A project to improve Leechburg Area School District’s Veterans Field Sports Complex will begin in early May and be completed before the Blue Devils’ football and soccer teams begin their seasons, said Superintendent Tiffany Nix.
The school board voted Wednesday to hire FieldTurf to install a synthetic turf field and running track at the complex for nearly $1.1 million. The installation will begin in the next few weeks.
“There’s no time to waste,” Nix said.
Officials began discussing the project, which also will include drainage improvements, more than a year ago. Proponents have said the project will reduce maintenance costs and prevent the field from closing because of rain.
In 2020, the board awarded a contract to South Carolina-based Sprinturf for roughly $1 million, but the project never went forward.
In recent weeks, the project became source of debate at Leechburg Council meetings (the borough owns the property where the field and adjoining practice field are located, between Veterans and Wesley avenues). Some Gilpin residents said they were worried that stormwater runoff from the new drainage system would damage their properties.
Council approved the project last week, at a meeting attended by dozens of district athletes, parents and officials in support of the field. The borough engineer said the project would reduce stormwater runoff from the field because underground retention basins would be installed.
At Wednesday’s school board meeting, Nix expressed relief that the project is moving forward.
“This field project really sets the district in a new direction,” she said. “I’m very happy for our students to have a complex that they can be very proud of and take a lot of pride in and move our programs forward.”
Nix said the project is expected to be completed by Aug. 22.
“Although some people may be unhappy with our decision or don’t agree with the way that we did it, at the end of the day, it is a big improvement to the town and to the district and we’re all going to work together and enjoy it together,” Nix added. “It’s really a win-win, and when the project is done, everyone will see that.”
