In the midst of an athletic stadium renovation project, Palmerton Area School District has reached an agreement with neighboring Lehighton to use its facilities for fall sports practices.

The agreement mainly impacts Palmerton's football teams, Superintendent Scot Engler said Tuesday, but other teams such as soccer could also be making the trip."It is a rent-free agreement that I worked out with Lehighton's superintendent," Engler said. "We will incur some cost for transportation and our athletic director is working that out."Palmerton is adding an artificial turf playing surface and an all-weather track at its stadium. Crews are adding topsoil from the stadium to the football practice field.According to the district's general construction contract with Penn Builders Inc., the expected completion date for the project is Aug. 25.Palmerton is scheduled to host its first home football game on Sept. 8.Board member Barry Scherer asked if all student-athletes would be required to use district transportation to get to Lehighton for practices."We haven't discussed it, but that is going to be my recommendation," Engler said.Engler said the contract was completed with the help of attorneys representing Palmerton and Lehighton."There will be a trainer on site provided by Palmerton and part of the agreement is that all of our insurances remain in place," he said.