Towards the end of last school year, the school board finalized a budget with a designation of $3 million for putting a turf field at Colonial Forge and North Stafford high schools. The proposed plan passed with a 6-1 vote in favor of construction starting at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year. 

These new turf fields will even the playing field on advantages the other high schools in the county have had for years. Allowing athletes to play in the rain with less chance of injury and minimizing wear and tear from every sport playing on it throughout the year. 

Currently, the field is moving right on schedule, with plans for the field to be completed by the end of September. Once complete, sports teams aren’t expected to be the only people to benefit from the changing of the field. 

The team that will see the biggest benefits from the new field is field hockey as the game moves at many different speeds than from grass to turf. 

“Our team was at a disadvantage because we would practice on grass and play some of our games on grass that we went to teams that had field turf, the game was much faster and our girls had a difficult time adjusting,” said Mr. Jeff Berry, Asst. Principal in charge of athletics.

Graduation will now be held on a field that isn’t broken down from every sport played on it that year, and the band will now be able to practice on the field it will perform on without damaging it. 

“I can’t share the plans on how the field is going to look right now, but we’re really excited about it and gonna wait until that first game where everybody will be able to see it at the same time,” Mr. Berry said.