Q. How did the Copley Stadium project come about?
A. The project is a response to the growing need in our community for an all weather stadium surface for our many athletic teams and musical performers in order to significantly improve the usability for all participants.
Q. Who is leading this effort?
A. A committee of volunteers has been formed that is comprised of members of the Copley Athletic Boosters and the Copley Band Boosters, as well as other interested parties from the community. The overarching organization is the non-profit Copley-Fairlawn Schools Foundation. School district officials are also part of the effort to help raise private dollars in support of the project to meet the fundraising goal.
Q. Has the Board of Education and the Schools Staff endorsed this project?
A. Absolutely. The Board of Education approved a preliminary study that helped kick-off the project. The Superintendent, Business Manager, and Athletic Director, all critical members of the committee, have helped lead the effort to determine the requirements of the stadium to ensure that all sports and other activities are included in the process.
Q. Will it cost more to maintain the new fields?
A. The addition of synthetic turf to the stadium field actually requires less maintenance. The synthetic surface needs to be maintained about every six weeks with a rake that is dragged over the surface.
Q. Are there any limitations on how often the field can be used?
A. No, all turf companies guarantee their product for 8 years regardless of usage. This is one of great advantages of synthetic turf. It is anticipated that the field can be used nearly year round as many hours of the day as needed.
Q. Who will get to use the field and who will manage the priorities?
A. The school administration will manage the field and set the priorities. In general high school activities take precedent, whether it is for athletic or musical events or practices. However, given the capability to use the field throughout the day and into the evening with lights, youth sports and other community activities will have access to the field, much like they currently have for other school facilities.
Q. What is the financial goal of the project?
A. A goal of $740,000 dollars has been set for the stadium project.
Q. Why isn’t the School District proposing a tax levy for the project?
A. The Copley Stadium Committee is leading an effort to raise $740,000 from private charitable sources to distinguish school operating revenues from these capital needs, and to preserve the ability of the school district and community taxpayers to fund ongoing operating expenses.
Q. What happens if more or less money is raised toward the goal?
A. We are confident that our generous alumni and community supporters will help us reach our goal. If we fall short, we will have to postpone the project until funding can be achieved. If we exceed our goal, there is a much larger list of other facility improvements and needs that will be addressed.
Q. Can a donation be spread out over multiple years and, if so, how long?
A. Yes, we are accepting gift installments of up to 5 years, payable annually on June 1.
Q. Will my gift be a tax deductible donation?
A. Yes, The Copley-Fairlawn Schools Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. In return a gift acknowledgement letter will be provided for IRS purposes.
Q. Can I place my donation in my will or as part of a planned estate giving gift?
A. For this specific project, the money is needed in a short period of time and therefore an estate gift is not applicable. However, the Copley-Fairlawn Schools Foundation accepts planned gifts for a variety of scholarships and programs.
Q. How much would I have to donate to have a field/portion of a field named after me or someone I wish to name it after?
A. The School Board has the final say on naming rights, but it is expected that $250,000 would be sufficient to award naming rights.
Q. Who do I make my check out to and where do I send it?
A. Make checks payable to Copley-Fairlawn Schools Foundation – Stadium Project
Mail to:
Copley Stadium Project
c/o Copley-Fairlawn City Schools
3797 Ridgewood Road
Copley, OH 44321-1695
Q. Can I make my gift in memory or honor of someone?
A. Yes! We’d be happy to acknowledge your gift as an honorary or memorial contribution, and send a notification to the person(s) to whom you are honoring.
Q. How can I help you out with this project in addition to making a financial contribution?
A. In addition to financial support, we need help reaching out to other Copley-Fairlawn community members and alumni to help share the vision of this exciting project and rally financial support. Please share news of our project and campaign with others by sending them our website address so they can see our progress and hopefully contribute to help us reach our goal!
Q. How will the new synthetic turf be selected?
A. There is a committee that was organized for the sole purpose of determining the requirements for the field. Several different turf companies presented the strengths of their particular product. The final specifications will be determined by the school administration and bid competitively.
Q. What about the concern over injuries and staph infections from the turf?
A. There is no evidence that field turf contributes to these types of infection any more than grass fields. Recent local incidences have not been the result of field issues, but rather the sharing of towels and other unsanitary facilities conditions. With respect to injuries, studies show that there is a reduction in upper body, head and neck, as well as lower body injuries on these new types of surfaces.
Field Turf Details
Q. When a new artificial turf field is installed, what will it look like?
A. The artificial turf will be a green color like natural grass. The new field will have permanent white lines for football. The out of bounds line for football will be twelve inches wide. The other lines will be four to six inches. There will be permanent yellow lines for soccer. The design of the field is not meant to focus on one single sport since so many activities will share the turf. Therefore, the end zones will remain green and there will be no lettering or logos. It was determined that we did not want to color the football end zone areas or include lettering that would clutter the soccer goal area, plus it saves considerable expense. The center of the field will have a “C” logo with an arrow through it.
Q. What “type” of turf is planned?
A. There are many vendors marketing field turf products. There are three types of turf available from most of the vendors. The first is the “honeycomb pattern slit film fiber.” This is the turf installed at St. V, Hoban, Cloverleaf, and many other facilities. After the turf is installed it is “combed” to tear the turf into separate strands. The slit film fiber has been improved recently. This improvement is a “parallel fibrillated” slit fiber. While this product is also “combed” after installation to separate the fibers, the blades are more uniform and less frayed.
In the past two years schools started to install the newest product, a monofilament fiber. This turf was installed at Ohio State, Perry, Mentor, and will be installed at Green high school by next year. The monofilament fibers are all installed as separate strands at the factory. It is more natural looking and the least abrasive of all fibers. The monofilament is more uniform throughout the field and a soccer ball will roll more consistently from all directions. The monofilament has proven to be more durable during testing. This is the best option for a multi-use field. There will likely be a layer of sand at the base of the field covered by rubber granules. This is the most common field infill because the sand provides weight to hold the field firmly in place while the rubber granules provide a softer playing surface. The rubber granules allow a players foot to turn when firmly planted to best simulate a natural grass surface. The turf has an eight year warranty and is expected to last 12 years or longer. At that point the turf would be replaced, but the base and drainage is expected to remain intact.
Some vendors that provide turf products include:
Prograss www.prograssturf.com (Hoban, …)
Sportexe www.sportexe.com (St. V,….)
Field Turf www.fieldturf.com (21 NFL teams, Ohio State, Green High School,…)
Timeline
Winter 2008
Collect pledges for Stadium Renovation
Spring 2008
Competitively bid for turf installation
May 2008
- Prepare field, (85,000 square feet) --- $290K
- Excavate and level field (6-7 weeks)
- Install drainage system
- Install synthetic turf monofilament (3-4 weeks) --- $360K
Total cost $650K
Summer of 2008
- Install track and field areas in the “D” zones at the ends of the field
- Long Jump, High Jump, Pole Vault, Shot Put, Discus
Total cost $90K
Grand Total - $740K
August 2008
Field is ready for all activities |
