A Missouri high school will have Cincinnati's old turf in 2016.
The turf at Nippert Stadium is being replaced and the Reed Spring High School in southwest Missouri is getting it. The turf, originally installed at Nippert Stadium in 2013 at a cost of $1.1 million, is costing the Reed Spring school district $450,000 for both the field and installation.
"This turf will allow our athletic teams and band to practice and compete rain or shine," Reed Spring superintendent Michael Mason said in a statement. "This also cuts down on the district’s need to maintain other practice facilities. When our new middle school opens later this year, we won’t have to bus kids to a practice field."
Reed Spring High School's nickname is the Wolves, so the end zones will have to be repainted.
Cincinnati is getting new turf at Nippert because of the new FC Cincinnati soccer team. FC Cincinnati, a member of the USL, begins play in March. FC Cincinnati is footing the bill for the new turf at Nippert, which will be able to have washable soccer lines drawn on it for home games. The stadium was recently renovated before the beginning of the 2015 football season.
And you're probably wondering how the heck Reed Spring, a high school approximately 600 miles and four states away from Cincinnati, got the turf. The connection for the sale came when the president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame spoke at a fundraiser for the school in 2015. The school will pay for the turf through an eight-year lease program and hopes it is installed by the end of the school year.
"This opportunity presented itself, and the school board and I agreed this was too good of an offer to pass up," Mason said.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
