Knoch turf project will prevent home games this fall
A plan to install synthetic turf at Knoch Athletic Stadium could force all home varsity football games to be played elsewhere this fall.
The school board on Wednesday heard Cassandra Renninger, a principal architect at DRAW Collective, discuss the timeline and processes involved in moving forward with the large renovation project, which will mostly take place at the aging high school building.
She said replacing the grass field at the stadium with synthetic turf and repairing and coating the track around the field would be part of the project unless she was given a different directive from the school board.
South Butler County School District, home to the Knoch Knights, is one of the only remaining districts in the WPIAL Class 4 or higher to have a grass field.
Once synthetic turf is installed at Knoch Athletic Stadium, Moniteau will be the only school district in the county with a grass football field.
Renninger said the South Butler board had two options for installing synthetic turf.
One was to move forward with the turf and track project before the renovations begin at the high school, which would mean work at the stadium would begin in the fall.
“Home games would need to be played away,” Renninger said.
She said the benefit of moving forward immediately with the turf and track project is the ability of the district to spend down their bond proceeds by 5% within six months, as required.
Also, Renninger said, if the stadium work were finished before the main renovation project at the high school, students could use the new turf field for practices and gym classes instead of the school’s grass practice fields, where construction crews will likely park trailers and equipment for the high school work.
In addition to affecting athletics, another detriment to doing the turf and track before the building renovations would be committing to the cost of the stadium project without knowing for certain what the high school renovation will cost.
The other option offered by Renninger was to begin work on the stadium in the summer of 2023.
In addition to allowing games on the grass field this fall, another benefit of completing the project later is that the board would not authorize the work until after the building renovation budget is established.
The detriment would be not spending down the required 5% of bond funds within six months.
John Pappas of Eckles Construction Services, the renovation project construction manager, told the board it would be much more efficient and convenient for construction crews to carry out their work at the high school if the turf and track project were completed first.
“It would be a major help in site logistics if we moved forward with the turf field now,” Pappas said.
He also said summer is a busy time for turf crews, and the district could pick and choose among the best crews if the project were done this fall.
“For me, this field should be put in in the fall,” Pappas said.
He estimated it would take 45 to 60 days to prepare the field for the turf, and another 30 days to install it. The work on the track would be completed after the turf was installed.
Pappas said if the permits come in quickly and work proceeds very efficiently, a varsity football game or two could be played on the field before the end of the 2022-23 season.
Board member Rebecca Boyd said she always considered synthetic turf and track repairs to be part of the upcoming renovation project.
She was in favor of moving forward with the stadium work immediately.
“This just makes perfect sense to me,” Boyd said. “I’m all for it and the sooner the better.”
But board member Anthony Infante expressed concern over losing this fall’s home games.
He said booster organizations took a hit over the past few years due to the pandemic, as did athletes.
Infante said the community also uses the track and would be deprived of doing so this fall if the project were ongoing.
Superintendent David Foley said the project’s main goal of improving academic spaces would continue if the field work were to begin first.
He said Curt Reiser, the district’s athletic director, has given multiple presentations over the years on the need for synthetic turf on the field.
Foley also said the turf project would be a convenient way to spend down 5% of the bond money to be received for the renovations.
“This is a project outside of the building that would allow us to meet the expectations of spending the (5%) while still being part of the project,” Foley said.
Donna Eakin, board president, asked those in favor of moving forward with the turf and track work for a show of hands.
“We have a majority,” Eakin said.
Foley said a representative from PNC Financial Markets would attend the Feb. 9 meeting to discuss financing for the renovation project.
