Upper Field to be Turfed

The upper field is set to be renovated and transformed into a turf field, similar to the football field with the goal of making the area much more useful to a variety of sports teams.

“When you replace the grass with turf, you save water and maintenance time,” principal Paul Robinson said. “Also, when it rains, you can play on the surface within hours after it stops.”  

Additionally, the school will be adding stadium lights to help practices that run into evening hours. With prices set and the plan almost complete, the school is waiting until summer break to begin renovations. According to Robinson, the project will cost about $3.75 million of the $44 million Saratoga High receives from the Measure E bond.

Assistant principal Kevin Mount said he hopes the project will be completed by the start of the 2015 school year.

The current plans are to put turf on the softball diamond as well as the soccer field, but the softball diamond would remain elevated above the soccer portion of the field instead of the original plan to level out the entire field. According to Mount, this change saved enough money for the school to invest in other improvements such as new fencing, a new backstop and new dugouts for the softball field.

Robinson pointed out that the field will be more friendly to all types of sports because the lines on the field would be drawn in permanently.

He also mentioned that with the renovations, the field would be safer for athletes and would improve seating by the addition of bleachers and dedicated seating areas.

The field, however, is projected to save the school money in the long run.

“We anticipate saving labor costs on an ongoing basis, both in terms of upkeep and striping for practice and games,” Mount said. “These upgrades will improve the aesthetics of the facility and will improve our ability to rent the fields to generate revenue.”

Recently, different college bands, such as the UCLA marching band and University of Utah drumline rented the Benny Pierce Field to rehearse for their competitions that took place nearby. Improving other facilities on campus will open up different parts of the school to more public rentals, they said.