Barron Stadium to get new turf
♦ The old artificial turf was installed at the stadium in 2010.
Work started Monday on replacement of the decadeold Astroturf playing surface at Barron Stadium.
Stadium Director Brandon Johnson with the Rome school system, said the new surface will be the same as is under the dome at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The new turf is made by Fieldturf, whose primary manufacturing facility is located in Calhoun. The same turf will also be installed in the new indoor practice facility that is under construction on the Rome High School campus.
The bid for the project came in at $445,223.
The city received four bids, ranging from a low of $437,167 all the way up to $639,955. Fieldturf was deemed the best bid.
The normal life of an artificial surface is about eight years, Johnson said, and this turf was installed in 2010.
“We got the use out of it, plus some,” Johnson said.
Rome City Schools took over operation of Barron Stadium and Legion Field, the baseball field behind the Coosa River levee, in the summer of 2015.
The school system gained control of the two venues as part of an agreement that resulted in Rome-floyd County Parks and Recreation Department becoming a function of county government.
The Lee Mowry Press Box has been completely insulated for the first time ever and has a new roof. Two small booths at the levee end of the box have been combined into one radio room, which will be designated for the home radio crew. That booth has windows that open, which will make crowd noise more of a part of the broadcast. In the past, the windows have been completely sealed.
Johnson is optimistic that there will be a 2020 high school football season. The status of the COVID-19 pandemic will make that determination, he said.
If there is no season, or schools have to limit attendance, Johnson said virtually
every sport in schools across the state and country would suffer a significant negative impact.
“High school football, college football, it’s just a big part of our culture,” Johnson said.
Barron Stadium is slated to host the Corky Kell Classic for a third straight year to open the 2020 season Friday, Aug. 21. Cedartown will play Carrollton and Rome will play Rockmart.