By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield High School Field 1 turf replacement project is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 9.
Department of Public Works (DPW) Director John Scenna recalled during a recent Select Board meeting that the 2024 Fall Town Meeting approved transferring $915,000 from the Recreational Capital Trust to the DPW’s FY25 capital budget to replace the turf at Field 1 at Pioneer Stadium. The LHS fields’ complex was constructed 10 years ago.
“The project is being funded by user fees that have been collected over 10 years,” said Scenna. “What has been happening over the past month is a lot of review of the plans.”
The DPW recently opened the bid for the Pioneer Stadium turf field replacement at LHS, which totaled $700,000. Town Administrator Rob Dolan said the bid came in “under budget.”
Scenna anticipates that the Field 1 replacement project will take around three weeks to complete.
“It will be done by the fall,” said Scenna. “It will include a new pad, new fibers and new infill.”
Scenna said the new infill be will BrockFill, which is an organic infill made out of engineered wood.
“It will include BrockFill and there will be no more crumb rubber infill,” said Scenna.
Scenna said spec sheets for the Field 1 turf replacement project are available at the DPW office and LHS Athletic Director Mia Muzio’s office for residents who are interested in reviewing them.
“There is also a sample of the infill in a little jar,” said Scenna. “If anybody is interested in really doing a deep dive into what this field is going to be like, the information is available to all. This has been tested for everything from traction to cooling to drainage to durability to player safety to temperature. We look forward to building this field this summer.”
Scenna informed the Villager that the Field 1 replacement project will begin on Monday, June 9.
“The contractor, R.A.D. Sports, will be mobilizing equipment around the field,” said Scenna.
Scenna said during the Select Board’s meeting that DPW and school officials decided to hold off on starting the project until after the Lynnfield High School Class of 2025 graduates and the spring sports season concludes.
“What I absolutely don’t want to happen is have a varsity sport make the tournament and take their field away because we want to be a little too aggressive,” said Scenna. “We are going to let that play out and let the seniors graduate on the field. We are going to let the varsity seasons finish. By the beginning of August, we will have the field back when fall sports start to ramp up.”