DETROIT – Life Remodeled will break ground Friday on the construction of new football field for Cody High School in Detroit.
The 90,000 sq. ft. synthetic turf gridiron will be built on the Stein Playfield, just northwest of the school. The new construction will give students a home field for the first time in eight years.
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The cost of the athletic field project is $650,000, of which $291,000 has already been raised. Major contributors include the Skillman Foundation ($200,000), the United Auto Workers ($25,000), and a number of metro-area churches. DPS will also donate excess bleachers from its warehouse, although they must be repaired.
Major supporters of the football field project are general contractor Barton Malow (Southfield) and Foresite Design (Berkley), a landscape architectural firm that specializes in the design of athletic and recreational facilities. Pittsburgh-based ProGrass is providing the synthetic turf and Edw. C. Levy Co. (Detroit) is donating the base stone.
Mark Dandar, owner of Mark Land Surveying (Sterling Heights), civil engineer Jason Arnold of Creative Site Solutions (Troy), and Mike Mentz of Turnkey Enterprises (Leonard) are also donating their services.
The Cody Comets' former field sat on the same location as the new field until 2006. Vandalism and lack of irrigation caused the turf to become unplayable, forcing the team to play all games, including Homecoming, at "away" venues. When completed, the field will be home not only to the Comets, but also eight Detroit Police Athletic League (PAL) youth football teams and one Detroit PAL youth soccer team.
The project is part of Life Remodeled's goal to renovate the school and its surroundings.
The non-profit plans to remodel one DPS school per year moving forward.