T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA The recently completed Premier Field was turfed by ForeverLawn from Canfield, Ohio.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The St. Clairsville Junior Sports Complex is at the bottom of the ninth when it comes to completing its turfing project.

Starting in October, with the help of ForeverLawn from Canfield, Ohio, the Parks & Recreation department brought artificial turf to the upper two fields with lights at the Jr. Sports Complex at the park.

St. Clairsville Recreation Director Eric Gay said that although the winter weather caused delays for the project, it is nearing completion. He then voiced frustration over seeing negative comments from residents regarding the delays in the project.

“People that aren’t involved in the project are kind of speaking on it, but the people that are involved in the project aren’t really upset with anything that’s going on,” Gay said. “One of the top fields, the Premier Field, is finished. We hydro seeded it last week.”

According to Michigan.gov, hydroseeding is a mechanical method of applying seed, fertilizer and mulch to land in one step. It typically consists of applying a mixture of wood fiber, seed, fertilizer, and stabilizing emulsion with hydro-mulch equipment, which temporarily protects exposed soils from erosion by water and wind.

In 2023, the Parks and Recreations Department applied for a grant that was written through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The grant was a 50/50 match grant. The project is a $1 million project. ODNR and the National Park Service, another organization Parks & Recreation had the grant written through, awarded the department the full amount.

Gay said this project is a joint effort between the city, the St. Clairsville Junior Sports organization and the schools.

He added that although the project is 50% completed, he isn’t comfortable giving a completion date due to the unpredictability of the weather.

“We had a horrible, horrible winter. It’s either snowed or it’s been frozen and then thawed and then poured down rain, and we just couldn’t do the work out there,” he said. “The company has been great to work with. They’ve kept us in the loop the entire time. The minor inconvenience that it’s causing right now is going to be well worth it in the end.”

He added that he believes that this is a project that everybody wanted to done, but because the project is experiencing delays from the weather residents are frustrated. He believes that is unjust because it’s nobody’s fault that the weather conditions have made it virtually impossible for work to be done consistently.

He added that he believes some of the confusion from the public is that a day or two after a heavy rain, there still will be no one working on the field despite it being clear. Gay said the reasoning is because the equipment working on the fields is 10,000 pounds of machinery and is only going to do more damage if the field is not completely dry.

“The biggest obstacle has been the excavating part because you’re at the mercy of the weather,” Gay said. “When we started this it was six weeks per field. Well, everybody thinks that if they’re there a day that equals a week. They’re talking 30 days of work from start to finish, and we just haven’t gotten that. Over the last five years, winter has been non-existent, and they’ve been able to work through it. Well, this year, it was really bad and that threw our timeline off.”

Despite the setbacks, Gay said he is very pleased with the progress that has been made and expected the Premier Field to be open for games on the first of April.

He added that he’s optimistic that the work on the second field will be smoother because the winter weather will no longer be a factor.