Estancia High School adjusts football schedule after delay in replacing home-field turf

Estancia High School has had to shuffle around its fall football schedule because of a delay in replacing the turf at its home field.

The Eagles were supposed to scruff up the synthetic turf at the beginning of the school year, following a summer of work at Jim Scott Stadium in Costa Mesa. Those plans changed when workers found the soil there was saturated with water.

Now, several home games have been shifted to neighboring fields. Estancia’s Back to School Night also was moved up to Sept. 26.

Thursday’s game against Ocean View High School will now be played at 7:30 p.m. at Orange Coast College. Next Friday, the team will play at Laguna Beach High School at 7 p.m. The Eagles will return to OCC on Oct. 3 to face Calvary Chapel High School at 7:30 p.m.

On Oct. 10, the team will play Saddleback High School at 7 p.m. on the field of nearby Costa Mesa High School. An away game against Orange High School will follow on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. and be held at Segerstrom High School.

The final two games before Estancia’s field is expected to reopen will be on Oct. 25 against Santa Ana High School and Nov. 1 against Costa Mesa. Kickoff for both is scheduled at 7 p.m. on Costa Mesa’s field.

Turf replacement is expected to be completed by the start of the winter sports season in November or December, according to Newport-Mesa Unified School District spokeswoman Annette Franco.

At its meeting Tuesday night, the school district’s board authorized FieldTurf, the company contracted to install the turf at the stadium, to resolve the saturated soil issue.

“We again would like to apologize for the delay and rescheduling that this has caused,” Estancia Principal Mike Halt wrote in a message posted on the school’s website. “However, I am confident that by working together with our school district we will have a great start to the school year.”

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