From rumors that next year’s graduation will be held at Woodside High School to whisperings that football games will be played at the Woodside field, discussions about a bleacher and turf remodel have left students eager for answers.
According to Athletic Director Paul Snow, the bleachers will be demolished within a week of the class of 2026’s graduation to maximize construction time during the summer. Construction will continue into late fall during the 2026-27 school year. The changes being made include larger bleachers and new infrastructure.
Home football games will be held at either Sequoia High School or Woodside. M-A games could be moved to Saturdays if the home school already has a game scheduled for that Friday.
“It’s supposed to be done late fall season, so we might even have some of next year’s late football games there, but that’s really if everything goes perfectly,” Snow said.
The athletics department chose Sequoia and Woodside due to their proximity to M-A. “The District kind of has an obligation to really help out schools in situations like this, so the other schools have been gracious enough to work with us,” Snow said.
The renovation plan includes completely demolishing the current home-side bleachers and replacing them with a wider, more modern structure that will be roughly one-third larger. Another significant change will be the addition of a press box and infrastructure, like outlets.
Rumors that the field will undergo renovations are false. “We got the field and track done somewhat recently,” Snow said. “Juniors, you’re gonna be fine. You’ll be in the new bleachers for graduation.”
The plans also include replacing the small metal bleachers to the side of the main bleachers to ensure Americans with Disabilities Act and safety compliance. “Currently, it doesn’t have guardrails up the aisles or anything like that,” Snow said.
Snow is hopeful that the current field can still be used for other sports that don’t attract as large crowds as football does, like soccer. “We could probably just use the away bleachers for that,” he said.
The away bleachers will remain untouched during these renovations, but they cannot be used this fall during football games due to the large crowds.
Summer football practices will also be affected. “They will probably have to practice on the other turf field, which doesn’t have hash marks, real lines for football, or field goals,” he said.
Sophomore football player Jayden Flores is disappointed that the football team won’t be able to practice and play at M-A. “It sucks, because we’re gonna have to move all the way [to other schools], back and forth and back and forth, and we can’t practice on our own turf,” Flores said.
Flores is also concerned with playing home games at other schools. “I feel like it’s not going to be the same. There’s a lot of pressure involved with rivals and all that stuff,” Flores said.
Freshman football player Kini Tau is excited for the renovations, but worried about low attendance at games. “I feel good about [the renovations], really,” Tau said. “I think it’ll change the games a lot, though, because it’s not our home field, so a lot of people won’t be there.”
“It sucks that it’s taking away most of the season,” junior Griffin Birk said. With next year being his last, he is especially concerned about how the season will feel. “Senior night is a special night where it is your last home game. That being away from school kind of ruins that,” Birk said.
Despite this impact, the football program is unsure how the impact will play out. “This has yet to be discussed with players and families as we do not know the extent of the impact that this will have upon us,” varsity football coach Christopher Saunders said.
Snow is hopeful that if all goes according to plan, the impact on football practice can be minimal. “Hopefully, come August, they can practice on the field. We just have to stay out of that area entirely during the demo, and that’s going to be basically the summer months,” Snow said.
The renovation is being funded with bond money, which is voter-approved funds. Snow explained that this money usually goes to classrooms, and is excited that some of it went to athletics to support these changes. “This is something that I’ve been working on for literally, like 15 years, and so it’s exciting to have come to fruition finally,” he said.
“Football is a large organization with lots of moving parts, equipment, and a heavy use of various facilities on campus. This project will undoubtedly interfere with our operations, but we will have to adjust and make do ultimately,” Saunders said.
