St. Louis High Schools Upgrade to Synthetic Turf

ST. LOUIS — Schools across the nation are using synthetic turf in lieu of natural grass in athletic fields to save on maintenance costs, expand field usage time and create a more eco-friendly alternative to natural turf that doesn’t require water. St. Louis-based Byrne & Jones Sports, a division of Byrnes & Jones Construction, recently completed a $4.7 million project installing four new synthetic turf football fields and running tracks for high schools in Rockwood School District in St. Louis. Rockwood is the third largest school district in St. Louis, serving more than 20,000 students.

Rockwood Summit, Eureka, Marquette and Lafayette High Schools each received new synthetic turf athletic surfaces. The schools had previously offered only Bermuda grass fields, which were largely reserved for games only in order to preserve them.

“All four of the schools are land locked, so the synthetic turf fields allow us to optimize our real estate assets because the surface is so resilient it can be used at any time, whether for band practice, gym class or any outdoor special event,” said Chris Freund, facilities director for Rockwood School District, in a statement. “Where we once were able to use the fields only 25 to 40 times a year, now we can use them 24/7.”

The football fields now feature a FieldTurf artificial surface atop a Brock pad and strengthened sub base. To enhance sustainability, the district opted for an organic infill made of ground coconut fibers, rice husks and cork. The fields still feature the school logos inlaid at the 50-yard line as well as custom end zone and sports markings using the colors of each individual high school.

The eight-lane polyurethane tracks that ring the fields are built to collegiate-level specifications. The multi-layer sandwich system surface creates an impermeable, spike-resistant track surface that is faster and more durable than the previous surface systems, according to a statement.

“Byrne & Jones did a great job,” Freund said in a statement. “This was a huge undertaking with a short timeline further challenged by a lot of wet weather. Byrne & Jones’ ability to self-perform work allowed them to have control over the schedule while they deftly adapted to weather challenges to exceed our expectations.”

Byrne and Jones was the low bidder on the project by more than $400,000. The company finished the fields ahead of schedule and under the district’s budget.

Rockwood Superintendent Dr. Eric Knost said that the community is pleased with the district’s decision to move to synthetic turf fields, along with the organic infill. “We’re happy with the product and more than satisfied with the installation performed by Byrne & Jones,” Knost said in a statement.