FREMONT – Don Paul Stadium will have a whole new look next fall.
Last week Fremont Ross began the several-weeks long project of replacing its artificial turf field with a newer surface.
A fork lift loads a portion of the playing surface of Don Paul Stadium onto a flatbed truck to be hauled away as part of renovations to the field.
The project, costing approximately $370,000, removed the old surface last week with installation of the new surface set for May 1, is expected to be done well in time for the spring’s graduation on June 3.
While surfaces like the one removed from Don Paul Stadium typically have a 10-year life expectancy, Ross’ field was installed 13 years ago, prior to the 2005 season. Athletic director Chad Berndt gives credit for the field’s longevity to district groundskeeper Cory Hull.
Despite his best effort, Hull said the field shows its age.
“When you just walk on it, you can feel each one of the hash marks,” Hull said. “Was it enough to roll someone’s ankle? Probably not. It’s like the lips on a ball field, is it horrible? No, but you wish it was better. Eventually, it’ll keep degrading until the point where they’re just playing on sand and rubber.”
Berndt said the school has the field tested every year to determine its softness using a G-Max test. While the field still tested well within the range of normal, the district decided the 2017 football season would be the surface’s last.
The field at Don Paul stadium is being replaced for a newer, safer field.
“The green turf was definitely more normal, but the lower-end normal range was the white striping because of the fibers themselves had deteriorated because they were made of a different type of material,” Berndt said. “Actually, the coloring pigment actually caused it to whether a little different than the green.”
“We decided, after last year’s G-Max test, it would be right for us to go ahead and replace it at this time and due to the fact we’ve done a good job saving money over the years, we had enough in our general fund account to go ahead and replace it.”
Hull said the new field will have similar properties as the previous version, but the technology used to make the fields has improved, which will be evident when the new surface is installed.
“Specs size, we’re sticking with a similar path that we had,” Hull said. “The filaments are better, the turf itself is so much more rigid and stronger, the process is so much better. We’re getting our money’s worth.”
The field at Don Paul stadium is being replaced for a newer, safer field.
As for the design of the new field, whether it will continue to feature helmets of Fremont Ross and St. Joseph Central Catholic, or any other aesthetic details, are being held close to the vest until unveiled.
“The design element of it was carefully looked at between the various organizations that use it,” Berndt said, choosing his words carefully. “We were sensitive to that and wanted to make sure no entity was overlooked. The field will have a very community-based theme to it.”