In 2022, Austin ISD’s (AISD) board of trustees and later, constituent voters, approved a $2.44 billion bond proposal. These bonds are created by the district’s board of trustees and voted upon by Austin’s residents to fund the district’s needs. Bonds operate on a five to six-year cycle, and 2022’s bond has been particularly repair and modernization-oriented with the task of creating a turf field and installing high-quality lighting systems on the track of eight AISD high schools. The campuses currently receiving this upgrade are LBJ, Northeast, LASA, Bowie, Anderson, McCallum, Navarro, Travis, Crockett, and Akins. According to Michael Mann, AISD’s Executive Director of Construction Management, one of the goals of the bond was to enable every school to have the ability to host a home game.
“It was identified as a need and a goal for the district to have artificial turf fields at each of the high schools,” Mann said. “Our central facilities are overloaded.”
These central facilities include Nelson Field, Burger Stadium, and House Park, which cannot keep up with the number of middle school, junior varsity, and varsity games that they need to host. Mann highlighted these struggles and the stress it puts on those facilities to manage that many games, and he emphasized how the bond’s improvements can ease this burden.
“Scheduling all those [games] gets pretty tricky and puts a lot of burden on those facilities,” Mann said. “With these artificial turf fields at the high schools, we will be able to host sub-varsity games at the high school sites.”
Logistical issues aren’t the only reason behind the construction of new facilities, according to Mann. Many fields used by AISD schools, like the Noack multi-purpose facility, are composed of real grass, which adds another layer of difficulty in terms of upkeep and repairs.
“It’s basically impossible to keep grass alive with the number of student athletes we have on the field,” Mann said. “That’s why you see most districts going to artificial turf. There’s just too much play on them.”
Furthermore, turf fields eliminate many issues with the weather. Compared to a normal field, turf fields drain water better, which eliminates the waiting time after the rain stops because the field does not have to dry.
“If we have natural [grass] and it rains, we have to stay off of that for a while,” Mann said. “If we have artificial turf and it rains, you can be back out there after the rain stops, and you’re not going to destroy the field by having student athletes [on it].”
According to Mann, due to the maintenance requirements of grass fields, AISD spending for these fields has become increasingly expensive with upkeep compared to artificial turf fields. This, coupled with a budget deficit, means the transition is necessary monetarily.
“We don’t have the operating budget to maintain natural grass the way that it needs to be,” Mann said. “If you were ever out there, you know the fields weren’t exactly level. They needed some maintenance, and maintaining natural turf is quite expensive. We were looking to address those issues.”
While it may be an expensive endeavor to replace fields, AISD sees the expense as worthwhile in the long run. Grass fields require constant maintenance and occasional reseeding, both of which are expensive endeavors. A one-time investment such as this will save the district more money in the long run. On top of this, the conditions of AISD’s grass fields have led to complaints by community members, parents, and students of AISD to district leaders regarding the necessary maintenance and repairs.
“It wasn’t just campuses,” Mann said. “It wasn’t just district personnel. It was parents and community members. We had some students on those committees, and it was identified as one of the needs … any way we can support student athletes [we need to], just like we need to support fine arts and CTE programs and the rest of the programs at the campuses.”
After three years since the bond was passed, construction has begun at LASA. Mauro Garza, a LASA sophomore and member of the soccer team, is ecstatic about the field’s arrival.
“I’m very excited for this new field,” Garza said. “They’ve been talking about giving us turf for years, and it’ll feel good now that it’s finally a reality.”
The construction of these fields was not a straightforward process. Many aspects go into these kinds of bond projects apart from the digging and building, as Mann highlighted.
“There was a lot of work that we had to do to get through the permitting with the city,” Mann said. “I know it seems like it should be an easy thing to do, but there is quite a bit of complexity with stormwater runoff and impervious cover. So we worked closely with the city, but it took longer than everybody wanted it to.”
Mason Perrott, another sophomore on the soccer team, concurs. He, too, is excited for the installation of a turf field.
“I think that LASA’s new turf and a new track onto that field is a great idea. The previous field was half dirt and half dead grass, so this is an exciting project.”
It’s not just the students who are excited, though. Nancy Zamora, LASA’s track coach, is also looking forward to the new sports facilities, specifically for the prospect of hosting home games.
“I’m excited because we’ve never been able to host our own events here,” Zamora said. “It’ll be cool to finally be able to host and be in charge of them… [it] builds community within our campus.”
According to the AISD Bond website, use of the new field is expected to begin in Q1 of the 2026 school year, which is between January and March. There are possibilities for delay if weather conditions or unforeseen construction issues necessitate it.
