playing this spring on turf fields

bringing this back from last Fall so we can have an actual football discussion

there are enough turf fields around the state at high schools and colleges that, maybe, those could be utilized by schools that don't have turf.  one site (with turf) could host two varsity-only games on both Thursday and Friday nights and host maybe 5 varsity only contests all day on Saturday.

just in "this area" alone (within 2 hours of sterling) i can think of several sites with turf: sterling hs, freeport hs, geneseo hs, mendota hs, alleman hs (augie), lasalle peru hs, rock island hs, dekalb hs, east moline hs, niu, dunlap hs, morton hs, galesburg hs, monmouth college, knox college, and wiu.  that's 16 sites that could host 9 "area" games each weekend. that's a total of 144 games (288 teams) every week.

shg and u high have turf-cs8 teams. shs has a turf practice field.

illinois college in jax has a turf field.

and millikin has turf.

It's funny how two weeks ago we were looking good because of the lack of snow but now it is going to be a bit messy. One benefit of the snow is that it insulates the ground so it will thaw quicker but it is still going to be a muddy mess.

Luckily we only have 2 home games but we have already talked about getting the snow off off the gamefield and practice fields in the coming weeks.

You seem to forget about soccer matches etc...

Where we gonna practice?

newcom wrote:Where we gonna practice?

indoors at the Nelson Center

Sounds like we might play our First 2 weeks of the season up at Bradley Bourbonnais on the turf and then have 4 more weeks until our final home game.

Bighitter11 wrote:Sounds like we might play our First 2 weeks of the season up at Bradley Bourbonnais on the turf and then have 4 more weeks until our final home game.

I think lots of schools have asked those schools with turf fields if they can use them but many are saying no for a variety of reasons. I've heard spread of COVID, to extensive damage, to schedule conflicts as reasons to deny teams from using their turf. I have seen on Twitter many schools getting the snow off of their fields to take advantage of the warmer temps with hopes of thawing the fields out. I guess this is a good move but temps are not high enough for a quick thaw and even when it thaws there is going to be a lot of left over moisture which is going to create a mess.

I will probably be practicing in our parking lot the first few days of practice.

mc140 wrote:I will probably be practicing in our parking lot the first few days of practice.

sarcasm? are you still at the same school?

Some NUIC teams are utilizing Freeport's turf for games. First two EPC games are there, all West Carroll home games are there. First Aquin home game there.

East Dubuque playing first two home games in Dubuque.

Gotta wonder what the stadium rental fees are for these arrangements. Newman pays $2,000/game to use Sterling's stadium.

net wrote:

mc140 wrote:I will probably be practicing in our parking lot the first few days of practice.

sarcasm? are you still at the same school?

Sorta, and yeah. I drove past our practice fields today and snow hasn't fully melted. Where it has melted it is under water. Game field is clear but soggy. As of now we have to put all levels on the game field for practice. We Will probably do that. Personally, I'd rather use the parking lot for non contact stuff if field is bad but I will be at basketball most of first week. Whatever is the most playable the varsity will use for practice. Indoor space is not a real option. Hopefully the high ground area of our school finishes melting and relatively dries out by end of week. That way varsity can use the game field and we can use their practice field.

As of yesterday, our game field is most melted other than a few small spots that are shaded by the angle of the sun.

Practice field #1 is a no go and we probably won't touch it the entire season. It was on pretty bad shape at the end of 2019.

Practice Field #2 still spotty snow cover bit where qsnow is gone it's a bit sloppy but mostly sand so it should drain quickly. We also have 1/2 mile of usable space so we can always move if it gets too soupy.

Practice Field #3 snow covered and likely unusable.

I'm fairly confident out game field will be in decent shape for our 2 home games but I think we are still looking at other options but not sure.

Starting our first few days inside but we have several spaces within school so we will be fine. It will surely be weird but we will be able to get our work done.

#35 wrote:Gotta wonder what the stadium rental fees are for these arrangements. Newman pays $2,000/game to use Sterling's stadium.

Is it me, or does that seem high to anyone else?  I can understand that there are certain extra expenses and wear and tear on the facility that the district incurs resulting from Newman playing games there.  However, $2,000 per game ($8-$10K annually + Newman home playoff games) seems more like a profit center to me than simply trying to recoup their expenses.

I wonder how much Newman saves the Sterling district annually in terms of additional expenses that the district doesn't have to expend on educating kids from that district who attend Newman but who would otherwise attend Sterling if Newman didn't exist.

ramblinman wrote:However, $2,000 per game ($8-$10K annually + Newman home playoff games) seems more like a profit center to me than simply trying to recoup their expenses.

In 2019, Sterling HS worked with Newman to generate revenue (for Newman) by using the video scoreboard at the stadium for advertisements.  Newcom can clarify, but it is my understanding  that enough revenue was generated (for Newman) to cover the rental fee with some left over for Newman to use at their discretion.

as to #35's question, my understanding is that ALL schools or other groups who want to rent the facility are charged the same $2,000 fee.

further, i'm told there are a handful of local schools in addition to Newman who are likely going to play at least a couple games at Sterling HS.

btw, ramblin, you use the term "profit center" as if it's a bad thing.

ging wrote:

ramblinman wrote:However, $2,000 per game ($8-$10K annually + Newman home playoff games) seems more like a profit center to me than simply trying to recoup their expenses.

In 2019, Sterling HS worked with Newman to generate revenue (for Newman) by using the video scoreboard at the stadium for advertisements.  Newcom can clarify, but it is my understanding  that enough revenue was generated (for Newman) to cover the rental fee with some left over for Newman to use at their discretion.

as to #35's question, my understanding is that ALL schools or other groups who want to rent the facility are charged the same $2,000 fee.

further, i'm told there are a handful of local schools in addition to Newman who are likely going to play at least a couple games at Sterling HS.

btw, ramblin, you use the term "profit center" as if it's a bad thing.

I don't think they are bad things.  Each Sterling district kid who attends Newman is a profit center (of sorts) for Sterling HS, right?

Glad it looks like both parties were able to work out a different arrangement.

Doesn't seem like ads on the video board will be very effective if you have 50 spectators. Could be like some sci-fi movie where ads are targeted directly to each person...

Looks like we will be playing our first two on the Turf in Bradley followed by 3 Road games after that. Field should be fine by Week 6 for senior night.