Mount Carmel “Snake Pit” getting facelift with new field turf installation

MOUNT CARMEL, Ill. (WFIE) - Big changes are in store for Mount Carmel High School’s Riverview Stadium, also known as “The Snake Pit.”

The 95-year-old football field is transitioning from grass to field turf.

School officials also plan to lay down a new eight-lane track, as well as install new bleachers for the visiting side, a new press box, field lights, scoreboard, fieldhouse, concession and restroom facility.

The plan also includes sandblasting and sealing the iconic, 126-step long concrete bleachers built into the steep hill on the home side of the field.

“The Snake Pit is a pretty special place in this town – people love to come to watch games here,” Mount Carmel Athletic Director Kyle Buss said. “The updates that are happening are just gonna make this place even better. Over the long haul, I think we’re gonna save a lot of money between the hours that the janitors are down here mowing the field, striping the field and lining it for games.

The football team is not the only team to benefit from the new facilities, but so will the soccer program. The team will now be able to play its home games on the turf.

“To get our soccer kids back to our facility, playing on our campus, is gonna be huge,” Buss said. “I think the community is gonna come out here and see how beautiful it is, and they’re really gonna like it.”

Buss said they are hoping to have the field and track finished sometime in early August.

Copyright 2022 WFIE. All rights reserved.