Westinghouse Academy to get new turf thanks to Pittsburgh Steelers and other members of community
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — It's not heaven and it's not Iowa, but Pittsburgh Westinghouse Academy is getting a field of dreams.
Though it is still in its early stages of renovation and a work in progress, the old, warn-out field behind Westinghouse Academy is getting a much-needed facelift thanks to a team effort from members of the private sector, the Penn State Cooperative Extension and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Dr. Michael White, a program specialist with Penn State and a former football player at the University of Pittsburgh, said that he started getting people together for this project after talking with Westinghouse's football coach and after seeing the safety needs for this school to have a better field.
"There were divots," said White. "Raw spots that needed grass, there were a lot of weeds, uneven ground, things like that, I feel like athletes could twist their ankle. It's just an unhealthy playing surface."
White got Penn State Extension turf expert Jeff Fowler involved in the project, and then Fowler reached out to Thomas ProTurf owner Jeremy Thomas. And then all three got to work.
It was Thomas however, that asked for some help from his turf friends at Acrisure Stadium.
"When Jeff presented me with the project, I was thinking the best time to do it is in the fall," said Thomas. "That's our renovation season for the Steelers. So at that point, we said, maybe we can reach out to the Steelers as far as recycling some of their spoils to give back to a city program that's looking for some services and could use some extra help on the side."
The Steelers donated ground-up sod and soil from Acrisure Stadium for the resoding at Westinghouse and they donated the truck to transport it from the North Shore to Homewood.
Over the next several days, a turf team will be aerating the soil and planting seeds. And hopefully, with a little wet weather this weekend, they say the new grass should start to grow quickly.
Above all though, Fowler says that he hopes this field is not just better for the students in the future, but it's safer.
"They are having a heck of a run with their football team," Fowler said. "And it is kind of fun to watch. And if you could just see the conditions that they are practicing in and what they are going to be practicing in, it's going to be the difference between night and day."
This field will be done sometime in the late spring or early summer of 2024.
