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Running after a first-class school track

Fundraising effort seeks $65,000 for new surface at Estero High School

By KEVIN JOHNSON (Contact)

Saturday, May 27, 2006

With 16 sites sprinkled throughout Florida for the 2006 state high school regional track and field championships, a wise betting man probably would have wagered that at least one of those venues would have been in Southwest Florida.

That wise betting man would learn that a track doesn't have to include horses in order to lose money.

The closest sites to Southwest Florida for the regionals in April were Fort Lauderdale and Tampa.

"There's no place in Southwest Florida that has a premier track," said Steve Jones. "If you want to go to a good meet, you travel.

Hence, local high school runners become acclimated to destinations such as Coral Springs, Winter Park, and Jacksonville.

Now a parent-driven initiative, led by Jones, is trying to change that.

"What we're trying to do is attract meets so (Estero High) and Lee County teams don't have to travel all the time," said Jones. "If we draw other teams here, it's a chance to raise funds through booster clubs and draw attention to our sports."

Jones, whose daughter, Bona, won state championships while running for EHS the past two years and earned a full scholarship to North Carolina State, is organizing a fund raising effort to bring a synthetic-surfaced track to the school.

The project is barely out of the starting block, but Jones and Estero distance running coach Jeff Sommer are hoping for a completion date of early 2007. In order for the project to become reality, though, thousands of dollars will have to be raised to pay for a track that Jones estimates will cost about $110,000.

About $45,000 that had been budgeted to resurface Estero's current asphalt track — but was intentionally postponed with a potential new track in mind — can go towards the synthetic-track, Jones said. That leaves about $65,000 left to be raised. Jones has begun seeking donations from foundations and private businesses.

File photo

Runners compete in the LCAC on April 7 at Estero High. A fundraising effort is under way to install a new track at the school, one which organizers say would be the best in Southwest Florida.

Jones said the one-half inch synthetic track at Estero would be better and more durable than the new three-eighth inch rubberized tracks at Ida Baker and South Fort Myers and that its benefits would stretch beyond the finish line.

If everything goes according to plan, Jones said Estero High would be home to the best track in Southwest Florida and could host competitions for youth, high school and collegiate meets as well as draw out-of-state competitors. Jones and Sommer have had preliminary talks with local tourism officials and Florida Gulf Coast University athletic director Carl McAloose.

"Recognize that February through April we have the best weather in the United States," said Jones. "There are many high-caliber teams in California, Ohio and New York that reward their runners by taking a spring break trip, so we would have a perfect situation for an invitational here."

With new hotels, restaurants and malls sprouting up within a few miles of EHS, a track that could attract teams from around the state and elsewhere would be a boom to the local economy, Jones and Sommer said.

"We took up five (hotel) rooms and we had a small team," Sommer explained about a road trip this season. "We went to the mall during our free time. The economic impact is unbelievable."

Hosting a top-notch invitational could attract 20 to 30 teams, many of which would likely carry 30 or more student-athletes.

"I would think from an economic benefit, maybe business leaders would recognize that this would be a draw," said Jones.

If enough funds are raised, the project, which Jones said has the blessings of the superintendent and school principal, would need to be approved by the school board.