The Canby School Board voted last night to replace the artificial turf on the high school’s athletic field, which was recently declared unfit for spring activities.
The board directed Canby District Staff to move forward with developing a timeline for the project. They plan to use district funds for the replacement.
The field is, literally, coming apart at the seams. The way Canby’s field was constructed, the portions that are a different color — such as the white lines and numbers and the Cougars logo in the center — are actually different pieces of turf that are all sewn together. That’s a lot of seams, and some of them have not held up to the wear and tear over the years. The fear is that the seams could trip or snag or otherwise injure a player as they run down the field.
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Activities at CHS’ turf field will be restricted this spring as the district works on a replacement plan. Read more: https://t.co/3IRkeB2SBF pic.twitter.com/IVPYztBfaH
The field is a source of great community pride, having been built in 2010 through a local, grassroots (pun intended) effort that raised more the more than $950,000 needed to realize the dream of a then-cutting edge artificial field for Canby athletics. The fundraising was so successful that the initial project was financed without a dime of district money.
The school board plans to pay for the replacement with district funds. Though no cost estimates are yet available, the expense of replacing the field is expected to be much less than the $950,000 it originally cost to install, due to the drainage and other needed substructures already being in place.
As of December 2018, the district had just shy of $300,000 saved in its turf replacement fund.