Marcos de Niza varsity football team to play first home game on new field

TEMPE, Ariz. (KSAZ) - The Marcos de Niza Padres are ready.

The varsity football team takes on Sahuaro High from Tucson tonight on the school's brand new football field. Renovations on the old field started last spring.

"All the way down to the sod, put new watering system in, a new drainage system, and of course new sold," Principal Sean McDonald said. "It took four months."

Renovating the field cost $200,000 total. It was paid for by the NFL, Arizona Cardinals, and the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority.

"Over the years, we've helped to build, working with the Arizona Cardinals, 13 fields over the years," Dominic Braham said.

"It gives them another shot in the arm," said Eric Lauer, Padres head coach. "We got a new surface. Somebody is thinking of us and we want to play well on this field."

Lauer, the new head coach for the Padres, says the new field has already motivated athletes at the school to try harder, and the players agree.

"I want to set a good example for the younger guys, I want them to have an intensity that can't be matched," Eliye Oshaye said.