New turf fields ready and waiting

Turf was installed at the infields of the baseball and softball diamonds at John Long Middle School in Grafton last month, and now the rest of the upgrades have been completed.

New netting, poles, backstops and fencing were part of a $510,000 project done by Midwest Sport and Turf Systems, based in Plainfield, Ill.

The money came from the Grafton School District’s fund balance account, essentially a savings account for unexpected expenses and opportunities. Turf infields are part of the district’s athletic fields master plan.

Now that the project is complete, there’s just one thing missing: players.

The fields are sitting idle, just waiting for the call of “Play ball!”

Gov. Tony Evers’ order that shuttered schools until the end of the school year canceled spring sports with summer youth leagues and club teams waiting to see if or when they may take the field and under what circumstances.

The WIAA has allowed spring sports teams to have 30 days of contact beginning July 1, provided the Safer at Home order is lifted, but how that plays out is to be determined.

Regardless of when sports resume, Grafton Athletic Director Kevin Moore loves the look of the new fields, especially the chocolate brown-colored turf that resembles dirt and the two-tone green stripes that look like the cut of a professional baseball field’s grass. The turf, he said, will save on maintenance costs and provide advantages not available from grass.

“It gives our student athletes a quality, safe surface to compete on no matter what the elements may bring. It certainly will help in Wisconsin springs moving forward,” Moore said. “It will also be nice to have our kids practicing outdoors earlier in the year and not trying to make use of gymnasium space as often.”

New Grafton softball coach Mike Bergmann has traveled to the field each day and sent his team photos and video clips as the project progressed.

Another piece of the field upgrade project is replacing the junior varsity baseball field at the high school. This season was scheduled to be its last. Next year, the team is slated to play next to the Woodview Elementary School parking lot.

That brings the cost of the baseball and softball project to $800,000, Moore said.