Fundraising for New Turf at Schumann Stadium Could Begin in December

A big-time donation is already in the works to kick off a fundraising campaign to generate the dollars at . And that effort could get under way by December.

Members of the Junior Indians Football Program have already told Athletic Director David Petroff that their organization is more than ready to get the ball rolling on fundraising for the $700,000 in costs associated with installing the turf.

As an initial investment for the effort, the Junior Indians are ready to donate $200,000. Petroff said the group would like to begin more fundraising for the new field immediately.

The synthetic turf is made of longer artificial grass fibers with rubberized pellets to act as infill. By installing turf, Schumann Stadium could host a more games, but without the wear and tear that occurs on a typical grass field.

But before any money is collected from the community, leaders of the want to ensure these changes aren't made in a vacuum. So on Monday, the district’s Finance Committee gave Dwight Crouse, buildings and grounds director, the OK to spend $5,000 to hire a firm to develop a five-year architectural and cost analysis study of the athletic facilities at the high school.

The purpose of the study is to answer questions that could arise during School Board meetings regarding the district’s involvement in maintenance and replacement of the turf, and how the improvements fit into the long-term plan for future facility improvements.

“This outside group is willing to fund-raise, but the question is ‘Is this supported by the board?’ ” said Superintendent Patricia Greco. “Before a group would start to fund-raise we have to have these series of questions answered.”

At their next meeting, the board will vote on whether to invest in the preliminary research analysis. Greco said if the Board is fundamentally against the idea of artificial turf, the district will nix on the initial analysis study right away, and the issue would essentially end there.

“It’s one of those deals and I’m hopeful we can move forward with it. There are literally six steps we need to go through yet,” Petroff said.

If the research study is given the go-ahead by the board in late October, the results of the facilities study would appear again for approval in November. If the results of the study pass the eye test of the School Board, fundraising for new turf can begin.