The early Saturday sun glistened off of the fresh turf field as Aurora Public Schools students took their first steps — or sprints — on the district's new sports stadium.

Aurora Public Schools (APS) unveiled $3 million in renovations to the district's stadium, directly behind Hinkley High School, on Saturday at the district's first sporting event of the 2024-2025 school year — a middle school and P-8 school track meet bringing together all 14 schools in the area.

Around 600 middle school students took to the new track and field — topped off with repainted seating, new concession stands, a 20-foot by 30-foot video board, metal detector entries and a freshly painted district logo at midfield. 

The stadium, which has been around since 1963, has never seen a significant revamp like this effort funded by a 2016 voter-approved bond and the district's athletic department budget, along with the help of some sponsors.

The track had become slippery, the turf had seen new rips and the antiquated scoreboard had become impossible to see. 

"We have every little detail completely redone," said Casey Powell, the district athletics and activities director for APS who spearheaded the entire venture.

But Powell didn't do it alone. Students from all over the district helped out, with over 50 kids from high school varsity teams helping paint the stands over the summer. Their teams received club funds for equipment in return, Powell said.

"It's amazing for our kids and Aurora taxpayers. It's one thing to redo classrooms and things the parents never see, but to do this and show them something directly for our students, everyone that has come out has been in awe," Powell said.

The stadium will host all APS sports across 21 programs — from football and track to soccer and lacrosse. 

"It's something that definitely needed to be replaced," Shane Ward, head track coach at Vista PEAK, said of the stadium's track. "It wasn't necessarily dangerous, but it was getting weathered."

"The students have been excited," he continued. "The middle school students, this is their first taste of it. But, some of the high school kids that I coach and teach, when I show them pictures of it, they're excited to get back out here."

The parents are excited, too.

"I'm glad they updated it. The turf was in really bad shape... The conditions were dangerous" Paul Stewart, who has had multiple children play at the stadium since moving to Aurora in 2001, said.

Stewart added that he's "absolutely" happy with tax money going toward school renovations.

"Our kids deserve it," Powell concluded. "Every inch of this place I've touched and tried to make better for the kids. I want the best facilities so our kids in middle school stay here for high school, and then our kids in high school are playing at the highest level so they can get to whatever they want to do after school."