Camden Catholic High School’s “Fields of the Future” fundraising campaign to build the school’s first state-of-the-art synthetic turf athletic field became a reality recently with the grand opening of the new field before the football team’s first home game of the year.
Prior to the game, school officials and the coaches and captains of the six sports teams which will play on it were led in a blessing of the field, in a prayer asking for the safety of the students who will play on its surface. In addition to the football team, the field will be used by girls’ field hockey, boys’ and girls’ soccer, and boys’ and girls’ lacrosse.
The synthetic turf field — made possible by fundraising activities and alumni donations — is made by the Wayne, PA-based sports facility construction company Sprinturf. It is the same company that has installed fields for the Kansas City Chiefs as well as an abundance of local installations including LaSalle University, Temple University, Drexel University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Philadelphia Eagles’ indoor training field at the Nova Care Center.
The field is made of Sprinturf’s patented Ultrablade MM synthetic turf system utilizing a unique dual-fiber technology. This system paired with Sprinturf’s all-rubber infill contributes to the ultimate balance in performance and safety, while offering the appearance of pristine natural grass. The alternating panel layout even makes it look like it’s been freshly mowed!
The opening of the main athletic field is the first phase of the 122-year-old college preparatory school’s capital improvement campaign to benefit its students and its fields on the 33-acre campus. At Camden Catholic, about 40 percent of the student body is involved in a school sport, which, the school says, is an essential element of the college preparatory curriculum that develops mind, body, and spirit. Phase Two of the Fields of the Future campaign will include construction of a new six- or eight-lane track, beginning in 2010.
