LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Many Jefferson County Public Schools athletic teams currently play on grass fields. Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio announced the facilities will get an upgrade.

What You Need To Know

  • Several JCPS high schools will receive new turf fields

  • The renovations are part of the JCPS Future State plan

  • These are the largest construction and renovations of athletic facilities in JCPS history

  • Sixteen fields are expected to be completed by the end of the 2025-2026 school year

The renovation project is the largest athletic facility project in JCPS history and is part of JCPS’ Future State plan.

“We know our students deserve better. So I’m so excited to be standing on this football field, this natural football field for one of the last times ever, as we now begin a three-year process of putting down turf fields on every single one of our high schools,” Pollio said.

Along with football, other sports, including lacrosse and soccer, will use the new turf fields. JCPS estimates the athletic field and facility improvements to cost approximately $2 million per school.

Part of the plan includes building new facilities for track and field, press boxes and/or concessions stands at some schools.

“Our kids, our track athletes, deserve to be running on the best possible tracks that we have. Not concrete that we see here that is cracking all around,” Pollio said.

Pleasure Ridge Park High School student athlete Jada Murry commutes from school to an off-site facility to practice. The collegiate-athlete hopeful says she is excited about the changes and will hopefully increase her chances of getting noticed by college coaches.

“Being at home, I’ll be able to practice more, I’ll be more tuned in, I feel like we’ll get more attention, cause we’ll be able to host meets,” Murry, who competes in sprint distance events and long-jump, said.

She also hopes the new, softer track will allow her to stay healthy and avoid injuries.

“It’s just going to help us performance wise because we’re going to know we have the right materials and everything that we need to make sure we’re not injured. I feel like it will reduce injuries and everything. I feel like it will make a big difference,” Murry said.

Besides the athletic facilities, the plan includes investing millions of dollars in new schools, including rebuilding Iroquois, Seneca and Western High School within the next ten years. These schools will receive new fields as their building is being replaced. It also includes constructing buildings for W.E.B. DuBois and Grace James Academy. 

“So that our kids have the best classroom environment, school environment available. That includes wide hallways, natural lighting, classrooms that are conducive to collaboration,” Pollio said.

JCPS expects to have the sixteen turf fields completed by the end of the 2025-2026 school year.

The construction schedule for various schools is as follows:

Summer 2023: Academy@Shawnee, Central, Jeffersontown, Marion C. Moore, and Pleasure Ridge Park High School

Summer 2024: Doss, Fern Creek, Louisville Male, duPont Manual, and Waggner High Schools

Summer 2025: Atherton, Butler, Eastern, Fairdale, Southern and Valley High Schools

Related Stories