Driving past this sign at the High School over the past several days, I have wondered what a Turf Field is all about, and why is it necessary to have a fundraiser.
The Wallingford Swarthmore School District is in partnership with the school community to raise funds for the installation of two state of the art turf playing surfaces at King Field and the girl’s lacrosse/hockey field on South Providence Road. The goal is to raise $1,500,000 from community and corporate sponsors.
With their current natural grass surface, King Field and South Providence Road Field usage is limited to approximately 200 hours per year which restricts practices and prohibits their use during rain or snow. Turf fields could increase the use to 2,000 hours per year and allow spring sports to practice outdoors and compete when late spring snow and rain would have prevented field use. The upgraded turf fields could potentially attract larger district events, state tournaments and other large sporting events, and bring additional revenue to the district and the community.
The plan is to install the new playing surfaces in two phases. The goal of Phase 1 is to have the turf field installed at King Field by March 1, 2012, and Phase 2 is shooting for installation at the South Providence lacrosse/hockey fields by September 1, 2012.
To date the fundraising effort has raised over $263,000, and on August 17 at the Old Mill – Team Up For Turf will be hosting a end of Summer BBQ with food, drink entertainment, and Silent Auction to be held from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM.
For additional Turf Field information, and to learn more about the fundraising efforts visit Team Up For Turf.
