The Arrowhead Football Stadium field turf has been ripped up and is getting ready to be replaced with a newer and updated turf. This will be the first time since 2004 that the turf has been replaced. FieldTurf, the organization that had installed the first field turf for the Arrowhead Football Stadium, had estimated that the turf life would be useful for 8-12 years.

James Hessler, a teacher at Arrowhead, said, “This is only the second field they’ve had. The warranty went to 8 years, and this is 13 years, so they went five years beyond what its life expectancy was.”

After a certain point, turf fibers do not hold the material in place, which makes the turf become dangerous for users. There are benefits to replacing the field turf.

“Safety…and number two, they’re going to put the lacrosse lines on there. Now lacrosse can use the lines for their games…you can practice when it’s raining, practice after it has rained, you don’t have mud issues, and phy ed can use it. That’s the thing that people forget: phy ed uses it more than sports,” says Hessler. “Phy ed is out there all the time, so they can use it and they always know they have a dry place for it.”

According to Arrowhead School Board President Bob Rosch, “$280,000 has been saved for the field’s replacement.”

As for how the new field will look, Hessler says, “There are some little changes…some colors, the ‘A’ in the middle won’t be as big…it’s going to say ‘Arrowhead’ and ‘Warhawks’ in the endzone, and there is a blue ribbon that goes around the outside. There also is going to be lacrosse lines on there as well.”

At this time, the replacement of the field turf is expected to be done by August 1st, 2017.