Shaw Stadium is on deck for a serious glow-up.
Detroit Country Day School is pitching a multi-million-dollar overhaul of the venerable stadium on its Beverly Hills campus that would dramatically revamp both the field and the fan experience. The proposal calls for a new NFL-grade playing surface, expanded bleachers, a large video scoreboard, and a rebuilt track and entrance area. Village officials and nearby residents are lined up to review the plans as the project moves through local approvals this month.
Shaw Stadium sits at 22305 West 13 Mile Road on Detroit Country Day's upper-school campus, according to Detroit Country Day School. The venue hosts high school games for football, soccer, and lacrosse and regularly draws families from around Oakland County. Thanks to its location on the upper-school campus, the stadium has become a key hub for school athletics and regional tournaments.
Village leaders are set to take up the stadium application at a Beverly Hills village council meeting at 7 p.m. today in the council chambers at village hall, with a separate special-use request for the scoreboard scheduled for the planning commission on April 22, according to MLive. The filing lays out the public timeline for review and gives residents an early chance to weigh in. If the proposals win approval, the work would proceed under village permits.
NFL-Grade Turf Aimed At Player Safety
The centerpiece of the field makeover is a switch to FieldTurf CORE 2.5, a surface marketed for durability and student-athlete protection and already in use at major programs. The University of Toledo's announcement about its CORE 2.5 installation notes the product is used by teams including the Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, and New England Patriots, according to University of Toledo Athletics. Upgrading the turf would move Shaw Stadium closer to a professional-grade playing environment.
What The Overhaul Would Deliver
Permit documents spell out a long list of visible upgrades. Seating would climb from about 800 spots to roughly 1,220, including 10 ADA-accessible spaces. A new 26-by-19-foot video scoreboard with more than 442,000 LED pixels is planned to handle instant replays and player stats, giving home games a more big-time feel.
The entrance would be rebuilt with 16-foot-tall brick-and-limestone columns leading to terraces designed as gathering spaces for fans and families. Landscaping plans call for 48 new trees and 531 shrubs, and one existing tree would be relocated to help screen the field from public areas.
The proposal also tackles long-standing drainage problems that have plagued the track, adding a retaining wall to address runoff. The track itself would be resurfaced with a navy-blue Beynon Sports all-season polyurethane material mixed with recycled tire granules. Renovation work is slated to wrap up in time for the fall semester, and school officials did not respond to requests for comment, according to MLive.
Permits, Timelines And A Say For Neighbors
The scoreboard will need a separate special-use approval because it exceeds the village's usual size limits, a detail that could lead planners to attach conditions or request tweaks. If both the village council and the planning commission give the green light, construction could move ahead this summer. If not, the school would likely revise its plans and return for additional hearings.
Residents will have a chance to speak up during the public-comment portions of the council meeting and the April 22 planning commission session, where everything from traffic and noise to sightlines could come under the local microscope.
