In the original planning and research of the high school synthetic turf project, staff from the Activities Department, Buildings & Grounds Department, and Curriculum & Instruction Department researched not only what it will bring to the district, but also what other districts have invested in the product. The map shows locations of high school synthetic turf throughout the state of North Dakota. The western half of the state utilizes turf in districts as large as Bismarck and as small as Killdeer. The eastern half of the state is actively making progress toward turf fields via bond referendums, private purchases, and fundraising in Valley City, Jamestown, West Fargo, and Fargo.

Turf fields are installed based on an athletic field standard, such as football, baseball, or softball, although that does not indicate exclusive use and rights by the activity. In fact, a turf field built to the size of a football field can be utilized not only for football, but also soccer and activity- and performance-based academics.

By including high school synthetic turf in our bond project, West Fargo Public Schools has the opportunity to increase outdoor field access at each high school from 45 hours a year to 1,260 hours a year. Of these 1,260 hours, the high school physical education courses will be the largest user of the field with usage expected to take place throughout the entire school day (as weather permits). At an anticipated usage rate of 42%, the classes are expected to use the turf for more than 500 hours a year. Additionally, the fields will serve as the competition and practice space for our soccer and football teams, allowing these teams to remain on campus for home games and practices. Numerous other outdoor athletics and community groups will have access to the turf field during the spring, summer, and fall months. The turf will provide all of these new opportunities for our students, but will also do so while cutting down the district’s annual maintenance costs per field from $20,000 (for 45 hours) to $5,000 (for 1,260 hours).

Our growing community and school district has experienced over 2,800 student-athletes participating in North Dakota sanctioned activities. Enthusiastic participation by our youth provides lifelong learning and leadership experiences, preparing them for future successes. Increased participation in middle and high school athletics at West Fargo Public Schools has limited safe practice and performance outdoor surface areas for students in our community. The district currently spends $20,000 to provide 45 hours of field usage at each site annually. This breaks down to an hourly cost of $444.44 for use of the field at each high school. Multi-purpose synthetic turf would decrease annual maintenance costs to $5,000 and increase the hours of usage to 1,260 per site. This breaks down to an hourly cost of $3.97, or a 99% decrease in hourly costs and a 183% increase in available usage. Overall, it would increase students’ access to outdoor spaces for athletic, co-curricular, and educational needs. Each high school would receive a turf field that would serve as the home for the school’s physical education classes, football team, and soccer teams. The projected cost of this specific project is $3.0 million ($1.0 million per high school) of the total $106.9 million bond package.

The estimated life expectancy of the high school synthetic turf is 15 years.