Old School Grass Fields.

[MIKEFTB]

As we've seen over the past decade or better many schools have installed field turf that looks really nice with the team logo in the middle and the clearly visible yard lines that hold up and even the heaviest rains.

However there are still some schools that still play in a natural grass field so I thought it would be cool to start a list of schools still going old school on grass. I will start with these schools and if you know any more please add them to the group.

DUNDEE CROWN
GLENBARD WEST
NEUQUA VALLEY
OSWEGO
OSWEGO EAST
PROVISO WEST
WAUBONSIE VALLEY

 

[Wilmatucky]

Wilmington.....although I feel like it's a lot more common at a smaller school these days. Plus there's no lacrosse or soccer on the field so that helps too

 

[PowerI66]

PR, CG, and both Crystal Lake schools do

 

[greatgig13]

PR, CG, and both Crystal Lake schools do

I could be wrong but I think Huntley and maybe Hampshire are the only FVC schools not on grass.

 

[jha618]

Crete has grass. When they played esl a few years ago it looked like they had intenionally left it uncut for weeks

 

[RichieRebel]

Lakes

 

[MIKEFTB]

Wilmington.....although I feel like it's a lot more common at a smaller school these days. Plus there's no lacrosse or soccer on the field so that helps too

I'm going to assume all the ICE schools are on grass?

 

[McCaravan]

Marmion is the only one in the Catholic League I know of

 

[Wilmatucky]

I'm going to assume all the ICE schools are on grass?

RC just got turf. Herscher I believe will next year, if they didn't get it this year. Then obviously Lisle at BU is on turf.

 

[circletrack32]

Sycamore (the nicest field I’ve seen in 25 years)
Kaneland
Ottawa
Streator
Coal city
Seneca

That’s all I can think of right now that I’ve been to in my area

 

[FCHS2019]

RC just got turf. Herscher I believe will next year, if they didn't get it this year. Then obviously Lisle at BU is on turf.

Herscher has turf now, baseball and softball fields almost done.. new football building and football bleachers for next year.. something like $10M on athletic facilities, not bad for a 3A downstate school

Heard Momence getting it next year

 

[EdgyTim]

Crete has grass. When they played esl a few years ago it looked like they had intenionally left it uncut for weeks

No that's normal operating procedures it's always that way

 

[olderbytheminute]

Lakes

Lakes feels like an odd one in that it is the same school district and only about 3 miles southeast of Antioch.
Yet Antioch has a fine-looking football arena with turf and Lakes’ setup looks like something very small-schoolish out of the 1960s, including real grass.
Antioch is the old school in the district and Lakes is the newer one.

 

[JC1984]

Marmion is the only one in the Catholic League I know of

Marmion put in artificial turf this year.

Aurora Central Catholic still has grass.

 

[MIKEFTB]

Lakes feels like an odd one in that it is the same school district and only about 3 miles southeast of Antioch.
Yet Antioch has a fine-looking football arena with turf and Lakes’ setup looks like something very small-schoolish out of the 1960s, including real grass.
Antioch is the old school in the district and Lakes is the newer one.

That's interesting because in Indian Prairie District 204 there are three schiols. Waubonsie Valley the oldest and Neuqua Valley which opened over 25 years ago both continue to play on grass football fields, but when Metea Valley the youngest school was built over 10 years ago they installed field turf during the construction.

Most familiar with IP 204 know if WV and NV wanted to install field turf they could do it in a minute but they chose not to and that's their right as members of the District. The two schools soccer teams play on their own seperate fields. MV plays soccer on the football turf

 

[SiuCubFan8]

Herscher has turf now, baseball and softball fields almost done.. new football building and football bleachers for next year.. something like $10M on athletic facilities, not bad for a 3A downstate school

Heard Momence getting it next year

And they still suck.

 

[RichieRebel]

Lakes feels like an odd one in that it is the same school district and only about 3 miles southeast of Antioch.
Yet Antioch has a fine-looking football arena with turf and Lakes’ setup looks like something very small-schoolish out of the 1960s, including real grass.
Antioch is the old school in the district and Lakes is the newer one.

One school got a turf field. One school got a field house.

Lakes stadium is one of the rare no tracks stadiums.

 

[McCaravan]

Thornwood is grass. MC had to play a mud bowl in the playoffs a couple years ago

 

[MS4EVER]

From an equipment manager’s standpoint I love turf fields. Uniforms stay cleaner longer! There was nothing worse than spending thousands on away uniforms, going to New Trier and having that nasty green ruin all your uniforms!!

