Machetanz Field is first class, beautiful

To the editor:

I love beautiful things. Beautiful places give a community character.

Darlene and I attend almost every home game of the Palmer High School football Moose. A new artificial turf had been installed at Machetanz Field for the 2012 season. We knew the task had not yet been completed. When we returned this fall for the game against Bartlett High School, we were not prepared to see the magnificent beauty of the completed sports stadium. It is far more than a playing field for football. It will facilitate soccer and track events for years to come and is adequate to host the top state championships in those sports.

The expanded seating and the landscaping of our stadium were well thought-out and designed by the architects. The new Machetanz Stadium is the most handicapped-accessible I have ever seen at the high school level. Of course, nature has provided the backdrop for all of this. I stood in awe as my eyes spanned the newly completed facility.

Funding for such a project often makes a community blink. I do not know the final cost, but I am certain it called for the expenditure of millions. Thanks go to the late Rep. Carl Gatto, the Alaska State Legislature and our local delegation, and most of all the residents of the area who had the wisdom to pass a school bond issue that included funds for the stadium.

I hope everyone in the area comes to at least one football game this fall to see a very good Moose football team and also to see what we have collectively done for kids. Machetanz Field is first-class and beautiful.

Howard Bess

Palmer