Leon Williams Stadium to be closed for renovations

If you like to take a regular run on the track at Clovis High School’s Leon Williams Stadium, you won’t be allowed to do that anymore.

The track and stadium will be closed for renovations beginning this week, according to a news release from Clovis schools. The work is expected to continue through the summer.

Once the renovations are done, the track will be officially classified as an “X1000 World Athletics certified track” – a competition track only, according to the news release.

CMS administrators said the renovation marks the first track upgrade of this magnitude in about 17 years.

The renovation has a projected cost of $2.2 million.

Funds came through New Mexico Senate Bill 212, legislation intended for maintenance and repairs.

According to the news release, the project will involve a complete teardown of the track, followed by replacement of the base course and sub-base and a new track surface.

Long jump, triple jump, pole vault and high jump areas will also be resurfaced and new curbs and additional concrete features will be added.

Though public access to the stadium will resume following construction, in the interest of maintaining the integrity of the track for competition and practice by school athletes, public access to the track will not be permitted, according to the news release.

The news release lists alternate track facilities at Yucca and Gattis Middle schools, in addition to playgrounds and athletic fields district wide, as available for public use outside of school hours.