Missoula committee hears health, environmental concerns about proposed synthetic turf at Oregon Field

City administrators told committee members they are exploring a field replacement at Oregon Field and that a local minor-league team had expressed interest in installing synthetic turf and would cover additional costs.

Dale Bickel, the city's chief administrator, said the Missoula Redevelopment Agency (MRA) board previously approved about $1.6 million for a field replacement design and construction estimate and that the city would renegotiate the lease with the baseball organization after final costs are known. "Once we establish that plan, we would renegotiate our lease," Bickel said.

Donna Goughler of Parks and Recreation said managers weigh fiscal responsibility, access and environmental considerations and acknowledged uncertainty about long-term environmental or health effects. "We don't know yet. We haven't studied enough," she said, describing the science on PFAS and microplastics as limited and inconclusive.

Public commenters opposed to synthetic turf cited health and environmental studies and community polling. Liz Amuspiccia of Families for Livable Climate said door-to-door outreach showed "overwhelming skepticism" about the proposal. Another commenter cited studies from institutions including Boston College, Harvard Medical School and Mount Sinai and, quoting a colleague, said "we're at the stage with plastics that's similar to what we were with asbestos."

No formal decision was made during the radio segment; the host reported the item will be held in committee for further discussion.

What happens next: the turf proposal will return to committee with requests for further study; no vote or lease change was recorded in the segment.