Just over a decade since the original turf was installed in 2012, the Powell High School turf in Panther Stadium is set to be replaced starting June 1.

The construction of the turf will be done once again by Hellas Construction, based in Austin, Texas, who installed the initial turf.

“We are looking forward to working with Hellas Construction again and having a fresh and updated field,” support services coordinator Rob McCray said. “It is very difficult to have turf grass in this area ready for spring sports. The fields are dry and hard coming out of winter and that causes injuries to our students. Turf fields are tested for compaction and have much better cushioning, especially early in the season, than we can achieve on grass.”

The bid for the replacement of the turf came in at $625,900 in September, and will be funded by the 10% major maintenance funds, which were also used for the original turf installation.

Park County School District 1 already has the necessary equipment to maintain the turf, including redistributing the rubber on the turf and mending tears.

A rendering of the new turf shows an added Powell Panther logo in the middle of the field, along with a longer soccer field that blends in with the back of the end zones, making the soccer field 10 yards longer than the previous turf.

The old turf will be available to the public for pickup, which will come on a day specified by Hellas Construction.

“The turf will be available to the public free of charge,” McCray said. “It will be on a first come, first served basis and will be scheduled to be loaded by the contractor on one specific day to be determined after they begin.”

He said that the rolls will be 7 1/2 feet wide, and 40 feet long. The rolls will then be rolled up and will be approximately 2 1/2 feet in diameter, and weigh roughly 2,000 pounds.

McCray said neither the district nor the contractor will be responsible for issues related to someone picking up rolls of turf.

The turf installation is expected to take up a majority of the summer, and the latest expected completion date for the project is July 31.

He said that the contractor has 60 days to install, but if conditions are favorable and few issues arise, the contractor believes it will only take six weeks.

With the turf being installed over the summer, that will remove the possibility of the track being available for activities due to safety concerns.

“During the construction we don’t want to risk someone getting hurt so the track will be closed,” McCray said.

He added that the Powell Middle School track will be available for use.