Jefferson High to lose baseball field

UPDATE 02/19/14:“The school is also getting $500,000 to renovate or build a new field,” said Alejandro Patio, EPISD Bond Accountability Advisory Committee Chair. “Ironically, EPISD facilities is working on a design that would keep the field in place. However, even if the field has to be moved, we are looking at a brand new baseball field.

Previous story:The El Paso Independent School District’s Jefferson High school is receiving a $1.6 million, 6,000-seat capacity stadium with concession stands. Both Jefferson and Franklin High were granted the money after the district reallocated money left over from the 2007 bond. Bowie High will be receiving $500,000 in upgrades to it’s existing field.

The news is much appreciated by students, who’ve been forced to use their rival’s stadium at Bowie High for years.

But a brand new football stadium leaves Jefferson’s baseball team with a field to play on. This comes after the El Paso Chihuahua Organization invested in field upgrades for the team.

“I’m upset because they just invested money in the baseball field,” said baseball mom Norma Rodriguez.

ABC-7 reached out to the district for a response to what some would say, is a waste of money. District spokeswoman Renee De Santos replied:

“We are extremely grateful for the work the El Paso Chihuahuas did on the Jefferson High School field and we look forward to a long partnership with them. The district fully intends to salvage the work done by the Chihuahuas, possibly using it as a practice field. We truly regret the timing of the matter; however, the bond reallocation became a great opportunity to build a grandstand for Jefferson, which has not had its own stadium seating in its more than 60 years of existence.”

The baseball team will finish this season on Fox territory, but for next season, the district is still considering it’s options.