The Jefferson County (Ky.) school district has announced plans to install new artificial turf fields and make other athletic facility upgrades at 21 high schools.
District Superintendent Marty Pollio says turf fields will be installed at 16 high schools in the next three years, and another five high schools will get turf fields in succeeding years. New tracks, bleachers, press boxes and/or concession stands also will be part of the upgrades at some of the schools.
“JCPS facilities, including our athletics stadiums, have been neglected for far too long.” Pollio says. “Over the next few years, we are going to transform them so our student-athletes, their families, and fans have the same experience at JCPS athletic fields as they already have at other high schools across our state.”
Based on discussions with other school districts, construction companies, and turf manufacturers, district administrators estimate the cost of adding turf fields and renovating or adding new athletics facilities will be more than $2 million per school.
The new construction and renovations of athletics facilities is the largest in Jefferson County history. The turf field installation includes several phases, with construction at 16 schools expected to be complete by the end of the 2025-26 school year.
- Summer 2023 – Construction begins at Academy@Shawnee, Central, Jeffersontown, Marion C. Moore, and Pleasure Ridge Park High Schools.
- Summer 2024 - Construction begins at Doss, Fern Creek, Louisville Male, duPont Manual, and Waggener High Schools.
- Summer 2025 – Construction begins at Atherton, Butler, Eastern, Fairdale, Southern, and Valley High Schools.
The district's facilities plan calls for constructing new school buildings for W.E.B. DuBois and Grace James Academy in the next two years and replacing Iroquois, Seneca, and Western High Schools in the next 10 years. Those five campuses will get new stadiums when the new schools are built.
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