Jack Thompson is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Xavier College Prep for AZPreps365.com

Xavier College Prep's new soccer field provides an elite playing surface for its soccer, softball, lacrosse and flag football teams.

With the previous field installed in 2011, it was time to put new field turf in place, so Xavier College Prep started a bidding process from different companies. This led Xavier to choose Hellas Construction, which has been used by teams in the NFL. 

“Our previous field was built in 2011, and we had played on it for 11 years. We were very surprised that we played that long on that field,” said Tui Selvaratnam, associate athletics director.

This season was the first played on the new field, as construction started this past June and finished in October. The estimated cost of around $1 million was funded by an annual fund that had been put away, knowing the field would have to be renovated in the future. 

One of the key advantages of the new field is how cool it stays compared to other turfs, where it can feel even hotter than it is during the summer and fall. Xavier already had six water cannons underground that were used to cool the field. The base that was put down before the field turf as well as the Ecotherm infill to help cool the field. 

“We already had water cannons that were underground to cool the field. The base that went in to cool the field before the grass went down was a new technology,” said Selvaratnam. 

The cooling part of the turf is just one of many advantages of having the new turf put in. Head soccer coach Barbara Chura added that the old turf had pellets that would get into people’s shoes and on their clothes. 

“We used to take home thousands of pellets, and a lot of the turf would come up, so you would always have it on your clothes. The pellets would be all over my house, in my car and in my shoes. We don’t have that anymore,” said Chura.

The turf also drains quickly. With Xavier's soccer, softball, lacrosse and flag football games all played on the new field, that is a nice luxury to have.

“It has rained a lot this winter, and we don’t have to deal with not having a field because of weather. We always will have the field to play on,” said Chura.

The field is fully lined for soccer, softball, lacrosse, and flag football. Selvaratnam said it is estimated to have 90 games as well as practices and PE all on the new field.