Oakland gets OK for turf installation; could be ready by football season

The Rutherford County School Board approved Oakland's bid for artificial turf Thursday evening at a scheduled meeting.

That puts the school in position to have the turf installed at Ray Hughes Stadium by the beginning of the 2019 football season.

Oakland presented its bids to the board after getting financial commitments "to cover the entire project," Oakland Principal John Marshall said.

Oakland in February announced its plan to pursue artificial turf and spent the past several months raising money to fund the project, which will cost about $607,000. About $225,000 of that will go for the base, or prep, work, with the remainder to the turf company.

The school could begin the project as early as next week, pending final documentation to be approved by Director of Schools Bill Spurlock.

"We felt confident, because of success we had in our program and how many years our school has been in community and how many alumni we have in community, like we were in a better position to move quicker," Marshall said. "It doesn't take away that it’s a lot of hard work to do that. It’s a large commitment on business and individuals (who donated to the project)."

Oakland will go with Smyrna-based Warner Athletic Construction Co. for the base work and Georgia-based Shaw Sports Turf for the installation.

The field will feature Shaw's Legion NXT turf and be lined for football and soccer. 

Oakland will be the second school in the county to have artificial turf installed this year, with Blackman completing its project in April.

While there will be little room for error to get the project completed by the start of football season, Oakland's first home game isn't scheduled until Week 2 (Aug. 30) vs. Kenwood. That will be followed by a scheduled home game vs. rival Siegel on Sept. 6.

That would give crews eight to nine weeks to have the field completed by the first home game or seven weeks if the Patriots were to host a jamboree.

Marshall said that in favorable/normal conditions, the project could be completed in six weeks.

Oakland has just four home games scheduled in 2019, with the final two slated for Weeks 8 and 10.

Blackman received its approval from the board in November and began the process of installation in late January, battling typical winter and spring weather before completing the project in April.

Oakland had issues on its field last year, mostly where grass wouldn't grow, resulting in sloppy playing conditions at times, including in the Class 6A state semifinals against Maryville.

Coach Kevin Creasy said that at one point last season, 11 athletic events were held on the field during a six-day stretch, something that will not be a concern with artificial turf.

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.