Bossier exploring switch to artificial turf at 4 football fields

BOSSIER PARISH, LA (KSLA) - Keep it real or use artificial turf?

That's the question Bossier School District is beginning to explore.

The possible turf switch was the focus of its Building and Grounds Planning and Development Committee meeting Tuesday afternoon at the Bossier Instructional Center on Airline Drive in Bossier City.

At issue is whether to change the makeup of the turf on 4 of the parish's high school football fields.

They are looking at possibly switching to artificial turf at Airline, Bossier, Haughton and Parkway.

School Board leaders told KSLA News 12 that they've been discussing this for a couple months and that it's still in the exploratory stage of the discussion.

For one thing, it's not yet clear whether artificial turf actually would be safer for football players.

At their Tuesday meeting, the committee invited and heard proposals from four different Bossier City contractors: ARE Consulting & Raley and Associates, FBL and Associates, Nixon Engineering Solutions and TBA Studio.

In the end, the committee voted to recommend ARE Consulting & Raley and Associates as the company to construct the new turf. The committee will make that recommendation to the Bossier Parish School Board at their meeting this Thursday night.

Raley and Associates leaders told KSLA they plan on having the plans finished for the four fields by January which is when the committee said the bidding for the project will begin.

According to the committee, the goal is to have all four new artificial fields completed before the start of the 2017 high school football season.

Committee Chair Dennis Bamburg told KSLA they've budgeted $1 million per field for this project, money that will come out their Building Fund.

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