Written by Carol P. Bartold

Oct. 29, 2014: With the question of the $1.9 million restoration of Hayes Field headed toward a January 2015 referendum, concerns continue about the possible replacement of a natural grass surface with artificial turf.

Restoration of the field, to be taken out of service in January as part of the joint village and school district flood mitigation project, is scheduled to begin in June, reach substantial completion by mid-August, and be playable by the end of August.

Immediate playability of the field on a school campus already in need of sufficient facilities to support its athletic teams and after school programs is at the center of plans developed by district architects KG&D Architects to have Hayes Field ready for play by the opening of the 2015-2016 school year. "If we don't do a project like this," said Erik Wilson, associate principal of KG&D, "it will not result in a playable field at the end of the project." He added that it would take "some time" before sod or grass would settle and be fully playable.

Bronxville Board of Education member Dr. James Hudson noted that, as part of its due diligence, the board's facilities committee is examining several options for surface material for Hayes Field. "We've done some internal research and we will be seeking advice as needed," said Hudson. In addition, the committee is evaluating costs and expected useful life spans of materials.

Recent media reports about the presence of possible cancer-causing agents in turf field materials have raised awareness and questions about the wisdom of replacing a grass field with turf. Hudson stated that, in researching such cancer concerns, he could find no authoritative findings that substantiate turf's potential to cause cancer. "I could not find any serious issue except heat buildup," he said.

Bronxville resident Gretchen Pingel, whose children attend The Bronxville School, observed that, if Hayes Field were to be ready by June for sod, a natural grass field would be playable by the end of August. "I've seen sod put down here and be ready within six weeks," she said.

Board of education member David Brashear pointed out that, while sod has been used on Hayes Field, it has not been used on the whole field. "Having sod adhere well enough so that we could actually have people playing sports on it takes longer than that," he said.

Beyond concerns of increasing field capacity, said Maureen Hackett, a Bronxville homeowner adjacent to the school's practice field and a registered soil scientist with the United States Soil Conservation Service, is the effect on water flow and drainage from the loss of several thousand cubic feet of soil, which would hold water much longer than an artificial surface can. She explained that an artificial surface tends to increase the direct flow of water into storm drains and, in the case of Hayes Field, possibly into the flood mitigation retention system. "Soil filters the water and slows it down," she said. "It reduces the flow into the storm drain. My concern is that we often hear from engineers and the people who are building these artificial surfaces is that it will actually improve drainage."

The facilities committee of the Bronxville Board of Education will continue to work with KG&D Architects to evaluate available options for the Hayes Field reconstruction.

Pictured here: Hockey players on Hayes Field.

Photo by A. Warner