CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Several youth sports leaders and teams plan to kick off a multi-million-dollar project to put down artificial turf on 10 athletic fields in the City of Charleston.
The work will take place during the fall and winter season. The fields are used for baseball, softball, soccer and other youth sports.
Kanawha City Little League Field and Watt Powell Park are the first two to get new turf fields.
Matt Sutton, chief of staff for Charleston Mayor Amy Schuler Goodwin’s Office, said on Monday’s “580 Live” heard on 580-WCHS kids from Charleston have to be on a level playing field with kids from big cities.
“Travel sports is everything now. You’re competing people who are playing in state-of-the-art facilities so when our kids go to Columbus, Lexington or Charlotte to play, they’re going to be playing on these turf fields, so they’re already behind the eight ball,” Sutton said.
Charleston City Councilman Chad Robinson has been championing the project for years. Robinson, also a guest on “580 Live,” said having turf over grass fields will draw in more visitors.
“The turf will provide our city with facilities to host sports tourism, softball tournaments, baseball tournaments for years to come,” he said.
The project, announced earlier this year, will be funded by the city’s share of the American Rescue Plan funds.
Sutton said they’ll see a huge return on investment in the city and county.
“It’s the biggest difference between spending money and investing money and this is a huge investment of about $8 million so we’re really excited about that,” he said.