Area schools raise funds for new fields

By Barney Breen-Portnoy

Published: April 28, 2008

Albemarle, Charlottesville, Monticello and Western Albemarle high schools have begun campaigns to raise money to purchase synthetic turf athletics fields.
Each field is expected to cost around $681,000, according to Diane Behrens, the county school division’s executive director for support services.
The schools have not yet selected a vendor, although a representative from General Sports Venue Astro Turf was present at a recent Albemarle County School Board meeting during which the board received an update on the turf field project.
An anonymous donor will provide each school with $325,000. The three county high schools each will receive $73,000 from the Albemarle Parks and Recreation Department. The Charlottesville Parks and Recreation Department has not committed to providing CHS with money for the project.
Within the past six months, both the Albemarle and Charlottesville school boards gave the go-ahead for the turf field project.
“I think this is a great opportunity for the athletic community in Charlottesville,” said Albemarle School Board Chairman Brian Wheeler.
The only school to have raised a significant amount of money so far is Monticello. Through a nonprofit, athletics director Fitzgerald Barnes has raised about $50,000.
Health concerns related to synthetic turf fields have become the subject of national attention in recent weeks after high levels of lead were found on several synthetic fields in New Jersey, prompting an investigation by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Albemarle school officials have been told that material used in newer synthetic turf fields is lead-free.
But much is still unknown about the health and environmental effects of synthetic turf fields, said Jackie Lombardo, founder of Friends and Advocates for Children, Teachers and Schools and a member of the Sierra Club National Toxics Committee.
“What do we know about this product?” she asked. “The bottom line is that we know that natural grass is perfectly safe for children, especially when they are growing. We don’t know what the effects of synthetic turf are on health and the environment.”
Other issues yet to be resolved include field replacement costs and lining.
The fields will need to be renovated every 10 to 12 years at 50 percent to 60 percent of the original purchase price. It has not been determined by the county or city where this money would come from.
It has also yet to be decided which permanent stripes will be painted on the fields. Barnes wants to have permanent football and soccer lines and use temporary paint to fill in lines for other sports.
But Wheeler said he favors having no permanent lines, as those lines would be confusing for athletes of sports other than football and soccer.
Construction will not start until all funds have been raised, Behrens said. County officials hope to build two fields in 2008 and one in 2009, but that timeline is subject to change depending on how long it takes to raise the necessary funds. The city has no timeline for the CHS turf field.