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Officials defend turf at baseball field, say it enables multi-sport use and avoids lengthy redesign
Summary
Committee members heard that the baseball-field project has a completed design and that switching back to grass would require redesign, likely delay a year and increase maintenance; district staff argued turf enables multi-sport use and may be more practical long-term.
The Madison Public Schools Finance Committee revisited a planned baseball-field project and heard staff defend installing artificial turf as a pragmatic choice to enable multiple sports and avoid a year-long delay if the district returned to a grass design.
Dr. said the design work for the turf installation is complete and that converting the field back to natural grass would require returning to design and would likely forfeit a season of play. "If we were to convert it back to grass ... we would have to go back to design course we'd lose the year," he said, adding that the field as natural turf would require heavier investment to make it safe and playable and would carry ongoing maintenance constraints.
Dr. told the committee that turf would allow other sports—softball, lacrosse and soccer—to use the space, broadening its utility beyond one team. He argued opponents sometimes compare only the overall price tag rather than the delta between what a usable natural field would cost and the turf alternative, and noted that maintenance for natural turf adjacent to schools is constrained by pesticide restrictions.
Committee members expressed concerns about cost and safety (divots and playing-surface issues on the existing natural field were raised), but staff said turf would expand access and reduce some recurring maintenance hurdles. Dr. said portions of the project's CIP funding and year-end excess funds were identified as possible sources if needed but that staff would prioritize other budget options before drawing those funds.
Dr. said other facility projects are progressing (tennis, softball, a fieldhouse) and emphasized the district's goal of keeping athletics available while managing maintenance and budget tradeoffs.
