The Starmount Rams and Forbush Falcons are set to start the coming school year with brand-new turf football fields and collegiate-grade tracks.
Yadkin County Schools received $5 million dollars from the state of North Carolina to install artificial turf fields, construct new tracks, and repair existing bleachers at Starmount High School and Forbush High School, Yadkin County Schools Chief Financial Officer Denise Bullin said.
These multi-million dollar projects will take significant financial burdens off the high schools and serve the students and surrounding community for years to come.
The new turf fields will save the schools money on supplies, equipment, and manpower — as the upkeep of artificial turf doesn’t include watering, mowing, fertilizing, and painting like natural grass fields. The new collegiate-grade tracks will allow Starmount and Forbush to start hosting track meets — which was previously not an option due to the unkept state of the tracks. More events means more income for the schools.
In addition to the high schools, the surrounding community will benefit from the new track and field as well. The tracks will be open at certain times for walking and running, and the elementary and middle schools will be able to utilize the fields, Cody Cook, Starmount’s athletic director, said.
Construction is set to be completed in time for football and soccer seasons.
GeoSurfaces Southeast, Inc. is installing the turf and tracks at both schools. CW Electric Company, Inc.; Yadkin Concrete Finishing; MasterCraft Renovation Systems, LLC; and TRIAD Blasting Services, LLC are also working on the project.
Construction at Forbush began on March 25 and has already been completed, except for a final layer to be added to the track. Construction at Starmount began on June 13 and is expected to take six to eight weeks to complete.
The project’s funding comes from a $62.8 million portion of the state budget allocated for upgrades to high school athletic facilities in different parts of the state, a HighSchoolOT analysis reported. The money was dispersed to 18 school districts, with each one receiving between $100,000 to $14.5 million.
There tends to be some controversy surrounding synthetic turf fields.
Studies have found consistently higher rates of injuries on turf fields than on grass fields. Turf has also been known to get really hot, causing burn hazards. Additionally, turf is made from microplastics and can contain toxic chemicals like arsenic and benzene, spurring environmental concerns as well.
Former Superintendent Todd Martin, who spearheaded the project while he was in office, said that in Yadkin County, no environmental concerns have been raised regarding the turf fields. However, some in the community have questioned the safety of turf in comparison to real grass.
“I think in the past, turf fields have had a bad reputation just because you do see injuries on it,” Cook said. “But statistically, as advanced as they are now, the injuries aren’t any higher chance than they were on a grass field.”
Oftentimes, turf is installed on top of concrete, creating a harder-than-natural, more injury-prone surface. But Starmount and Forbush aren’t doing that. Cook said that walking on their turf will feel like walking on real grass.
The demolition of the traditional grass field to a new turf one has been bittersweet for some in the community. Already, Starmount Assistant Athletic Director Nicole Pardue has counted around ten community members stopping by the construction site at Starmount to snag a bottle of dirt as a keepsake.
But there is a clear, palpable excitement about the project and the services it will provide to the Yadkin County Schools community.
Wayne Duggins, the interim superintendent for Yadkin County Schools, said the project will serve the community for a long time — the fields will last more than 10 years, and the tracks for more than 20.
“It’s going to be a nice new addition to the community,” Cook said.
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