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Callaway Stadium is getting a new and improved field.

The Troup County Board of Commissioners has approved a project to replace the artificial turf at Callaway Stadium with shared costs coming from the school system, LaGrange College, and the county.

The turf replacement will come with a padding underneath, which county officials say will help reduce injuries.

Assistant County Manager Jay Anderson said the turf was last replaced by FEMA in 2017 when a flooding event caused the field to buckle. 

“It’s got in bad shape again, so it’s time to replace that surface,” Anderson said. “All three high school football teams play on it. Two of the soccer teams play on it. The college plays on it. Our parks and rec uses it. So it’s very busy. We have graduation there for all three high schools. It gets used year-round.”

Anderson said the plan is to begin work on replacing the turf after graduation so it can be ready for football in the fall.

The county spoke with coaches from all three high schools about what type of turfs they prefer, which were included in the bid specifications. 

Two bids were submitted for the project but only one was valid. Anderson said the second contractor was not present for a mandatory pre-bid meeting, so their bid was deemed to be invalid. The winning bid was submitted by Sports Turf Company Inc. out of Carrollton, Georgia, for $754,317.

One of the main features of the new artificial turf is an underlayment padding, which helps reduce concussions. 

“The big thing in today’s football is the concussions and head injuries,” Anderson said. “A lot of that’s not so much from the initial tackle. It’s from when the player hits the ground and their head slams into the turf, that’s where more of the concussions occur.”

The padding under the turf will hopefully help reduce head injuries and concussions that come with football and other sports, Anderson said.

The Troup County School System is providing $300,000 for the turf replacement and LaGrange College is putting in $50,000. The remaining will come from the county’s portion of SPLOST VI funds.