Not much more than a year passed before Satellite High's efforts to raise money to upgrade its track hit the goal.

Coach Doug Butler said the coaches and administrators know they needed at least $150,000 to replace what he described as "a six lane, terrible asphalt track."

The goal was an eight-lane rubberized track over new asphalt, with cement curbing added, and the facility is now complete. The high jump pad was also rubberized, along with three runways for jumping events. There is a new disc cage and shot put area.

The school raised $165,000 in 13 months with the help of, among others, community leaders and local businesses. The school system paid for the resurfacing of the asphalt.

The first meet will be March 2 and will feature 20 teams. This season, there will be seven meets on the new surface, including some middle school events. The Cape Coast Conference championship will be at Satellite on March 28.

"We're going to put in for regionals. We'd love to have some AAU meets in the summer," Butler said. "It's the same polyurethane that you see at most high schools in the country."

But this track won't be identical. Unlike most, it will be open for public use at designated times.

"That's why a lot of people helped us out. It'll be open two nights a week and sun-up to sundown Saturday and Sunday." 

The weekdays will be Tuesday and Thursday, 5-7 p.m., until March, when the weekdays will be Monday and Thursday.

Astronaut, Merritt Island, Holy Trinity and Melbourne Central Catholic also have rubberized tracks. In 2000, Brevard had none.

"We're getting there," Butler said, referencing the proliferation of rubberized surfaces here. "I would say we're in the top 10 counties in the state, but it's mostly private schools that have them, and very few are open to public use."

There could be more upgraded tracks coming to the area. Rockledge cross country and track coach Ed Sebetka said Raiders coaches are in the early stages of trying to raise money to add a rubber surface at the central Brevard campus.

"We've talked about it for many years. The goal is to have a facility where you could host a track meet and bring revenue back to the program," Sebetka said. "We need to move forward with it or quit talking about it."

Sebetka noted a goal of $200,000. After one small fundraiser, the program's total is just shy of $10,000. He admitted a sponsor or significant donor would be a boost.

"Next track season would be a great timeline," he said. "If we can get 25 grand, that shows we're serious about this." 

Contact McCallum at 321-242-3698 or bmccallum@floridatoday.com. Follow @Brian_McCallum on Twitter.

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