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Northmont plans to returf stadium

Vandalism damaged the turf, which cost $450K to install; insurance will cover replacement.

The Northmont High School football stadium will have its field turf replaced. Cost of the project is being covered by insurance. Contributed photo

handout The Northmont High School football stadium will have its field turf replaced. Cost of the project is being covered by insurance. Contributed photo

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By B.J. Bethel, Staff Writer 4:26 PM Thursday, November 12, 2009

CLAYTON — Northmont’s soccer and football teams will have a new field of play next fall. The school is replacing its stadium turf after an act of vandalism in October 2008.

A portion of the field’s draining pad was separated, allowing water to leak underneath. The water compromised the foundation of the field. As a result, the field is being replaced, thanks to an insurance policy.

Construction of the field will be handled by the Motz Group, a company based out of Cincinnati that specializes in the installation of field turf on football fields.

FieldTurf, as it’s called, became a popular replacement for grass fields in recent years. The turf garnered popularity in college and pro football before it became a fixture at high school stadiums. The type of turf combines positive aspects of both natural grass and artificial turf — toughness to the weather and playing time while not as harsh on players as artificial turf.

This was Northmont’s third full season with FieldTurf. The school made the decision several years ago to install it due to the heavy use of its field.

“They say you should only have 20 events on natural grass a year,” athletic director Robin Spiller said. “Every time someone is on the field, it’s considered an event, and we had around 60 events a year between football games, soccer games, hosting playoff games and the annual band contest. You get a lot of wear and tear on the field and not a lot of time for it to rest and get back. The grass is immature, and it doesn’t hold well.”

Clean and play

The athletic department, soccer, band and football groups began to raise funds for the field, which cost $450,000. The field was named Matt Dudon Memorial Field after a local resident who was killed in a go-kart incident several years ago. The Dudon family was a major contributor to the project.

One of the positives of FieldTurf is the maintenance — or the lack of it.

“All you have to do is clean it,” Spiller said. “You get trash on it after games when it blows in from the stands and that’s about it. There is a machine that comes along and brushes the bristle up on it, just like the old shag carpeting. We do that after every three or four events.”

Spiller said the Motz Group makes an annual pass on the field with a machine that acts as a large magnet that picks up material that can’t be seen from the surface.

“The reason we are hosting soccer games is because we have the turf,” Spiller said. “If you imagine the monsoons we’ve had in recent weeks, a grass field would be difficult to manage. Plus, the wear; one bad night of rain and you might as well forget it.”

Just say no

Northmont would have held off construction if its football team had made the playoffs. The school did give up the chance to host several playoff soccer games. The Ohio High School Athletic Association assigned Northmont the possibility of two regional soccer games and a state semifinal, but the school said no.

“We had to say no because we had to get to work,” Spiller said.

Weather permitting, construction is expected to be finished by the end of December.

Contact this writer with story ideas at bj.bethel@gmail.com.

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