Funding Approved for Synthetic Turf at Lions Field

The city is finally all set to move forward with installing synthetic turf at . 

At its last meeting, the City Council agreed to allow the city to use $1.5 million in park in-lieu fees to pay for the project, which means construction could start soon. 

The project is still short about $300,000 needed for the city’s ultimate plan—to build a new concession stand and bathrooms as well. But the sports programs that use the field are in the process of raising money, and they’re hoping to provide the funding needed to complete the full project. 

Most importantly, Lions Field will finally be able to be used to its full potential. 

“We think we'll b able to use it all year round,” said Randy Schwartz, the city’s community services director, adding that the synthetic turf field should be ready by May. 

Each year, Lions Field gets about 830 hours of use during the year from the five leagues that play there, according to the city. 

But it has always been hampered by the rainy season, which brings flooding to the field, creates runoff to the adjacent Belle Air Elementary baseball field and puts it out of commission—sometimes for up to a month. 

With synthetic turf, the city will be installing a drainage system that would prevent the amount of runoff flowing toward the baseball field, which will instantly increase the number of hours that the field can be used from 830 hours to 1,400 hours, Schwartz said. 

As a boon for soccer programs that have wanted to use the field, the design for the synthetic turf includes space for a soccer field to be established in the outfield, with only part of the lines crossing over into the infield. 

To get the extra funding for the project, the San Bruno Pee Wee Baseball league has applied for a $200,000 grant from PG&E, the city is seeking a $100,000 grant from the Peninsula Health Care District and ESPN has donated a small amount. 

Ray Scarposio, the president of the Pee Wee league, said he is excited for the big change because a lot of people have been waiting on a new field for a while. 

“Slowly but surely, this is coming together,” he said.