Turlock Turf Trouble: Debely Stadium Closed Before Start Of High-School Football Season
TURLOCK (CBS13) — Just before the first snap of the high school football season there's a stadium snafu in Turlock.
Turlock Unified School District has closed Debely Stadium because the newly installed turf has become too hard.
The turf was installed just 6 years ago by a European-based company called MondoTurf as part of a $2.8 million publicly-funded renovation.
Pittman High School student athlete families are furious.
Randy Francis's grandson plays football.
"It couldn't be worse," Francis said. "I'm thinking why did the company not come down and do something earlier."
A Turlock school district spokesperson says two turf tests measuring the pellets compression were performed over the summer. The most recent results returned this week showed the field is unplayable. The school district says the turf is still under warranty.
Pittman High School's varsity and junior varsity football teams will now play their home game in Livingston.
The freshman team will play it's home game in Hughson.
Turlock High School and Turlock Youth Leagues also use the stadium and are looking for other locations.
The district has issued no timeline for when the turf will be fixed.