Goodbye, grass surface. North East's Ted Miller Stadium to have field turf installed
It has been 15 years, at least, according to Brian Dewey.
That’s how long North East’s athletic director said he’s heard talk throughout the community about a need for field turf at Ted Miller Stadium.
Dewey was hired for his current job in 2021. Since then, he lobbied North East School District officials to consider doing away with the stadium’s grass playing surface — when there was grass on it at all.
The Grapepickers’ football team frequently hosts late-season games in wet and muddy conditions thanks to northwestern Pennsylvania’s late fall and early winter weather.
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Dewey took solace many of the administrators he spoke to felt as he did.
“There was an expectation level of, ‘We’re going to do this. We just don’t know when,’” Dewey said.
The “when” question was answered during Thursday’s North East school board meeting. Its members gave the green light for the installation of field turf, a new eight-lane track and a lighting system for the ‘Pickers’ main athletic venue.
How much will the project cost?
Keystone Sports Construction was awarded the project, which is expected to cost an estimated $3.58 million. The Exton company also installed the field turf at Seneca’s Bob Diffenbacher Field.
Thursday’s decision was long overdue according to Jeff Fox, the district’s business manager.
“Because of the climate we live in, (field turf) was inevitable,” he said. “To have a good stadium for (frequent) playability, you can’t have natural grass. To have a field turf surface, you can increase play.
“It’s a game-changer in that regard.”
When will construction begin?
The 2023-24 academic year should be the last one North East’s athletes compete with Miller Stadium in its current state.
Dewey said even if a contract with Keystone is signed before June 1, the company’s schedule makes it unlikely it could start work there until next spring.
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The actual groundbreaking wouldn’t begin until next May.
“We’ll probably have to adjust our (2024) track and field schedule to make that work,” Dewey said.
Fox said the board began to openly ponder adding field turf at Miller Stadium in February 2020.
However, that idea lost traction a month later when the COVID-19 pandemic began to impact American life.
“The board revisited the idea (of field turf) this past winter,” Fox said. “Now, we’re where we are today.”
Northwestern, Girard and Union City will be the only Erie County high schools left that have grass stadiums once North East’s field turf project is completed.
More: Erie County's Top Performers for the final week of the regular season, May 15-20
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: North East PA school board votes for field turf at Ted Miller Stadium
