Today’s Varsity football game against Eastside Catholic marks an important landmark event for Arlington High School. Not only is the school receiving a $200,000 grant from the NFL and a $25,000 grant from ESPN to help pay for the newly installed turf, but members from the Seahawks franchise such as the Blue Thunder drumline, the Seagals cheerleaders, and the Seahawks’ own mascot Blitz will be performing during halftime.

In addition to this, Eastside Catholic will be presenting a donation to the AHS’s Athletic Department. This Friday’s game is sure to be an exciting event, and certainly one that will go down as a major point in the schools’ history.

A price tag of over $1,000,000, the recent grant from the NFL will greatly help to cover the enormous cost of the new turf. One of only fifteen schools in the nation to receive an NFL grant this year, AHS has attracted much attention from Seattle’s own Seahawks, and there are rumors that several players will be in attendance at christening of the new field, though nothing has been confirmed as of yet. Due to be presented during the halftime show – in which both the Blue Thunder drumline and the SeaGals cheerleaders will be performing – members of the district office will receive the grant.

So what set AHS apart from other schools during the application process?

Athletic director Tom Roys said that the school did a good job of “showing need” as it was the “only 4A without turf” in Western Washington. “It probably didn’t hurt that the Seahawks won the Super bowl” he adds. Now, what was once a churning mess of mud and grass with pools of viscous mud that dotted the field has now been replaced by the homogenous green expanse of the new turf. The field has transitioned from a harmful inconvenience to something the school can be proud of.

As well as the grant from the NFL, ESPN has also donated a sizable $25,000 that will be going towards renovating other sports facilities at the school. According to Tom Roys, the money will most likely be used to replace the current scoreboard at the field, which now stands in stark contrast to the turf.

Arlington’s opponents on Friday’s game, Eastside Catholic, will have the opportunity to be the first team Arlington plays on their new field. As well as this, Eastside Catholic has also generously decided to donate a sum of money to the AHS’ athletic department. When asked as to what the money will be spent on, Roys responded, “I don’t know, it’s sort of up to the donor to decide where the money goes”.

With all of the generous donations towards AHS, the school will hopefully be able to afford renovations on much of the schools’ sports and academic facilities. Today’s game is sure to be an important one, and one that shouldn’t be missed by the Arlington community.