CAMDEN — By PATRIC FLANNIGAN
Sports editor
It’s true.
Rumors have been circulating for years that the Camden Fairview School District was looking to install a turf football field at Cardinal Stadium. However, it wasn’t until a special meeting earlier this week that this information about the installation of a turf field gained significant traction.
According to C.F. School District Superintendent Mark Keith, the school board met on Monday to hear a presentation about a turf football field. After the meeting, the school board gave permission to the superintendent and administration to begin fundraising.
Keith explained that $350,000 for the field over the next five years would come out of the field maintenance budget. This would not have an affect on things such as teachers’ salaries or building funds. He shared that this money is usually spent on field drainage, paint, lawn care on the field etc.
“There are so many positives associated with a turf football field,” Keith said. “It’s not only for the football program for a lot of other areas in the school. We won’t have to worry about the field maintenance as much, the school would see a profit on it after five years, and we won’t have to worry about doing any maintenance on it for 12 years.”
Keith said that the turf football field is yet another project that will show that the C.F.S.D. is a district that will continue to thrive.
“This is just another thing that shows we want to be the best school in the state,” Keith said. “We have installed a plan to take us to the top academic wise. We are a 5A school and our kids deserve the best. Our great community deserves a school it can be proud of. We want to be the best in academics. We want to be the best in athletics. We want to be the best in safety. We want to be the best place for teachers to work.”
C.F. Athletic Director Ricky Tucker also shared his enthusiasm about the project as well. He expressed that one of his biggest concerns was safety.
“That was what I was most worried about,” Tucker stated. “I wanted to know that our kids would be safe. After the presentation, it sounded like our students would be safer on turf than they are on grass. That was a major point for me, so I’m excited about it.”
Tucker said that the turf is “not a complete done deal” because the school will have to do some fundraising to cover the remaining expenses. But he feels that it will be done. There is no timetable just yet.
“We still got work to do,” Tucker shared. “But hopefully, we can find some partners in the community and we can look at getting a turf football field.”