Sheridan High School Football Field Turf Replacement

A New Facelift

As the oldest turf in the state of Wyoming, the last time Homer Scott Field received a facelift was before the 2008 football season. Typically, surfaces need to be replaced every 12 to 15 years. With help from private donors and fundraising events, the Sheridan community came together to assist the school district in helping ensure the Broncs have a safe, state-of-the-art football field so they can continue their tradition of excellence.

Knowing that turf selections vary widely, Morrison-Maierle’s team of civil engineers created a turf specification using common industry standards. This matrix allowed the school to compare features like durability, installation methods, and other common industry standards so the high school could create an apples-to-apples comparison of the wide range of turf suppliers. Knowing that turf products can be very similar, this process helped the school district narrow its selection, and Morrison-Maierle created its bid for the contractors.

For the Sheridan school district, having a top-of-the-line playing surface that can withstand Wyoming winters was essential to this project. And since budget and cost-effectiveness were also top priorities, Morrison-Maierle created an approach that ensured the new surface would be sustainable and exceed the school district’s needs. Using a combination of NCAA and NFHS requirements and standard practices, the project’s contractors were required to maintain a surface flatness of ¼” over a 10-foot area while maintaining the general cambered shape of the field. Morrison-Maierle also determined that the existing drainage system should be left in place because it was still effective and performed well.

Multi-Color and Multi-Use

Once the contractor was selected, the district worked directly with the contractor (FieldTurf) to add state-of-the-art colored turf that achieved the school’s desire to “make the field “pop.” They incorporated the school’s colors and mascot and added color corporate sponsor logos that provide a true home-field feeling and can also be seen from the stands.
During the project, the district also wanted to explore the possibility of adding netting to the back of the end zones to allow this field to become a multi-use facility that could be used for football in the fall and soccer and track in the spring. They determined it was important to use the field for soccer and track practices simultaneously. Morrison-Maierle oversaw the installation of the net post footings and net post holes that surfaced through the turf.

As a result of this project, the community of Sheridan has a place to continue viewing and cheering their home teams to victory into the next decade or more.