Artificial Turf Coming to Ocean City Sports Complex

By DONALD WITTKOWSKI and MADDY VITALE A new type of turf will be taking root at Ocean City's Tennessee Avenue Sports Complex. But no one will ever have to worry about mowing it or even watering it. Construction is underway to install new artificial turf to replace the old maintenance-intensive grass field. “This project will benefit the city’s recreation programs, the school’s sports programs, and allow for all residents to use the field for practice and fun,” Michael Allegretto, aide to Mayor Jay Gillian, said Tuesday. The project began in November, with a planned completion by mid-March, Allegretto said. The total cost to install the new substructure and the artificial turf field is $1.7 million. The large field is used for Ocean City High School sports such as soccer and lacrosse. The field is approximately 100,000 square feet. The artificial turf features a cork infill, just like the athletic field at Carey Stadium at Sixth Street, and will provide good cushioning. The turf will be lined for soccer, field hockey and boys and girls lacrosse. The Bayshore, N.Y., based company LandTek is the project's contractor. LandTek project superintendent Alex Szlachtianshyn explained that workers are laying down a stone base to make sure the field is level before the turf is added. The project includes replacing the old, faded scoreboard, Szlachtianshyn said. Allegretto explained all of the advantages of using artificial turf over natural grass, specifically the potential to play all year long in all types of weather. “It will eliminate the need to continue to re-sod the center of the field during the spring and fall seasons,” he pointed out. “It will also eliminate the need to water the field and it eliminates the need to continually line the field for sports.” The Tennessee Avenue Sports Complex will join the high school's Carey Stadium as the only fields with synthetic turf in town. In August 2022, City Council voted 6-0 to approve the installation of artificial turf at the Tennessee Avenue Sports Complex as part of a nearly $11 million funding package for a series of capital projects. Once the turf is installed, the complex will join the high school’s Carey Stadium as the only athletic fields in town that have artificial turf. At the time Council voted for the artificial turf, proponents said that there were many advantages to the artificial turf. Like Allegretto pointed out, the supporters said artificial turf would be a better surface to play on than the occasionally soggy grass. Opponents warned of potential environmental drawbacks from both the artificial turf and the chemicals that would be needed to clean the surface. City officials agreed with proponents, namely coaches of the sports that are played there, that the artificial turf advantages far outweigh any disadvantages. Construction machinery levels out the stones that serve as the base layer for the new field. Machinery is lined up near mounds of dirt and gravel. The project includes replacing the old scoreboard.