ALEXANDRIA — Jim Bridge said he pinches himself every day. 

The Hanson School District is nearing completion of renovation to its football field and track and field facility. The project includes a new eight-lane track, a turf football field and track and field amenities, among other items. The $4.1 million project began this spring and is slated to be finished before the football home opener Sept. 9. 

“I pinch myself every day and I am just so proud of what we are going to be able to have,” said Bridge, who is Hanson’s athletic director and superintendent. 

The turf field pops with the school’s patented block letter “H” displayed at the 50-yard line, along with “Hanson” and “Beavers” on the end zones. The track surface will soon be rubberized and lanes will be striped before the football opener, said Bridge. 

The Hanson School District is nearly completion of its new football turf and track and field facilities. (Matt Gade / Rapid City Journal)

The funding for the project was provided through the school’s capital outlay fund. The school continues to raise money through donations for track equipment, such as hurdles, jumping/pole vault pits, throwing areas and starting blocks. The jumping and throwing areas will be just to the east of the football field. 

The project will also include a storage shed for equipment, restroom upgrades, bleacher/press box expansion and new LED lights. There will be an additional 350 seats added to the grandstand.

“These facilities are going to be top-notch,” Bridge said. “I’ve had people come through here and see it from AA schools and say ‘Wow, what you guys have here is amazing.’ ” 

The school district asked the South Dakota High School Activities Association to play on the road early in the season to accommodate the project’s completion. 

The Hanson School District is nearly completion of its new football turf and track and field facilities. (Matt Gade / Rapid City Journal)

The previous track and field surface was a seven-lane asphalt track and the school hasn’t “hosted a track meet in probably 20-plus years,” Bridge said. Hanson will host a junior high meet and high school meet this upcoming spring, while it’ll get in the rotation for conference and region meets. The new Hanson track will be an all-weather, rubberized surface. 

Bridge compared the project to facilities at Wagner and Wall, which both have turf fields and rubberized track surfaces. It’s also fitting upgrades for Hanson, which won the Class B boys track and field title in 2021 and has a strong football tradition. 

The Hanson School District is nearly completion of its new football turf and track and field facilities. (Matt Gade / Rapid City Journal)

“The tradition we’ve had in both track and football has been strong,” Bridge said. “Our football program has always been pretty solid over the years. It just was the right timing for a lot of it to all take place.”

Bridge also praised the Alexandria community and Hanson alumni for being the backbone of the project. 

“Our community has responded so well with the donations and the support of it,” Bridge said. “The expectations are that you want as good of equipment and facilities for your kids as possible. It’s a huge investment for our school and it’s a huge investment for our community.”