3 fields to get new turf

RUSSELLVILLE – Three Franklin County softball fields will soon have artificial turf installed on their softball fields.

Franklin County Board of Education members awarded the $947,722 bid to Warner Athletic to replace the natural turf fields at Belgreen, Tharptown and Vina high schools. No projected timeframe was announced for the projects.

“We’ve never had (artificial) turf before,” said Tharptown High School softball coach J.J. Jones. “It’s going to help us accommodate practice better. It’s going to be turf on the infield and grass on the outfield. When it rains, if you don’t have turf, a lot of times, especially on our field, it’s underwater.”

Jones said artificial turf will also require less maintenance. He said he’s excited because it will mean the team gets more outside practice time.

“We practice in the gym here quite a bit more than I want to because our surface has not been great,” he explained.

Jones said right now the team has a dirt field.

“If it rains, with our current setup, there’s a good chance of us getting rained out, but if we have turf and it stops raining, we still play,” he added. “Not everybody has turf, so this is truly a blessing.”

“I’m looking forward to them addressing the drainage issues in the outfield as much as I am to us getting turf in the infield,” Jones added. “The outfield stays wet often and holds water, and my understanding is they’re going to do something to fix that.” Belgreen High School softball coach Sander Tverberg said this will be the first time Belgreen’s field has had artificial turf.

But he added his team enjoys playing on artificial surfaces.

“It is different, but I believe it is an advantage for our program that will allow for fewer rainouts and more practice time,” he said.

Vina softball coach Randy Barnes said having artificial turf will be a first for his team as well.

“I feel like a lot of the advantage to this will be reducing player injuries when we get used to it because you get more consistency,” Barnes explained.

Barnes said when they go play games at other schools, the first thing he does is look at the infield, the ones that are dirt, to see what kind of dirt it is. He has to consider what it will be like for the students playing, like whether it’s a rough texture and might present a problem while sliding, so he can let them know what to expect before each game.

“We have played on turf before, and everything’s just a lot more consistent,” Barnes said. “I feel like that’s going to be one of the advantages to having turf, too. Our baseball field was recently turfed, and it’s been an advantage for our players. Red Bay’s softball field has already been turfed, and we play a lot there.”