Students begin new school year months after tornados rip through Greenville

GREENVILLE — Almost every student will return to school today months after a tornado outbreak left serious damage across Greenville.

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As reported on News Center 7 Daybreak, the damage included Greenville High School’s football stadium as storms destroyed parts of the field and press box, as News Center 7 reported in May.

“It was a little heartwrenching that night to come out and see our stadium which has been here for 100 years in the condition that it was in,” Aaron Schaffer, the Greenville City Schools Athletic Director said.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ‘Just devastating;’ Football stadium, historic park damaged in tornado outbreak

Douglas Fries, Greenville City Schools Superintendent, said work is being done to repair the field.

“There’s been a lot of steps to try to get our stadium and athletic facilities back in place and it takes a lot of time to clean up what can happen in a five- or 10-minute period,” he said.

The district had to replace the turf on their football field and some light posts, as well as build a temporary press box for this season.

District leaders say they’re hopeful the field will be ready for the Greenwave’s first home football game on Sept. 6.

They will be keeping a close eye on the progress and make any changes as necessary.

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