​By Natalie Brevick and Sudha Gururaj

Sometime during the last week of July, several Campbell High School sports facilities were heavily vandalised and many items were stolen, placing another financial strain on the school’s athletics programs.

The sports programs at Campbell were financially suffering already due to cancellations and lost ticket and concession revenue. Because of the coronavirus, only 30 percent of the maximum capacity of each venue is allowed, creating a decrease in ticket and concession sales. But with the recent turn of events, there might be even more to be worried about.

In total, the price of all the stolen items included in the Smyrna Police Department’s report adds up to $2,819. Among many high-priced items stolen were an ipad Air, Handycam camcorder, white 12×12 M-series 2 Pro Tent, blue 12×12 M-Series 2 Pro Tent, Talkabout T280 rechargeable two-way radio bundle – white, 155Wh portable power station, 55-inch TV, sphygmomanometer, stethoscope, and Enlites. According to the Campbell football team, other stolen items weren’t included in the police report because there wasn’t enough information on them, including multiple televisions.

In addition to stolen items, parts of the school were heavily wrecked. Most of the things vandalised will have to be replaced, and were more expensive than the stolen items. Windows were broken out of the press box at Campbell’s football stadium, a door was kicked in on the Spirit Shack, a lacrosse goal was stolen, all soccer nets were cut and laid out around the track, and recently installed turf was cut, per the police report.

The lacrosse goal cost $1,000 and the soccer nets that were cut cost $2,000. The new turf that was cut had to be replaced in some spots. Though there were many things damaged because of the mischief, Campbell has had an offer to replace a $300 tent. Since the vandalism happened over a month ago it seems to be all cleaned up.

“The vandalism parts are all cleaned up, there’s nothing really to do,” said Campbell head football coach Howie DeCristofaro. “The things that we need are the things that were taken from the building.”

In order to pay for the things that were stolen, Campbell is planning to raise money through fundraisers and boosters.

“We’re a program without a whole lot of money, you know we get a fundraiser this summer and raise some money,” said DeCristofaro. “This community is very diverse and it’s over a large area, so it’s kind of hard for people to have a real community spirit when it’s so big. Campbell is struggling to pass and we’re hoping to change that this year.”

Since the break-ins, Campbell has begun planning to take extra safety precautions to make sure that similar incidents don’t happen in the future.

“We’ve added a couple motion sensors outside, so if somebody’s coming around, especially with all the construction going on, it lets off an alarm so we know that something is going on,” said DeCristofaro when asked on if Campbell was going to take any extra safety precautions.

The recent happenings have been a big hit for Campbell athletics. With the budget available, Campbell will have to also buy other items. Because of the coronavirus, Campbell had to purchase masks and sanitation equipment to maximize safety at a cost of $500. In addition to stolen items and damaged parts of the school, there have been other problems pertaining to the athletics program. Several competitive leagues have had to be shut down costing Campbell $30,000. In all, about $10,000 was lost due to the vandalism.

Natalie Brevick and Sudha Gururaj are students at Campbell High School and aspiring sports reporters.