New London ― The City Council on Monday approved spending $1.44 million in federal pandemic relief funding to replace the deteriorating artificial turf blanketing two high school football fields.

The city-owned practice and game fields have been used by New London High School football teams since their installation more than 12 years ago, but are now “beyond their expected lifespans,” said Director of Public Works Brian Sear.

“That practice field is not in usable shape with super dangerous tripping hazards,” Sear said. “The main field isn't as bad, but still needs attention before it can be used in the fall.”

The council also approved the hiring of FieldTurf USA to address issues at the 92,500- square-foot Chester Street practice field that has shown signs of gapping seams, turf fiber splitting and infill issues since it was installed in 2011, according to a June facility survey report.

Photos in the report showed twisted scraggles of turf with trodden sections of field. Inspectors concluded worn turf seams were a tripping hazard and the practice field had only a “limited life” of use left.

A FieldTurf USA proposal lists a fall start date for practice field replacement work with the game field being replaced in spring 2024.

Sear said the 95,500-square-foot game field, while not in as dire shape as its practice counterpart, needs some immediate stabilization work before cleats hit the turf in a couple of months.

“The plan is to first spend $17,000 on the game field just to have it ready for playing in the fall and then replace it all next year,” Sear said. “The turf technology has come a long way since those fields were installed more than 10 years ago and we expect them to last up to 18 years.”

The American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, funding set to pay for the field work is part of a $26.2 million federal dollar package the city received in equal allotments for use in blunting the economic effects precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mayor Michael Passero said the turf replacement is a project that had languished for years without being addressed.

He said the ARPA funding won’t just pay for repairs, but also sets the stage for a better way of paying for future field maintenance.

“In my experience, that’s the tougher job to do with just a public works staff,” he said. “We’re investing, among other things, in regularly scheduled field grooming.”

Sear said a third-party vendor is expected to care for the fields with payments made through a new maintenance account.

j.penney@theday.com