Turf Field Ribbon-Cutting Set for Parsippany High School Football Home Games

Twenty years, a referendum, millions of dollars and that many more conversations later, the turf fields at Parsippany Hills and Parsippany High School are just about ready.

The school district has scheduled a ribbon-cutting ceremony for both fields over the next few weeks for each school. Both ceremonies will take place prior to the football team’s home game.

This Friday, Sept. 18 at 6:30 p.m. will be the ribbon cutting for Parsippany Hills High School, with Friday, Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m. set for the ribbon cutting at Parsippany High School.

A groundbreaking ceremony for each school took place in May.

The improvements have been a contentious issue in Parsippany for years, culminating in a $7.7 million referendum being defeated in 2012 by 628 votes (2,372 no votes, 1745 yes votes).

Despite that, an AdHoc committee of board members and administrators was formed to devise a plan that would still deliver the fields but in a way to significantly reduce costs.

Fast forward two years, and the board of education approved a $2,533,000 project that would bring the fields to fruition, along with a handful of lighting improvement at Parsippany High School. That total cost has been approved for the 2015-16 school year capital budget.

The total cost at Parsippany High School comes to $1,408,000, which includes turf field construction, track resurface, and project cost. The total cost at Parsippany Hills High School is $1,125,000, which includes $900,000 for turf field construction and $225,000 for project cost.

The school district claims as a result of the artificial fields, there will be an annual savings of $110,000 for former field maintenance costs, with a cost of $300,000 to $400,000 every eight-to-12 years to resurface the turf fields.