RIPON – The Stouffer Field revitalization efforts could soon be taking shape.

Try as early as this spring. By then, Ripon High track and field athletes could make use of the brand-new discus and shot put venue.

At last week’s Ripon Unified school board meeting, Stephanie Hobbs, president of the Ripon Community Athletic Foundation, said the initial plans of re-doing the stadium recently received approval from the Division of State Architect in Sacramento.

Included is the football / soccer field infrastructure or, as RCAF member Vince Hobbs calls it, the “non-glamorous” work.

Stephanie Hobbs noted that the South San Joaquin Irrigation District and the Building Dreams Foundation have each donated $1,000 to go towards the shotput and discus planned for the north end of Stouffer Field.

She added that RCAF is actively pursuing donations for the planned double-sided, state-of-the-art scoreboard for the north end of the stadium facing Highway 99.

“We still have a few hoops to go through,” Hobbs said.

In 2007, RCAF started as a grassroots effort to upgrade the facilities at RHS.

The group saw it necessary to upgrade the over 70-year-old stadium equipped with a substandard running track – only five of the six lanes on the track are useable, with the surface made of soil and clay – with hopes of converting Stouffer Field into a gem of the community featuring a regulation-sized football / soccer field and eight-lane track.

RCAF relies on donations along with proceeds from annual fundraising events such as Rina’s Run to help make this dream possible.

More information can be obtained by logging on to www.rcafsite.com.