The Aaron King Memorial Oval at the high school has been out of action for the past year as upgrades were made to the detention basin.

Before the upgrade, the oval was prone to flooding and had several cracks running across the ground. 

Mr King’s wife, Lisa, and children stood alongside the school’s teachers, students and Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten to officially open the oval on Wednesday. 

Mrs King said her husband was a passionate footy fan so having an oval in his name was a fitting tribute. 

“You’re always worried that people are going to forget him and now I know that his name and his memory is living on,” she said.

School football captain Grant Holt, 16, said that after 12 months of waiting, he was keen to play some footy on his home ground.

“The team’s been waiting for this for a while now so it will be great to play our first game here,” Grant said.