Maple Ridge council has awarded the contract for synthetic turf for two new sports fields currently under construction at Telosky Stadium, located next to Thomas Haney Secondary School.
The contract was awarded for $1.35 million plus taxes to AstroTurf West Distributors.
The work includes two new synthetic sports fields and softball diamonds with lighting bordering on 116th Avenue on the west side of the site. On the east side, one of the baseball diamonds will be realigned to create a ‘back-to-back’ layout which is safer for the players, and new field lighting will installed for both diamonds. A new field house with change rooms, washrooms and a new concession stand will be constructed between the new synthetic turf fields and the existing grass fields. Construction is expected to be complete in the spring of 2019.
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“In May of this year we opened the new Karina LeBlanc Field at Merkley Park. At that event Karina told us how important this park was to her journey to the international stage,” said Mayor Nicole Read. “She also reminded us of how sports provides opportunities for youth to make lifelong friendships, find their passion, set goals and dream big dreams.”
“When this project is completed in the spring of 2019, Maple Ridge will have a total of six synthetic turf fields to meet the demands of our growing community. All of us on council are proud of the progress that has been made to address the urgent need for youth recreation facilities in our community. This is an investment in our future.”
Artificial surfaces allow for much greater use than grass fields.
“The new synthetic turf field capacity at Telosky Stadium, Arthur Peake, SRT and Merkley Park will help our growing field sports community with greater access to facilities for practice, games and hosting tournaments,” said Valoree Richmond, manager of parks planning and development. “Our field sports participants will be able to play throughout the rainy weather into the fall and winter when our natural grass fields are sometimes not playable. These fields will also serve as key venues for field lacrosse, soccer and softball as we host the 2020 BC Summer Games.”
The refurbished field at SRT, the new field at Arthur Peake and the two new fields at Telosky Stadium are using the newest infill product that offers a better overall user experience for our field sport groups.
“Our new fields offer better shock absorption for the players and better simulate natural grass fields for bouncing balls and sliding performance,” said Richmond. “Thus far we’ve been getting great reviews from the user groups.”