NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. — A part of NFL history will soon welcome the next generation of athletes on to its surface in central Kentucky.

What You Need To Know

  • Nicholasville recieved the old artificial turf from the New Orleans Saints' Caesar's Superdome

  • The donated turf will be used for football, soccer and softball/baseball fields

  • Once complete, the fields will be surrounded with a physical complex

  • Officials say it will give sports teams a weather resistant option for games

The artificial turf playing surface from the Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans will soon be installed at a sports complex being constructed in Nicholasville.

Nicholasville Mayor Alex Carter said an empty field off John Preece Road in Nicholasville will soon be laid with artificial turf as part of a new sports complex in the city.

“Anything from band activities, soccer, youth football, baseball and softball fields,” Carter said.

The rolls of artificial turf traveled 745 miles from the Caesar’s Superdome, home of the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, and is getting a new lease on life in central Kentucky. Carter said their project was one of many who hoped to get the recycled artificial grass.

“The New Orleans Saints, their football field down there, their stadium, they use it for a football season and actually remove the turf and donate it to community recreational facilities like ours,” Carter said.

Carter said once complete, the sports complex will give new life to the vacant land after a previous project never got off the ground.

“A lot of preliminary work was actually done 18 years ago from the Kentucky NFL Hall of Fame group and some community leaders here locally and that kind of stalled. Now we’re actually getting ready to install the turf maybe this weekend,” Carter said.

The work being done right now is just to prepare for the initial phase of laying turf for the soccer and football fields, but city officials have bigger plans for this space — a multi-sport complex with supporting facilities.

“We also want to incorporate a stadium around here and we’re prepared now, we’re in the works of developing that to have a full complex that will hopefully be ready by late fall or early next year,” said Nicholasville General Government Director Doug Blackford.

Blackford said the turf fields themselves should be ready in just over a month.

“We’ll allow use on the field for teams to use while we’re doing that; the best we can without putting anybody at risk during construction,” Blackford said.

Carter and Blackford say it’ll give local teams a weather-resistant place to play and down the line bring visitors to the city of 30,000.

“That’s what we’re hoping to attract tourists and outside tournaments and not only outside tournaments but here locally, it’s a great facility for the youth of our community,” Carter said.

The city also hopes to build an aquatics center here and an indoor sports facility.

The project is a collaboration between the city of Nicholasville and the Jessamine County Fiscal Court.

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