Former Montague Area Public Schools Superintendent Dave Sipka holds three samples of synthetic turf that the district considered in 2008 for the football field. MAPS Athletic Director/Assistant Principal Ken Diamond is looking to solicit funds from commun

At the MAPS board meeting on Monday, Oct. 22, Diamond showed the board and public a presentation he made discussing the benefits of artificial turf and the cost.

A new turf field would cost roughly $700,000 to install, but Diamond would not ask the school for any funding. The school would have to pay about $5,000 per year for maintenance, but Diamond explained that the school currently pays around $20,000 per year in maintenance for the grass field. While, he said, the total cost of installing and maintaining an artificial turf field is more expensive up front, the average cost of use an hour would be significantly less. According to statistics he presented, per hour of use on a turf field is around $25.07, while an hour of use on a grass field is around $91.20 (these figures are for 25 weeks of use per year). There are also other cost savings associated with an artificial turf field.