Brick’s Drum Point Sports Complex to Get New $500K Turf Surface

Drum Point Sports Complex, Brick, N.J., Oct. 2019. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The Drum Point Sports Complex in Brick will receive a new turf surface, the result of a vote of the township council last week.

Officials have said the field desperately needs new surfacing, as it has become both discolored and posed some safety issues. Councilwoman Heather deJong said her two kids play there and she’s seen the issues firsthand.

“The field itself is supposed to be green, because it’s supposed to look like grass, but all it looks like is black because of all the black turf beads,” deJong said. “The kids, they tend to get hurt more with the turf burn, especially when it is older.”

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deJong’s response was an explanation to one resident who questioned the cost of the project.

“I’m a little bit concerned that we’re spending a half-million dollars on one field,” said Vic Fanelli. “It’s 12 years old – is it really in bad shape?”

Township Business Administrator Joanne Bergin said the turf field’s life expectancy was actually 10 years, but members of the township’s public works and parks departments have stretched its life to 12 years. Money was appropriated for the field in this year’s capital budget.

The new field will be installed by Shaw Sports Turf, a national provider of turf surfacing. It was purchased for $498,258 through a cooperative pre-set price list through the Educational Services Commission of New Jersey.