GREENFIELD – Bulldozers and backhoes have been digging up the grass at Greenfield-Central High School’s soccer field this week with one goal: clearing the way for artificial turf.
An estimated 2,500 to 3,500 tons of dirt will be hauled away, making way for a sub-layer of rock to be laid down before the artificial turf is installed.
Superintendent Harold Olin expects the whole process to take about three weeks, meaning the high school’s boys and girls soccer teams could take to the field by the end of the month if the weather cooperates.
Soccer is a fall sport at Greenfield-Central, where both boys and girls teams compete in the highly competitive Hoosier Heritage Conference.
Greenfield-Central’s athletic director, Jared Manning, has said artificial turf provides a number of advantages for the teams.
“Adding a turf field at our soccer complex (allows) nearly year-round use and (eliminates) the need for rescheduling games or canceling practice due to an unplayable surface following heavy rains,” he shared back in February when the school board started vetting the project, which will cost roughly $815,000.
In 2017, the school district added artificial turf to its high school football field at a cost of nearly $1 million. Manning said it’s been a solid investment, enhancing the field’s safety and playability.
Because artificial turf doesn’t get worn down or damaged like grass does, it opens up the field to increased use.
Manning said the football field has been used by the school’s soccer team and marching band as well as the junior high school football team, among other groups.
Olin expects the same to be true at the soccer field, which sits just north of the high school on McKenzie Road. The project is part of a collection of improvements throughout the district to be covered by proceeds from a bond the school board sold in November.
“The hope was to have the field completed before August, yet we ran into a few permitting obstacles,” said Olin.
“Any time you work near a flood zone you can expect a few delays. Thankfully the local surveyor, city officials, county officials and state (Department Of Natural Resources) staff were all cooperative in this joint effort. I think everyone will be very happy with the finished product,” he said.
Artificial turf is not only more durable but more efficient, allowing rainwater to trickle down to the rock layer below rather than muddying up the field.
The turf will be installed by Maumee Bay, the same company that installed artificial turf on the high school’s football field.
“They’ve done a lot of high profile jobs for the NFL as well as professional soccer,” said Olin.
In the meantime, Greenfield-Central’s soccer teams will utilize the practice field just west of the main field in hopes of being back to their official turf sometime this month.
