The Tom Daubney turf field at Portsmouth High School was last replaced in 2010. Over the past thirteen years, it has served the community well. These grounds have seen nail-biting playoff games, elementary school championships, and many teary-eyed senior nights. 

Through all the love, the field has also seen wear and tear over the years. The turf has begun to crown in the middle and slope downwards gradually across the width of the field. The PHS turf will be replaced at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. 

The “total cost of replacing the turf will be approximately $850-900,000,”  Tom Kozikowski, PHS Athletic Director, said.

The turf will be a “crumb rubber filling” which is the cheapest option. The city has recently installed a crushed walnut shell field at Community Campus as a more organic alternative, in which they partnered with Gale Associates Incorporated. 

Many will wonder what will happen to the fall sports preseasons and summer practices, and it is said that construction is to take place over the summer and should not impact fall sports. All summer athletic programs will use the Community Campus fields, according to Kozikowski.

“This project does not come out of the high school operating budget,” said PHS Principal Stephen Chinosi. “This project will be paid for by the bigger campus and municipal maintenance project plans.” 

Nathan Lunney, the Portsmouth school district business administrator explains, “The choice is to stick with crumb rubber that has been serving us for a dozen years. It is the anecdotal preference of our players and our coaches, and we’ve had the success that we’ve had” as quoted in Ian Lenahan’s Seacoast Online article. 

Abby Nersesian, a junior at PHS, comments on the subject as a “good thing for future generations.” Students are excited to see the outcome of the new field.