Turf fields are finally in Bradenton as all schools plan to ditch grass by 2026

When Manatee High football fans approached their seats Friday, they weren’t just catching a first glimpse at what the Hurricanes might become this fall.

They saw the makeover of Joe Kinnan Field at Hawkins Stadium, too.

Last week, the Canes played their preseason Kickoff Classic on their brand-new artificial field turf.

Along with Palmetto High, the Hurricanes are the first public schools in Manatee County to have their grass football fields replaced with turf.

And they won’t be the last.

Each of the remaining public schools will get field turf installed on a yearly basis. Two schools per year.

Lakewood Ranch and Braden River are scheduled for 2024.

Southeast, Bayshore and Parrish Community get their new playing surface in 2025 and 2026.

“It was just a matter of time,” Palmetto head coach Rashad West said. “Our neighbors to the south, Sarasota, they’ve done it and they’re pretty much done with all their schools. So I figured it was just a matter of time before we kind of got on board with that stuff.”

The Manatee County School Board approved the switch to turf at the Nov. 8, 2022, board meeting. It comes with a $7.72 million price tag for the seven public schools, with Manatee and Palmetto costing $1.1 million each.

St. Petersburg’s Osborn Engineering is the architect for the project, while Jon F. Swift Construction in Sarasota is managing the construction end.

Taxpayer dollars are funding the project.

The move follows neighboring counties Hillsborough and Sarasota, which adopted artificial playing surfaces in recent years.

And it comes with both positives and concerns.

Having turf fields means better drainage and irrigation systems that practically prevent fields from turning into a swamp and being unplayable when heavy rains hit.

“It’s good because you don’t have to worry about the weather,” Manatee High head coach Jacquez Green said. “Now you know the only way to stop the game is lightning and you don’t have to worry about the field being too wet or anything like that.”

At Manatee High’s turf field, wood chips were used in the construction rather than the rubber pellets that are common in other artificial turf fields. This makes the surface cooler, rather than hotter.

It’s a bonus for players after they experienced the hottest and driest July on record in Manatee County.

“With the wood chips, it’s supposed to be cooler,” Green said. “... The first time going on (the field) was (August 11) and it felt good. It felt cooler. Should be good. It looks nice. They chose the right colors. They put the right ‘M’ in the middle of the field. I think the county did a good job as far as the way they set it up.”

While Manatee’s field was completed in time for practices leading up to the Kickoff Classic debut, Palmetto’s Harllee Stadium isn’t ready yet.

The installation began last week, but it is expected to be finished this weekend. The Tigers played their Kickoff Classic at St. Petersburg Lakewood and return to Pinellas County on Friday to face St. Petersburg Gibbs.

Their first home game is Sept. 1 against Braden River.

“We’re going to be the first players that play on it, we’re making history,” Palmetto senior defensive back Izaiah Jackson said. “So it’s just exciting. Just can’t wait how it turns out.”

The adjustment won’t be a massive one for Manatee County players, since Sarasota began its switch a few years ago.

Jackson played on the surface last season when Palmetto played at Sarasota High and Clearwater Academy.

There are challenges, too.

“I do think it’s hard on the joints,” Braden River head coach Curt Bradley said. “I do think it increases concussions based off of how hard the underlayment can be. I do think we’ll still practice on the grass a majority of the time and then pick and choose when to go on the turf.”

Bradley said it’s nice to have turf for the days when it’s muddy or sloppy with rain, but it’s not good to be on the turf every day.

“Practicing on that thing three times and you play a game on it … realistically four times a week, I think that can be hard,” Bradley said. “I know that the NFL’s kind of raised some questions as far as the consistency of using field turf.”

“And then there’s the maintenance of it, too. That has to be kept up. … A lot of people think you just throw turf down and you’re done. No, there’s maintenance that has to go into that to make sure all the rains and those things, the pebbles or sub-particles or whatever could get washed away and it has to be replenished or replaced. We’ll use it, it just won’t be every day all day.”