barlow. “We just beat Contra Costa and our focus and mindset as of right now is to win our next game against Shasta College. Our team continues to strive and work hard in the regular season like always.”
