He wasn’t watching a game; he was watching a crew of workers from Chenango Contracting installing the artificial turf on the athletics field.

The process of getting a permit from the Adirondack Park Agency for the 80-foot lights took longer than anticipated, which delayed the start of construction by three weeks at the start of the summer. Payette said they’ve already made up for that lost time, thanks to the hard work of the construction crews.

He said they’re set to be able to host first girls soccer game on Sept. 4.

The crews started laying turf on Friday.

Workers with Chenango Contracting roll out the new artificial turf on the Saranac Lake High School athletics field on Friday. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

“Traffic slows down now,” Payette said, just a few minutes before the driver of a truck passing by on state Route 3 honked and waved as they braked to rubberneck.

The bleachers can fit 509 spectators, Payette said.

“For the next five years, there will be nothing like it,” he said of the stadium.

On Friday, workers with Next Era Contracting were wiring up the tall light stands.

Even with lighting up an entire sports complex, the project’s lighting received a Dark Skies certification for limiting light pollution.

Payette said the polls don’t have a bank of lights, just a few strategically placed ones. That’s why the light poles had to be so high.

The lighting poles planned for the field are taller than 40 feet, which put the entire project within the APA’s jurisdiction for review. They’ve been described as creating a bubble of light, without much spill-over.

“If you walk beyond these lights, away from the field, with your back to the field, you will walk 10 feet and you will see darkness,” Payette said.

The turf, lights and scoreboard project will not increase local taxes. This project will use $2.8 million of the district’s $3.8 million Capital Reserve Fund — a construction fund for borrowing money — along with $397,563 in additional capital funds.