Grass is going away at Cal Poly’s Spanos Stadium in favor of artificial turf field
The grass field at Cal Poly’s Spanos Stadium, where the university football and soccer teams play, will soon be replaced with artificial FieldTurf-branded turf.
The upgrade will end a unique distinction for Cal Poly: Its stadium was the last football facility in the Big Sky Conference with natural grass, according to a news release from Cal Poly.
The professional grade surface “will have a natural look with excellent ball performance and a system that is backed by long-term independent real-life safety data,” Cal Poly said.
The upgrade costs an estimated $3.2 million and is being funded by the university, Cal Poly Corp. and other sources.
Work is scheduled to begin next week depending upon weather conditions with completion planned in time for Cal Poly’s 2022 spring commencement ceremony, scheduled for June 11 and 12, 2022.
The project is being managed by Maino Construction of San Luis Obispo.
The scope of Spanos Stadium project includes removing the existing grass and replacing the grass with the artificial turf. Also included are field striping and logos for both football and soccer.
Plans also include improving the accessibility of the field by adding new concrete flatwork and curbs, upgrading the storm drain and sanitary sewer, and installing new field goals and posts, according to the release.
Besides hosting football and soccer games, Spanos Stadium field will be used for rodeo events and big events like university commencement, large gatherings, concerts and more, according to Cal Poly.
Spanos Stadium is not the only sports-related construction project planned on campus.
In April 2022, the old surface at the Cal Poly Sports Complex will be replaced with FieldTurf, according to the release. That project is separate from the Spanos Stadium work and is slated to run from April to September.
This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 6:26 PM with the headline "Grass is going away at Cal Poly’s Spanos Stadium in favor of artificial turf field."
