Tangipahoa Parish School Board members took some procedural moves Tuesday after a lighting project at Independence High Magnet School left the football field unusable for the foreseeable future. The nearly $300,000 lighting project was completed in late September; however, the football field was deemed unacceptable for use last Friday night by officials from the Louisiana High School Athletic Association. The LHSAA move forced IHMS to borrow Loranger’s field to play a delayed game last Friday night, and the Tigers will be forced to play their Homecoming game at Hammond High Magnet this Thursday because the field is still unacceptable for regulation play.
Officials said they are looking at the project carefully, noting that there are ruts in the field in addition to sand on the playing surface. The board is reviewing the contract and looking into remedies related to the damage at the field. Those damages include loss of revenue from two home games that have been moved to other venues, as well as repairs the board will have to authorize in order to get the field back in working condition.
