The field will be ready for athletics and the rest of the school to use this spring. Photo courtesy of senior Ruby Blackburn.
At San Luis Obispo High School, construction workers have been working on installing a new turf football field at Holt Stadium since January. The stadium was reconstructed in 2022 during Measure D Construction, and was installed with a grass field.
“It will be a huge benefit to our teams because we will have a beautiful field to practice on every day instead of saving it for game days, it will free up other space for other teams as well,” said athletic director Adam Basch.
The turf field is being installed because it can be very dangerous to play on grass. This is because when the grass starts to wear down, it tears apart, turning into loose dirt.
The district is changing the field to turf because grass is very demanding and it needs constant watering, not too much and not too little to preserve the quality. Keeping grass alive is very hard because it requires a lot of careful maintenance from various staff. From watering to repainting markings, it’s costly.
“Playing quarterback, I look at markings on the field a ton, whether I’m visually breaking down the defense or just throwing on air with my offensive guys, markings are crucial. Playing on turf will allow the Tigers to know where certain markings are on the field no matter the time of day or weather we are up against,” said junior and quarterback Zion Hegg.
A grass field needs to be constantly maintained because it can be ripped up from athletics and players’ cleats. The rubber spikes on the bottom of the players’ cleats can tear up the field really quickly over time, depending on how much the field is used.
The turf field will be used all the time and the athletes will have more places to practice since they will not be limited in how much they will be able to use the field.
There will be new things to consider for athletes however when playing on the field.
“Our team is going to have to get used to its turf burns. When football players or anyone on turf runs and falls or slides at a high speed the turf will rip away your skin and this is something we are going to have to dress accordingly for. Long sleeves, turf tape, and leggings are going to be worn a lot more during practice,” said Hegg.
Many students have also been wondering if it will be done in time for graduation because that is the only spot that is big enough to hold the senior graduation. The construction of the field has also impacted winter and spring sports using the field.
“It’s just annoying that the construction prevents us from using part of the track and hosting home meets, especially since they started working on the turf right before track season,” said senior and track athlete Emily Lopez.
Overall, there are a lot of students excited about the new turf football field and many are looking forward to watching the football games in the fall. The field is expected to be done in the next couple of weeks and it will be ready to go for the end of school events and the next upcoming football season.
