RIPON – Imagine Stouffer Field having the same natural playing surface used at Stanford Stadium or San Francisco Giants’ AT&T Park.

The Ripon Community Athletic Foundation is leaning toward that way after recently researching the varieties of sports grass for the Ripon High stadium.

Stephanie Hobbs, president of the non-profit organization, noted that plans may call for installing Bermuda grass with a perennial rye overseed.

“RCAF has enough funds to install the grass field and regulation dirt track,” she said.

RCAF would prefer to have the track put in at the same time as the grass playing surface but, according to Hobbs, would need to raise another $244,000 in order to do so. This would drive the total cost for this part of the modernization project to $899,200.

Hobbs was proud that RCAF has managed to raise $655,200 for this part of the work.

Eight donors could help, she said, by contributing $25,000 each to make possible the eight-lane track. Once work is completed, their names would then be placed in each of the track lanes.

“Recognition for these large donors will also be displayed for the 2 million cars that pass the stadium,” Hobbs said.

Some work to modernize the stadium already began several weeks ago, consisting of clearing brush, moving dirt, and preparing for future infrastructure while discarding old, unusable equipment.

One problem that came about was the relocation of the field house.

This also created the need to replace and increase storage at the stadium. The field house was used as storage for each of the baseball teams at RHS.

Enter Bryce Perkins of Tuff Boys Sales and Leasing.

The Lathrop-based company donated two large trailers to remedy the storage problem.

In addition, the Quarterback Club chipped in, pledging another $7,000 to go towards the field house.

Ripon Unified, meanwhile, is still awaiting Phase 1 approval from the Division of State Architect in Sacramento.

For more information, call Hobbs at (209) 599-6861 or log on to www.rcafsite.com.