The Redmond School District will officially celebrate the opening of its new turf field this weekend. This is the first field of its kind in the district.
“We thought the idea of building a sports park, an athletic field that’s turfed able to be used three seasons for multiple different sports would really be an addition to this community,” said Superintendent Charan Cline.
The district uses around 8% of the city’s water every year, most of it going towards athletic fields. But the Redmond Rotary Community Fields will not use any of it.
The fields can host softball, baseball, soccer, football, lacrosse and any other field sport you can think of.
RELATED: Video game sports in Oregon high schools could boost grades, bring money
RELATED: Central Oregon high school football participation up, bucking national trend
The real benefit is the fiscal impact.
“Maintenance on it is fairly low. Water cost on it is fairly low. We don’t have to mow it. We don’t have to line it,” said Cline.
This will save the school district $17,000 a year.
The more than $4 million project was partially funded by “different local companies and businesses that reached out together, starting with the Redmond Rotary Club,” said Holly Brown, public information officer with the Redmond School District. “They were looking for a project to do and reached out to see if we could start developing these fields. So they dedicated to five years of financial support to start the project off.”
This is why the field was named after the Rotary Club.
“We’re a service organization and we’re giving back to the community, but if you can have your name on something, it just makes it nice for the club,” said Marv Kaplan, club director and membership chair.
The changes aren’t done yet with more bleachers, restrooms, a press box and a concession stand in the works.
The field is open to the community, as long as reservations are made in advance.
The opening celebration Saturday will be at 4:00 p.m.
