After weeks of construction the Wilson turf field has been completely replaced.

The new field uses ground-up rubber from sneakers as the base rather than the ground-up tires in older fields. The field contains lines for lacrosse, field hockey, soccer, and football. “In the past, we would need to paint down the field hockey and lacrosse lines, but now they’re all there,” Athletic Director Mitch Gore explained.

“The athletic department had been lobbying the DCIAA because all the new schools got new fields,” added Gore. Wilson was one of three DCPS high schools that received a new field. The renovations don’t stop at just the field for Wilson; new bathrooms, scoreboards, and a sound system are going to be added.

Along with the aesthetic changes, the field was revamped beneath the surface. The faulty stormwater management system was replaced to fix the constant flooding the school has suffered in prior years. “Basically they had to replace 12-inch drain pipe that led away from the school that had collapsed,” Gore mentioned. Even after a few intense rainstorms at the end of August, the new improvements have helped the school stay dry. 

The athletic department wants to keep this new field in pristine condition so they aren’t allowing food on the field. Also, Unfortunately for the gang of lunchtime soccer players, the field won’t be accessible to students for the next few weeks due to continued construction. But the field has been used for teams’ tryouts and practice. 

Sophomore Lucy Harllee, who plays for the girl’s varsity soccer team, is a fan of the new field. “It hurts less when you fall,” she said. She added that the turf gets less hot than it used to. 

But the field isn’t good news for everyone. “It’s hard to play on,” said Zoe Kaplan, a sophomore on the field hockey team, “Specifically field hockey, because it’s hard to push the ball.” Kaplan believes the field has too much rubber, and the turf was too tall.