Vidalia — When the Vidalia High School football team hits the field this fall it will be stepping on to a brand new playing surface.

Dee Faircloth Viking Stadium will feature Celebration Bermuda grass, the same turf featured in LSU’s Tiger Stadium, head coach Gary Parnham said.

“I’m thrilled to death to have this surface,” Parnham said. “The kids are going to love it. I think it’s going to go a long way to prevent injuries. It’s just going to be a better surface for kids to play on.”

Parnham said it is also nice to play on the same grass as LSU.

“I saw Les Miles eat grass in Tiger Stadium, and I was wondering if he’d come eat ours,” Parnham said.

With the help of Ronald Strahan, Dennis Burns, Glen Daniels and Nan Huff from the LSU AgCenter, the Vikings installed grass springs from Crosby, Texas in the field approximately two weeks ago, Parnham said.

Parnham said the initial plan was to seed the field but there was a delay in installing the new sprinkler system so they had to go with grass sprigs instead of seeding.

Sprigs are grass stems and roots that were planted to grow the playing surface. Parnham said he believes the field will be ready by fall.

“It’s looking good, I think it’s going to make it,” he said. “Dr. Strahan is telling us it will be in good shape this year, but the second year, next year, will be when it looks really awesome.”

The recent drought has affected the condition of the new grass, but Parnham said they found a solution with a little help from some of Vidalia’s finest.

“The ground was dry because of the drought, and the fire department came in and dropped 7,000 gallons of water on it in 25 minutes,” Parnham said. “We’ve kept the ground pretty saturated.”

Parnham said Vidalia has needed a new playing surface for a while, and he expects big things from the new field.

“If everything goes as expected it will be one of the best fields in the area,” he said.

Parnham said the players have not said much about the new surface because it is still a work in progress.

“We really haven’t gotten a whole lot of reaction because it kind of looks like a swamp right now, so they are a little skeptical,” he said. “Probably by the end of July it will start looking good.”

Parnham said he thinks the field will provide a safer surface for his athletes.

“I would think it is (safer), because it is a lot softer,” he said.

The idea to plant new grass on the field snowballed from a decision to re-crown the field after last season, Parnham said.

“The field had dips and other spots on it, and it hadn’t been done in probably eight years,” Parnham said. “We decided if we are going to do that we should put a sprinkler system in too. In October and November we started talking about that and got the ball rolling from there.”

Parnham did not know the exact price of the renovations, but estimated it cost approximately $6,000.

Parnham said they kept costs down by doing much of the labor and getting donations from parents and other community members.

Vidalia will take its first steps on its new surface August 27 for the home jamboree, Parnham said.

“We’re not even going to step on it until then,” he said.

Parnham said the stadium is also in the process of being repainted, and they are doing a lot of eminence.