Hellas Construction workers smooth out dirt while preparing the football field for Matrix Turf on April 22. The synthetic material will replace the grass and is expected to be complete by August. With the new material all girls district soccer games and JV football games are set to be played at the home field. (Sterling Greback photo)

Over the next couple of months the game field at Legacy will be ripped up and replaced with turf. The change is part of a sweeping trend across America to replace grass with turf to cut costs on maintenance and irrigation fees

The project began in early April with construction expected to conclude by the start of the football season in August. Once completed, Varsity soccer will use the field for regular district games as well as JV football and soccer.

“Crowds will be bigger,” Melson said. “It will be a great environment.”

Matrix Turf, a product of Hellas Construction, will be used on the new game field. It will cut down on water use, fertilization, over-seeding, man power to mow and field painting. Artificial grass also has the benefit of a year round soft, plush feel, which goalkeepers like sophomore Jorge Alfaro enjoy.

“I am going to be able to dive and slide more comfortably than I did on the normal grass,” Alfaro said.

Additionally, the turf will be reliable in nearly all weather conditions. Previously when it rained, the field became too muddy and practice was cancelled to protect the grass. However with turf, practice can still go on. The JV football team misses 10-14 practices every season to rain, hurting the program.

“It will help everybody tremendously,” Melson said. “We will be able to get more practice time, and the key to being successful is more practice time.”

Mansfield and Legacy will be painted in each endzone, with a black background and red text. The middle of the field will feature the Legacy High School logo as well.

“We are thrilled to have it and very blessed,” Melson said.