Township Hopes to Complete Turf Fields at Rowland Park in Time for Upcoming Sports Seasons

Discussions are ongoing by the South Brunswick Township Council for a project that would install three artificial turf fields at Rowland Park.  When the council initially began discussions late last year, the plan included converting two fields to be used for baseball and one to be a convertible multi-use sports field for football and soccer.

However, the total cost of the project exceeded the initial projections.  At a meeting in February, the council passed a bond ordinance for $432,250 for the fields, with Middlesex County providing matching funds.  The funding for the project will be taken from the Open Space Trust funds from both the county and township, therefore there would be no impact on the municipal budget.   Both trust funds allow money to be used for the development of facilities.  

At this point, the township has the money to convert the two baseball fields or the the multi-sport field, but not both.  The township is awaiting word from Middlesex County to determine whether there would be matching funds available to provide for the estimated $1.5 million total cost for the project.  Township Manager Matthew Watkins said the county is committed to matching whatever funding the township puts up to complete each field.

"We want to do both fields and we're committed to doing both fields," said Deputy Mayor Chris Killmurray.

Adding the turf fields at Rowland Park to the township's existing lineup of turf fields at Harvest Woods Park would allow for greater flexibility and more recreational opportunities for youth sports, according to township officials.

"Turf fields are almost indestructible," Recreation Director Tom Morris said when the project was initially introduced. "They can be played on right after a heavy rain and can be used without tearing up the fields."

Morris said the fields are so versatile and durable that they can be used by multiple sports in the same day.

"These fields will be able to be used for a football game during the day and then later can be used for a soccer game," he said.  "We can play on them 12 months a year and not worry about cold weather tearing up the turf.  It also gives the opportunity for baseball to be played right after a heavy rain storm ends.  In the past a heavy rain storm meant that the field couldn't be used for a couple of days."

The new fields will also save money over time, because turf fields don't need the constant upkeep that natural grass athletic fields require, Morris said.  The turf fields will only need to be worked on for about one hour every couple of months by a machine that fluffs up the turf material, which would relieve the Public Works Department of the burden of constant upkeep.

The conversion to artificial field turf would also not cause any added risks to the athletes, said Councilman Joseph Camarota.  He pointed to a study by a group in Norway, which examined thousands of hours of soccer games over a five-year period on artificial turf and compared them to natural grass. Researchers found there was about the same risk of injury to athletes regardless of the playing surface.

Camarota said the artificial turf could actually be safer for younger athletes.

"When they studied youth players they found that ankle injuries were significantly reduced on turf by almost 50 percent," Camarota said.  

Also at issue with the plan are some defects with the bids on the project.  The low bidder turned in an application that didn't carry a warranty for the turf, but the company supplying the turf does carry an eight-year warranty.  The council is also discussing whether that bid meets the criteria for the softness of the field, referred to as a g-max rating.

The council will hold a special meeting tonight to decide whether that bid meets the criteria and whether the bid will be accepted and a contract will be awarded.  But township officials are hopeful the baseball fields and multi-sport field will see some action this year.

"To finish both the baseball fields and football fields, we need the county to match the funds, but we also need to get this moving forward because timeliness is an issue," said Public Affairs Coordinator Ron Schmalz.  "It only takes a few months to complete the project.  Our recreation board is in discussions with the township's baseball organizations for using alternative fields if the project isn't completed in time, but we expect them to be ready for the season hopefully.  The fields at Harvest Woods Park were converted pretty quickly."