The board agreed on the transfer Wednesday after a bit of discussion, and also wanted to better make the distinction that the field is named after two former Saranac Lake coaches — Ken Wilson and John Raymond — not someone named Wilson Raymond.

The project is currently waiting on final approval from the state Education Department, but board Chair Mark Farmer said they needed to make this decision now to have their design group start creating graphics for the new artificial turf field at the high school.

There was a bit of discussion and debate on the board over moving the name. But Farmer said they wanted to keep Wilson and Raymond’s history alive for future generations in a prominent place.

“I think the alumni strongly felt that our our premier facility should recognize the contributions of these two great men and that they shouldn’t be kind of left in the dust,” said Farmer, who was an assistant coach under Raymond for 10 years before succeeding him in 1999.

Red Storm quarterback Zack Goetz slides at Wilson-Raymond field in Saranac Lake on Sept. 21 to avoid a tackle. The Wilson-Raymond field name will be transferred to a new artificial turf field to be constructed at the high school across the street, possibly some time this year. (Enterprise photo — Parker O'Brien)

Farmer also played under Raymond as a student in the 1970s.

He ran the name transfer idea by the Raymond family and they told him anything that honors John is fine.

“We don’t want to lose some of that history and tradition of those two men who contributed greatly to our district,” Farmer said. “It’s less about the precise geographic location, than taking our premium facility and continuing to honor the people who made big contributions to our district.”

SLCSD Superintendent Diane Fox said after the district gets approval from the state, they plan to put the project out to bid over the winter. Right now, she hopes to get work going in the summer in time to complete it by next season. But Farmer added that the timeline is up in the air. It could go longer, depending on how construction goes.

The new field is expected to support more sports — football, flag football, soccer and lacrosse.

“One thing you learn about these turf fields, is, there’s somebody on it every day once you have it,” Farmer said.

There was discussion on the board of naming the whole area as a “sports complex” but the board decided against doing anything like that for now. Farmer said if that happens, it will have to develop naturally.

“The community and the kids will name it,” Fox said. “That’s what will happen over time. It will get a name of some sort.”

The Petrova field will still host modified soccer and football, practices and other sports if the turf field is booked. Right now, there aren’t any plans to rename it.

SLCSD board Member Nancy Bernstein said it bothered her a little bit to not have a name for that field. The board eventually settled on the potential for naming that field to come up organically later.

Farmer said when the time is right, they’ll hold an official “name transfer ceremony,” but they’re not in a rush.

The new press box will have new “Ken Wilson/John Raymond” lettering on it.

Another thing they hope to remedy is the common misconception that “Wilson Raymond” is one person. The new field will carry both coaches’ full names to make it clear.

The district also has a new mascot — “Big Red,” a red tailed hawk with weather elements nodding to the teams’ Red Storm name.

This move would be the first time the Saranac Lake football team has officially relocated its current-day home field since it officially opened in 1963. In the team’s previous years, parts of the current field were used; but it wasn’t in the exact place it is now.

The first-ever varsity football game held on that field took place on Sept. 21, 1963 when Saranac Lake defeated the St. Lawrence Larries 26-0. Bruce Goetz scored the first-ever touchdown on that field. On Oct. 26, in the Red Storm’s home finale, senior quarterback Zack Goetz recorded the final score on a 6-yard run.

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Who were Wilson and Raymond?

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Wilson coached Saranac Lake football from 1926 to 1937, seven consecutive Adirondack Interscholastic League championships in 11 years. His successes came quick. In his first season the team went 5-0 and never let another team score. They outscored their opponents 180-0 with one 82-0 game against Port Henry.

He also coached basketball, track, skating and baseball. His athletes set several state records, went on to co-captain the Georgetown University football team and several became Olympic bobsledding gold medalists.

In 1942, he became a principal for a while as the sitting principal served in World War II — then became the superintendent of schools from 1955 to 1960.

He also coached football from 1940 to 1943 and one season in 1952.

Wilson died in 1972 at 74.

In 1987, the reunion committee for SLHS classes 1935-41 successfully petitioned to name the field after Wilson.

Raymond served in numerous roles in the schools — dean of students, middle school principal, athletic director and superintendent.

During his football coaching career, he led the team to multiple championships, including a state Class C title game at the then-Carrier Dome at Syracuse University in 1995.

Raymond retired in 1998 and died in 2016 at 73.

Jan Plumadore successfully suggested adding Raymond’s name to the field in 2018, also pointing out that Raymond was the one who first floated the idea of naming the field after Wilson 30 years earlier.

Plumadore said he followed the University of Alabama’s “Bryant-Denny Stadium” template.

The turf project

In May, local voters narrowly passed the proposition to convert the current grass field inside the high school track — between the high school building and state Route 3 — to an artificial turf field with lights and a scoreboard.

The artificial turf field was controversial before the vote, with some opposing the turf over concerns of increased injuries and leaching of PFAS “forever chemicals.” Meanwhile, others supported it, saying these concerns were not convincing, and that artificial turf will allow for longer seasons for outdoor practices and games, field use by more teams and reduced maintenance.

It was approved with just a 53.59% majority. With 1,478 total votes, 792 voted for the turf and 686 voted against it. A secondary proposition, to authorize the purchase of bleachers for this field at a maximum cost of $1.25 million, passed by a slightly larger margin — 58.8%, or 862 to 604.

School board members have pledged environmental safety. They have options for what turf product they install and said they want it to match the state’s coming ban on PFAS in artificial turf starting in 2026. Ultimately, it’s their decision, and at some point, they’ll take a vote on a bid for the product.

Farmer said on Thursday that they haven’t chosen a product yet, but they want the best one. There’s new techniques in their creation from the turf people probably think of from the past, he said.

Fox said there are only a handful of turf companies that do business in the North Country, but they can’t go out to bid until the project gets state ED approval.

The turf, lights and scoreboard project will not increase local taxes. This project will use $2.8 million of the district’s $3.8 million Capital Reserve Fund — a construction fund for borrowing money — along with $397,563 in additional capital funds.

The bleachers and press box project will carry a cost for local taxpayers to not exceed $1.25 million. The district will take out a $1.25 million loan to be paid off over 15 years.

This is estimated to have an $8 per year impact for someone who owns a $200,000 home in the district. Property owners with STAR exemptions would have a $7 impact, and those with senior exemptions would have a $4 impact.

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(Sports Editor Parker O’Brien contributed to this report.)