Photo by Joe Ragozzino The Board of Education has voted to install turf at Ritzer Field behind Columbia High School.
The Board of Education has voted to install turf at Ritzer Field behind Columbia High School.
The School District of South Orange and Maplewood Board of Education has voted to go ahead with artificial turf for Ritzer Field at Columbia High School although part of the overall field will remain natural grass.
The configuration was favored by Superintendent Jason Bing, who said it was the most durable, reliable and would consistently be available for practices, games and physical education classes. It would also be safer and reduce the risks of injuries, he said.
More than half an acre of natural grass will remain and mature trees will remain.
Students and former students spoke out in favor of the turf, pointing out that some teams only played away games because of lack of field space and other teams saw games cancelled because of lack of space.
Residents who spoke against the turf field cited environmental issues, including plastic draining into the water supply, a lack of permeability contributing to local flooding, loss of natural green space and the need to replace a turf field at the end of its lifespan.
The board voted unanimously in favor of the multipurpose field that will be used for soccer, lacrosse and another field for girls softball. The plan would cost around $5.7 million. It now goes to the state Board of Scholastic Estimates for approval in August.
“As a team, we came to a consensus by focusing on a number of key issues, especially the lack of suitable fields for our student athletes and the lack of access for our girls softball teams,” Board President Nubia DuVall Wilson said. “Students were promised a new athletic field back in 2019 and that has yet to be realized. Seven years later, the work on Ritzer will hopefully begin next summer upon approval of funds in August.”
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