By: Thomas Askew ‘21
A new turf field and four new tennis courts are going to be implemented in Columbia Park, replacing the current football field and tennis courts. This project has been approved by the Borough of Dunellen and is expected to be completed by Aug. 1, 2019, just in time for the football season to start back up again. These communal projects are being built in order to benefit the town, which is possible because of the green acres grant that Middlesex County has given to Mayor Cedar. Dunellen met them with $500,000 in order to fund this project.
The new tennis courts will be concrete rather than asphalt,because concrete does not crack as easily in harsh conditions. Furthermore, the tennis courts will not have drains in the middle of them, however, they will be slanted on the edges so rainfall flows right off.
The new turf field is going to be using synthetic turf rather than turf grass, as it can be practiced on much sooner after rain or snowfall. This means fewer cancellations and the teams can get back to training faster.
Dunellen High School’s Athletics Director, Dave DeNapoli, said, “I know for a usage standpoint, it’s going to help a lot of the programs whether it’s the boys and girls soccer, the recreation programs. There’ll be less cancellations, it’ll cut down on maintenance, cutting the grass, lining the field, seeding, fertilizing….”
As a coach and athletics director, Mr. DeNapoli believes the new turf field will greatly benefit all sports teams. Furthermore, because the baseball field is not being replaced with turf, and the football team practices there often, the players will have the ability to practice on both terrains. According to Mr. DeNapoli, this will prepare them for both home and away games being that they’ll be well adapted to play on either type of field.
In terms of the decision to switch to turf Mr. Brian DeLucia, Board of Education Secretary and Business Administrator says “I think, for any town like Dunellen, that has a lot of needs to be used on the town, it is the best option.”
Mr. DeLucia is in full support of the project and believes it will benefit the whole town.
Surprisingly, it may not be much that much cheaper to replace the natural grass with synthetic grass. It is a common misconception that turf is cheaper to maintain, but in actuality, the maintenance is just different. The turf has to be groomed, cleaned up, and replaced after about a twelve-year lifespan. There are some who believe that turf fields can be safer to play on because it is a more controlled environment, however, studies have gone both ways and there is not a definitive answer.
According to Duke University, the first turf field ever used was in Houston, Texas in 1966. It was originally used for American football, however, it made its way into international soccer in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. It has since then been adopted into many fields all around the world.