MACON, Ga. — Macon-Bibb County officials recently broke ground on phase three of improvements at Henderson Stadium, and one coach says the improvements show Bibb County is invested in the community.
"If I had to pick a stadium to play in, I'd rather play in Henderson than any other in town," Barney Hester said.
Bibb County Schools Athletic Director Barney Hester says it is Henderson Stadium's history that makes him love this field.
"The crowd is pretty close to you, when you fill this place up or get it half full, it is just a great environment," Hester said.
Overtime the stadium fell into disrepair, needing improvements from top to bottom.
"The turf had gotten pretty bad, the drainage," Hester said.
SPLOST coordinator for the county Clay Murphey says the stadium has not been renovated since the 1960s.
"Bibb County got $3.8 million from the sale of Ed DeFore Sports Complex, so we began identifying the needs here -- new sports lighting, so we put in LED sports lighting," Murphey said.
The first two project phases included fixing the stands, replacing fences, and fixing the drainage. Now crews are starting another round of improvements.
"Two field houses, a concession stand, handicapped restrooms, a whole new entrance to the stadium," Murphey said.
Phase three cost $2.1 million and should be finished by June 2020.
"Our students in Bibb County deserve having the nicest facilities that we can provide, and what the county has done here will make this stadium as good as any around," Murphey said.
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