By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Perfect timing.
With fall sports just around the corner, the Lynnfield High School Pioneer Stadium turf replacement project was completed last week.
“I am very happy with it,” said Department of Public Works (DPW) Director John Scenna in an interview with the Villager. “We were on time and were on budget.”
The 2024 Fall Town Meeting approved transferring $915,000 from the Recreational Capital Trust to the DPW’s fiscal year 2025 capital budget to replace the turf at Field 1 at Pioneer Stadium. The DPW opened the bid for the Pioneer Stadium turf field replacement at LHS, totaling $700,000, last spring.
Scenna said contractor R.A.D. Sports undertook a variety of initiatives as part of the Pioneer Stadium turf replacement project.
“The contractor removed the existing turf,” said Scenna. “The contractor regraded the drainage subbase. They tested for the drainage capability and capacity of the field again just to make sure it was all correct.”
Scenna also said a shock pad was installed in order to “improve player safety.”
“It feels a lot different than the last field,” said Scenna.
After the shock pad was added to Field 1, Scenna said the new turf was installed. He said the field’s lines, numbers and the Pioneers’ logo were painted as well.
Scenna said BrockFill, which is an organic infill made out of engineered wood, was the last component of the project that was installed. He said the old rubber infill that was previously part of the original Pioneer Stadium field is no longer being used.
“BrockFill is a wood derivative,” said Scenna. “It doesn’t smell rubbery. The field is cooler than the rubber-based fields.”
Scenna said safety tests were conducted before student-athletes and residents began using the new Pioneer Stadium field.
“The complex was tested, and it passed all of the safety tests,” said Scenna.
Scenna complimented contractor R.A.D. Sports’ work on the Field 1 replacement project as well as the technical support that engineering firm Gale Associates provided. Gale Associates designed the LHS fields’ complex, which was constructed 11 years ago.
“The contractor was very good,” said Scenna. “I was very happy with Gale Associates, which provided all of the technical oversight for the project. That was really important because of the town engineer’s retirement, and the DPW needing to bridge that gap. It was very good to have that technical oversight with the project.”
Scenna said the Field 1 replacement project took “a little over a month to complete.”
“It was a very thorough project,” said Scenna. “I am hoping that the new turf is there for a decade-plus for people to use and enjoy. I thought it was very important that we collaborate early on with all of the end-users to find a window of the year that was less disruptive for everyone. It was good planning, good execution and I think the community has a very good field that they can use moving forward.”
User fees that were raised over a 10-year period funded the LHS Pioneer Stadium Field 1 replacement project. When asked when the other turf fields at the LHS fields’ complex will be replaced, Scenna said: “It’s to be determined.”
“We don’t feel there is a need this year or next,” said Scenna. “We will continue to be very aggressive with our maintenance plans in the coming years. Our goal is to hopefully get at least two more years out of everything else that is at the high school before we look to the next round of replacements. The main field saw a tremendous amount of use, which accelerated the need to replace it. The back fields are not used as much, which has given us the opportunity to push those back.”