Artificial Turf Field to Support All Field Sports

JD Malone of the Express-Times has an article today about the new turf field at Nazareth (read the article here). In it he notes costs (not part of the MS project), use, and surprise at the lack of opposition by the public.

I personally would think that the lack of opposition is due to the fact that opposition couldn't stop a new MS that replicates the one we have now, nor could it stop a swimming pool in that building, so why would people believe they could stop this? Unresponsive government tends to lead to an apathetic public.

Having said that, there were some other interesting aspects to this article:

• "With five varsity sports surrendering practice or performance fields to the new middle school, Nazareth Area School District Superintendent Victor Lesky said the district needs an all-weather, multiple-use field."

When the site selection was made we wanted to have a campus and as a result it had to be on this site over any other. At the recent Upper Nazareth Twp meeting the NASD noted that it was dangerous to have HS juniors driving through a lot when the MS released so they needed two way traffic at Mitchell. An NASD decision, results in the 'need' to have something else.

Now, we need to invest an additional $1.2M because the NASD decided to put a building on their existing fields. Again, an NASD decision, results in the 'need' to spend money on something else.

• "...we need a field capable of handling football, soccer, field hockey and lacrosse," Lesky said of the proposed improvements to the more than 40-year-old stadium.

There are many components to a stadium. The Press Box, Bleachers, and Sound System are all reasonably new (within last 10 years I believe). The grass field is reseeded regularly. The cinder track is what is most often complained about so...

• "The flexibility of the field means the elimination of the cinder track at the stadium -- soccer requires a much wider field than football. Because of this, the new middle school project includes an all-weather track surrounding a grass practice field."

The new all-weather track according to the NASD plans will be located between the MS and Mitchell Avenue entrance.

• "Assistant Superintendent Judith Swigart said the turf portion of the project might cost $700,000 to $800,000."

Why not turf both? And I'm being 100% serious. This cost includes all logos and lines. Why put a grass field in the middle of a turf track and expect five teams to practice on it? This cost is pennies compared to the pool and will service infinitely more people.

• Nazareth's field will host home contests for five sports, and the majority of practice time, too.

This is the part I don't get. Logistically it is impossible for one or even two turf fields to handle practice time and games for these five sports. Football, Field Hockey, and Boys Soccer all compete during the same PIAA season. Football has MS, Freshman, JV and Varsity, while Field Hockey and Soccer have MS, JV, and Varsity. That is 10 teams in one season on two fields, and let's not forget the band. They use the field on a regular basis for practice.

The NASD will push this through, just as they have every other item they've wanted, but even with this project it doesn't seem they're able to fix the problem of space limitations they've created by selecting this site for the new MS. It will be interesting to see whose land they go after next to get the fields they need as well as the additional costs required as a result of the need to address a problem they've created themselves in the first place.