Despite rain and heat, Springdale turf field set to be complete by fall

The path toward high school football games being played at Springdale Jr.-Sr. High School continues to move forward.

Crews are stripping layers of topsoil at the site, near the school, that’s set to become the new home of Dynamos football this fall.

That soil is being cleared to make way for a new turf surface that will host the district’s football, soccer, and track and field teams. The turf field is part of a larger overhaul of the area, which previously served as home to Springdale’s soccer games.

Operations at the field started at the beginning of June, according to Kyle Smith, Regional Construction Manager for FieldTurf USA Inc. The Montreal-based firm is the company managing the $2.8 million project.

Despite consistent rain and now an intense bout of heat, Smith said crews have made “good progress” at the site. So far, around 200 truckloads of soil have been taken from the field, much of which has ended up at the former site of Colfax Upper Elementary School.

There, demolition crews required more dirt to level the site, finding a ready supplier at the field.

“It ended up working out really well that both projects were going on at the same time where we can take our fill dirt and our topsoil that’s needed down there to kind of marry these projects together,” Smith said.

By the end of the process, he said, he expects about 400 loads of dirt to come from the field.

Once the soil is hauled off, crews will lay an impermeable liner beneath the field and begin piling layers of stone on top of that.

The actual turf surface will be set down in August, Smith said, followed by thousands of pounds of rubber pellet infill.

Prior to the start of football season, the field will also get new LED lights and a new scoreboard.

Once the Dynamos wrap up their first season on the new gridiron, crews will begin installing a new track in preparation for the spring season, Smith said. But that process is weather dependent.

The turf and track are just the first phase of the project, according to Jan Zastawniak, Allegheny Valley’s director of public relations.

She said the district is still discussing potential expansion or improvements to bleachers and the site’s press box. Though the nearby student parking lot was recently repaved, officials are also mulling the prospect of an ADA-compliant lot closer to the field.

No timeline exists for future projects, and the district will analyze the needs of the new space throughout its inaugural season, Zastawniak said.

“I think a lot of this year will be planning for Phase II,” she said.

Administrators also have voiced interest in hosting WPIAL playoff games, sometimes held at neutral sites, at the field. Though the idea is “always the thought,” Zastawniak said playing host would require greater attention to parking and seating capacity nearby.

For now, crews are focused on arranging the site for the Dynamos come football season.

“Everything’s set to be ready for the first game,” Smith said.

This fall will mark Springdale’s second season away from Veterans Memorial Field on Lincoln Avenue, where the team played for 84 years before lease discussions between the district and the borough fell through.

That resulted in the Dynamos playing “home” games in nearby districts including Burrell and Freeport.

Borough officials say they’re looking at “all available options” for the future of Vets.

Springdale officials voted to allow Lower Valley Little League to use the site next spring. Though Veterans Field is better known for its gridiron, the complex also includes a large baseball field.