Background/Purpose of Request:
Background
High school football, soccer, lacrosse and track use our high school stadiums for games. Almost all teams have Varsity and JV teams. Marching bands use the stadiums for competitions and bands need practice space. Increased stadium usage has made it more expensive to provide an adequate quality of stadium grass.
Despite additional expense and effort, the quality of our stadium grass remains subpar due to overuse. One solution would be adding athletic lighting, concession areas, restrooms and bleachers to practice fields. Staff feels assigning some sports to lesser equipped fields is not the preferred option.
Lighting large fields, adding bleachers, scoreboards, and other equipment would bring the cost to approximately $300,000 per high school. Considering the expense, a desire to accommodate all sports equally, and the continually rising maintenance cost of grass, led staff to investigate the installation of artificial turf.
Two immediate concerns are pushing us to make a decision about turf quickly: a subsurface drainage problem at the WBHS field (approximately $120,000 repair); and an athletic improvement project on the North Brunswick field scheduled to receive new irrigation and sod. The contractor has been instructed to stop work until a determination can be made.
Additional Information About Artificial Turf
Our Athletic Directors support use of turf. All have evaluated and confirmed that a single game field with artificial turf could accommodate practice, band events and game schedules for football, soccer and lacrosse (varsity men, varsity women, and JV teams).
Staff has found no current data showing concerns about increased injury or illness resulting from turf.
The NCHSAA supports use of turf. Buncombe County is converting 9 stadiums to turf. Horry County is pursuing options for the placement of turf at all existing county high schools. New Hanover High School practices and plays on artificial turf. The New Hanover High School Athletic Director indicated that they have seen a decrease in injuries, and have been successful in the transition between the use of artificial turf at home and on natural grass at away games.
Cost Breakdown and Comparisons
Traditional Fields Artificial Turf
Initial Investment:
$ 940,000 – Field Improvement Projects $2,400,000 - Initial Installation
$ 900,000 – Cost to equip 3 new playing fields $ 300,000 - Field Underlayment
$ 120,000 – WBHS Field Repairs _________
$1,960,000 $2,700,000
Annual Expenses
$ 100,000 – Annual Repairs & replacement $ 5,000 – Annual Maintenance
for 6 fields $ 40,000 – Replacement set-aside
$ 45,000
Total Cost – 10 Year Cycle
$1,960,000 - Initial Investment $2,700,000 - Initial Investment
$1,000,000 - Maintenance & Replacement $ 450,000 - Maintenance & Replacement
$2,960,000 $3,150,000
In summary, the annual budget impact of turf vs. traditional fields is estimated at $19,000 per year.
School Request:
There is $410,000 of funding currently available for athletic site improvement from other sources. We respectfully request an appropriation of $2,290,000 from Ad Valorem contingency to fund the balance of this project.
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