Huff-Mosley Memorial Stadium’s Pettit Field is set for a makeover in December.
The Gilmer County Board of Education unanimously approved to replace the top layer of the field at a cost of $320K, which will be paid for with the 2015 educational special purpose local option sales tax funds.
When the field was originally installed in 2016, the cost was in excess of $1 million. The turf’s lifespan is 10 years, and currently costs between $450 to $500K to replace.
“At the conclusion of 2022, we will have played seven seasons on the field,” superintendent Dr. Brian Ridley said at last Monday’s August work session. “That means replacement will occur three years early. The AstroTurf proposal is approximately $140K to $165K off the normal price of replacement. Divided across those three years, that brings the excess cost of turf replacement to near zero.”
Ridley laid out the process of replacing the turf, a project the school system has been researching for the past 12 months.
Back in August of last year, board member Michael Parks inquired about the fading of the purple-colored end zones. Assistant superintendent Dana Berry reached out to AstroTurf, the field’s manufacturer, to see if the fading could be quantified and if it was covered under the turf’s warranty.
The school system discussed replacing the turf toward the end of last football season at a discounted price, but did not receive a quote from AstroTurf until February. The school system also reached out to Shaw Industries, FieldTurf and Sports Turf to discuss products offered.
Shaw’s quote for new turf was approximately $434K and FieldTurf was $445K. In April and May, the school system was in regular contact with AstroTurf, discussing the compaction of the current field in an attempt to improve the situation.
“We weren’t very satisfied with AstroTurf’s original proposal of $385K,” Ridley said. “So we went back to talk to them about it again and ended up having a meeting with them in June on the field, and the conversation was a little heated there for a while. But they finally agreed to come back with an additional discount. So we were looking at approximately $320K to replace the field.
“AstroTurf is the manufacturer of the field we have now. SportsTurf are the people who installed it. It gets pretty confusing because you have Field Turf, SportsTurf and AstroTurf. SportsTurf is in different hands now so we’ve been dealing directly with AstroTurf.”
Berry reached out to Shaw two weeks ago, and their proposal increased to $465K since February. The main considerations when selecting new turf is the weight, which is measured in ounces per square foot, and it indicates the density of the (artificial) grass. Length is also a factor, and the current field is at 1 1/4 inches with a recommended 1/4 inch of fill below the grass line.
Because of the field’s high density and compaction over the years, the fill is hardly able to do its job. This has resulted in a slick matted down surface that offers much less cushion when compared to opposing schools’ fields.
The new turf is less dense, and the grass length will be 2 1/4 inches with 1 3/4 inches of fill below the grass line. The pad below the turf has a 20-year warranty, is in good condition and does not need to be replaced.
The new turf will more accurately mimic real grass and comes with an eight-year warranty. It will be installed by AstroTurf from Dec. 15 through Dec. 31, and the field will be ready for soccer season.