 

[bccanwin]

Sycamore (the nicest field I’ve seen in 25 years)
Kaneland
Ottawa
Streator
Coal city
Seneca

That’s all I can think of right now that I’ve been to in my area

I would put the grass at Sycamore up against any grass field anywhere. That includes any college or pro grass field.

Their grass looks like it's turf on video.

 

[MIKEFTB]

I would put the grass at Sycamore up against any grass field anywhere. That includes any college or pro grass field.

Their grass looks like it's turf on video.

It does! I was looking at a satellite image of it and it really does look like turf that's awesome whoever maintains that field dies a great job

 

[MIKEFTB]

From an equipment manager’s standpoint I love turf fields. Uniforms stay cleaner longer! There was nothing worse than spending thousands on away uniforms, going to New Trier and having that nasty green ruin all your uniforms!!

MS.. New Trier plays on turf now at the Northfield campus correct?

 

[FCHS2019]

And they still suck.

They will get back there, way too much athletic tradition not to

 

[Swansa01]

WB6
Moline is the only one I think

TRAC
Princetown
Morrison
Riverdale
Erie-Prophetstown
Sherrard
Kewanee
Bureau Valley
Spring Valley/Hall
Orion
Rockridge
(Pretty much everyone except Mendota and Newman)

Others:
Milledgeville
Polo
Rock Falls
Byron
Dixon
Probably at least a dozen others.

Tons of grass fields in the Northwest corner of Illinois

 

[MS4EVER]

MS.. New Trier plays on turf now at the Northfield campus correct?

Yes,thank God!!

 

[Unknown0351]

Here are some that I recall

Belvidere
Belvidere North
Boylan
Hononegah
Rockford Lutheran
Stillman Valley
Byron
North Boone

 

[SEHSSTORM1]

South Elgin and Bartlett are still grass. It's good!

 

[missingwalter]

Marmion is the only one in the Catholic League I know of

Marmion just opened a new stadium, which i believe is turf.

 

[forlouann]

Chicago Christian is grass. A generous donor was willing to pay for turf, but the school declined. That was a head scratcher for me

 

[Badger Pete]

Proviso West
Maine West
Glenbard West

 

[UlbKA91]

Lakes feels like an odd one in that it is the same school district and only about 3 miles southeast of Antioch.
Yet Antioch has a fine-looking football arena with turf and Lakes’ setup looks like something very small-schoolish out of the 1960s, including real grass.
Antioch is the old school in the district and Lakes is the newer one.

They share a large cluster of tennis courts across the street and the Antioch "red and grey" courts are always left shabby compared to the blue Lakes courts.

 

[kpjasion]

Proviso West
Maine West
Glenbard West

Maine East too

 

[olderbytheminute]

Maine East too

Waukegan
North chicago

 

[MIKEFTB]

WB6
Moline is the only one I think

TRAC
Princetown
Morrison
Riverdale
Erie-Prophetstown
Sherrard
Kewanee
Bureau Valley
Spring Valley/Hall
Orion
Rockridge
(Pretty much everyone except Mendota and Newman)

Others:
Milledgeville
Polo
Rock Falls
Byron
Dixon
Probably at least a dozen others.

Tons of grass fields in the Northwest corner of Illinois

Nice! Do Geneseo & Sterling have turf?

 

[MIKEFTB]

Chicago Christian is grass. A generous donor was willing to pay for turf, but the school declined. That was a head scratcher for me

I'll never understand it either.

 

[MIKEFTB]

Here are some that I recall

Belvidere
Belvidere North
Boylan
Hononegah
Rockford Lutheran
Stillman Valley
Byron
North Boone

Thanks, I was hoping that we would hear from the Rockford area..I was lookibg at satellite images of that area. It looks like Harlem has turf and Auburn and there is a public turf field that is probably used by a few schools.

 

[MIKEFTB]

Yes,thank God!!

I think Evanston has turf too..

 

[Swansa01]

Nice! Do Geneseo & Sterling have turf?

Yep, Sterling put theirs in awhile ago. Geneseo I think was 4-5 years ago.

 

[AmbroseBlack]

T.F. North still has grass.

 

[MIKEFTB]

T.F. North still has grass.

I believe TF North and South sre going to turf..correct Edgy?