When the Warren Area High School Dragons football team hosts the Oil City Oilers for its home opener on Friday, the game will take place on a brand new surface.

“We received the green light today that we will be a go for the Oil City home game on Friday,” Boosters President Mike Boyd said.

The logo in the center of the field and the end zone letters were delivered on Saturday and installed over the weekend, Boyd said.

“They are now relaying all the sand and rubber infill,” he said.

Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry The new turf at War Memorial Field, including the logo and ‘Warren’ in each end zone, is installed, and the field will be ready for Friday’s home football opener, according to the Warren Sports Boosters.

Hundreds of tons of that material were taken up, bagged, and left on-site during the removal of the old turf. Re-using it is a cost-savings and convenience measure.

There is still work to be done on the track. The oval has been milled and paved, but the rubberized running surfaces have not been installed.

That work will commence next week.

“The track will be in before the snow flies,” Boyd said. “The track install will begin first thing Monday morning the 29th and the facility will be closed for a three-week period.”

That will endanger the status of the next football game. “There is a chance the second home football game will have to be moved to away. We continue to discuss this and the movement of soccer games and practices with the athletic director as progress is made,” Boyd said.

The project is nearing completion and the fund-raising goal is in reach.

“It’s very exciting to see the progress switch from demo to install and realize the vision that began about four years ago,” Boyd said. “This Board has worked tirelessly to get to this point and we look forward to opening the completed facility in the near future.”