Same place, new name: Clark’s Pump-N-Shop – Putnam Stadium unveiled Friday

Ashland opens the 2023 high school football season Friday with a traditional matchup against Raceland in Clark’s Pump-N-Shop-Putnam Stadium.

The name on the outside is slightly different but the championship level expectations are the same.

So why the name change?

A 10-year agreement with Clark’s Pump-N-Shop will bring artificial turf to the stadium at the start of the 2024 season. Clark’s Pump-N-Shop’s donation to the Putnam Stadium Restoration Fund included naming rights for the 10-year period beginning Sept. 1, 2023, along with some other perks.

Fans will see “Clark’s Pump-N-Shop-Putnam Stadium” banners Friday in front of the stadium before more permanent markings go up in the weeks ahead at the two main gates, on the scoreboard and outside the stadium.

The artificial turf was part of the Putnam Stadium Restoration committee’s plan from the beginning. Early fundraising efforts and money from the school system allowed for the deconstruction of the original stadium. It was put back together with many of the original features and some new ones, including construction of a bigger press box and corner bleachers.

Through the efforts of Steve Conley and Joe McDavid mainly, the turf at Putnam Stadium has looked pristine. They carefully cut and manicure it throughout the summer months and few stadiums anywhere look better on opening night. Conley and McDavid do the job for the love of the Tomcats (nothing monetary) and they are not getting any younger. Lining the field is another obstacle before every game and that has been mostly done on a volunteer basis, too. It takes time, effort and expertise to do it right, and it is getting more difficult each year to get volunteers to help.

Artificial turf takes away most field maintenance and makes the stadium a multi-purpose facility. It took a huge corporate package to make it happen and Clark’s Pump-N-Shop, a strong local community partner in so many other ways, saw the need and agreed to the plan. The stadium committee has been fundraising for decades and proposed ideas for fans to be involved. But, truth be told, it simply wasn’t enough. Not even close.

So the committee had to look in a different direction for funding and began searching for corporate partners. They had to put together an attractive enough package to interest the Clarks to make a big investment.

Greg Jackson, the longtime committee chairman, worked with marketing guru Jim Host on putting together such a package. Host, an Ashland alum, has been instrumental in marketing deals of much bigger stature, including UK’s Kroger Field and the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. While Putnam Stadium wasn’t anywhere in those neighborhoods, he agreed to do what he could to help the committee put together a competitive deal. His expertise was unbelievable. Any corporate package has perks and this one did too, including name rights, tickets, parking spaces and other branding.

The first game at the stadium – originally named Tomcat Stadium – took place late in the 1937 season so this year marks the 86^th season overall. The stadium was later named Putnam Stadium in the early 1940s, mostly because of its proximity to Putnam Junior High School, then later became Verity Middle School when Coles Junior High and Putnam merged, and then changed again to Ashland Middle School in recent years. Change happens.

Even Ashland High School had a name change to Paul G. Blazer High School in 1963 when it moved to the sprawling campus site.

Clark’s Pump-N-Shop Putnam Stadium may not roll off the tongue just yet. That’s understandable. It takes time. And for some, it may always be “Putnam Stadium.” But next year when the turf goes down, the stadium will mostly be called spectacular.

Enjoy the game.