A group in Airdrie is fundraising with the hope of building a turf field somewhere in the city.

Over the weekend the Airdrie Field Turf Project Society held its first big fundraiser, generating an estimated $35,000.

The project is expected to cost $2 million and the group is hoping to raise $1 million of that and secure government grants for the remaining costs.

Society president Chris said the project will be a benefit for several sports groups in the city.

“We’re primarily a bunch of football parents and coaches that started this society, but we want to include all field sports in this project,” Glass explained. “What it does is it gives us a much safer surface to play on, which is the number one priority.”

Glass said a turf field would increase the number of playable hours for teams compared to a typical grass field.

“It gives us a surface we can use more often, from about 100 hours a year [with grass] to 1,900 hours availability [with turf] and with a Canadian winter climate that goes a long way,” said Glass.

The Airdrie Field Turf Project Society is hoping to gather more community support going forward with more fundraisers to come.

“It will also allow us to land provincial, national and international events here in our city, which brings in commerce for our hotels and restaurants,” said Glass. “It’s one of those projects where everybody in Airdrie actually benefits from.”

The organization is hoping they will be able to build a turf field in Airdrie by September of 2020 or 2021, depending on funding and approvals.

For more information on the organization, you can visit its Facebook page by clicking HERE.

 

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