A team’s playing facility sometimes plays a big role in the outcome of a game. Particularly in football.

Ask anyone who has been on the turf at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock to face Arkansas or at Tuscaloosa to play the Crimson Tide from Alabama.

Coach Joe Paterno isn’t the only reason Penn State has won a lot of games over the years.

Here’s a bit of trivia that will win you money on Jeopardy.

Which stadium has the second largest seating capacity in the nation?

Stumped? It’s Beaver Stadium at State College, Pennsylvania, where the Nittany Lions play. The facility seats 107,282.

When I first moved to Oak Harbor and became the sports editor at the Whidbey News-Times, folks told me horror stories about the condition of the field at Memorial Stadium.

So horrifying that I expected a playing surface resembling the British Open course at St. Andrews, Scotland — all that would be missing were those evil-looking little pot bunkers and the waist-high rough.

I suppose it’s not unusual for reporters to be lied to.

I have coached and played on a few fields that were considerably worse than the one we have.

Sherman County’s field has trenches a couple of inches deep stretching across the turf where they put down so much yard-marker lime over the years the soil rotted away. The “grooves” made for some strange bounces when the tip of the football landed in one on a kickoff or a punt.

Then there were the old lights at Pilot Rock. Six squirrels sitting on top of the poles holding cigarette lighters would have provided more illumination.

Another playing field sloped away, rather rapidly, toward the street about two steps beyond the back line of the east end zone. Backs and wide receivers learned to drop the anchor in a hurry after scoring a touchdown!

Here at Oak Harbor the field has simply suffered the ravages of time.

Dips and undulations are clearly visible, the field is not level and the Wildcats are forced to travel to another site for home playoff games.

The condition of the field causes safety concerns and the potentiality of players being injured.

A new field is scheduled for construction and there have been complaints raised by some people concerning the cost of the facility.

This bothers me.

Sure it will be nice to have al the bells and whistles — a covered grandstand, on-site locker rooms and a press box, but the bottom line is, a playing field must provide a safe venue for the athletes.

How do you put a price on a kid’s safety? You can’t.

That’s why they put seatbelts, air bags and child safety seats