Final Push For New Turf At Cookeville High

It’s the fourth quarter in local parents’ efforts to replace the turf at Cookeville High School.

Parent Julie Baker said the group remains committed to installing new artificial turf before the first football game in August. The deadline comes next Thursday when the Putnam County School Board considers the issue and what money has been raised.

“We are definitely on the right track,” Baker said. “We don’t have the full amount of funds that we need, but we are making lots of progress. We are just a little bit short right now, but we are reaching out to lots of community members. You know, we we have a plan with the financing and we’re really just trying to make one last push this in this next week for a positive outcome that we can report to the school board next week.”

Baker said the group has a current goal of just over $700,000. That is less than the original goal. Baker said the expansion of the weight room and indoor training center did not make sense in the current environment. The group has also received several in-kind donations to assist in the building of the turf field.

If the school board approves the funding plan next week and the group meets its fundraising goal, Baker said they can get the project done in the next two months.

“Our first football game is actually at Tennessee Tech, and then our first home game is on August 28,” Baker said. “And we’ve even talked about the possibility of moving that home game if we need to, because that would give us a couple extra weeks. But right now, as long as we can make this happen and meet our financial goal in the next week, then we do still have time to get permits, start construction and finish construction before that first August 28 home football game.”

The idea of replacing the field has been talked about for several years. The field easily floods in heavy rains. It’s also used by football, soccer, and lacrosse increasing the wear and tear on the facility. The parents group launched a $1 million fundraising campaign just prior to the March 3 tornado.

Baker said the group wanted to push forward despite the tornado and COVID because of the students.

“We’ve been talking about this for years, and so when we decided back in the fall to pull the trigger and really start fund raising, we gained momentum,” Baker said. “And we saw what it meant to the students. And how exciting it was for not just the football team, but the soccer teams and the lacrosse teams and the cheerleaders and the dance. And so the excitement that the students showed, you know, really let us know that that this is something that that’s worth it.”

The School Board had money in its budget to install irrigation on the existing grass field. Plans are also in place from the school board to replace the track that surrounds the field.

Anyone interested in making a donation, can visit Cookeville Turf Project on social media.

“We are accepting any donations, all of our donors are making a difference, whether it’s a a 500 dollars donation, even a 100 dollar donation,” Baker said.