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Hillsborough, school district discuss shared fields, turfing and replacement after stadium project
Summary
City and Hillsborough School District officials reviewed a long-standing intergovernmental agreement for shared facilities, described turfing and multiuse field options and said they are negotiating with the county to replace three grass fields displaced by a new stadium.
Hillsborough city officials and the Hillsborough School District met April 1 to review their intergovernmental agreement for shared facilities and to discuss plans to replace and upgrade athletic fields lost to a recent stadium project.
The meeting focused on the district’s long-running IGA with the city — first executed in February 2007 — that lets each party prioritize use of its facilities while allowing the other to program after that. “It allows us to not duplicate our facilities and fields,” Deputy City Manager Rahim Hajim said when introducing the topic.
The discussion matters because the district and city jointly manage dozens of fields and indoor facilities used by youth sports, recreation programs and school teams. City Operations Officer Saeed Haggi Khushku called the partnership “a unique opportunity to really highlight and shine a light on such a dynamic and rich partnership” and said staff are exploring ways to expand the arrangement, including turfing grass fields to allow year‑round use and lower maintenance costs.
City and district staff described several ongoing efforts: identifying specific school-owned sites that might be candidates for turf or multiuse upgrades; preserving existing user groups that rely on those fields; and pursuing multi‑jurisdictional solutions where needed. Saeed Haggi Khushku said the agencies are “looking at them from a perspective of a multiuse approach” so fields can support baseball, soccer, lacrosse and other activities rather than a single sport.
Officials also addressed replacement of fields that were taken for the new stadium and affiliated complex. A resident who spoke during the meeting said losing multiple well‑used grass fields had raised community concern. In response, district staff said negotiations are underway with Washington County and other partners to relocate and replace those uses. “We are actually actively in negotiations with, the county on some other options to, relocate that use in a different place,” a district representative said, adding that the district hopes not only to replace the lost fields but to “find ways to enhance the use,” for example by installing turf.
No formal action or vote was taken during the joint session; staff said they will return with more details as negotiations progress. Council and board members asked staff to be mindful of existing user groups and to pursue multiuse, low‑maintenance solutions where feasible.
The conversation continues at the staff level. Officials said any field construction or turfing proposals would include outreach to current user groups and will require coordination with the county and other funding partners before returning to either governing body for formal approval.
