WILDWOOD, Fla. — Wildwood Middle High School is making a major investment in its athletic program, officially installing an artificial turf football field. With this change, Wildwood becomes the final high school in Sumter County to make the switch from natural grass, joining The Villages and South Sumter High School in modernizing their playing surfaces. Just three years ago, all Sumter County schools competed on natural grass fields.

(Crews have ripped out the natural grass field and have begun to put the sub-base of gravel and stone. They will next begin installing the drainage system and then turf fibers and infill. This is the last Sumter county high school to undergo the transition to artificial turf. Photo Credit – WMHS.)

“We feel like this is the right move for us to keep up with the other programs in Sumter County, and I think this will be a good thing for the kids,” said Wildwood Athletic Director Brian Haugabrook. “The field will be able to be utilized more, and there will be less work involved for the staff in order to prepare the field.”

The shift to artificial turf has been a growing trend among Florida high schools, especially due to the extensive labor required to maintain natural grass fields in the state’s hot and humid climate. From painting lines to mowing and ensuring field quality, maintenance demands significant time and resources. Many schools in neighboring Lake County, which still primarily play on natural grass, have turned to automated solutions such as Turf Tanks which are robots to paint field lines, logos and overall ease the workload.

(Crews have laid out the sub-base which will be the foundation of the artificial turf field. The new field will play faster and was something the school had wanted for a long time.)

“I am excited for the kids to have this. This was a long time coming,” Haugabrook added. “We have been talking about it for years, but to finally have it becoming a reality is very exciting for us.”

The new playing surface will not only benefit Wildwood’s football team but also provide a premier facility for the school’s youth programs and the Wildwood girls flag football team. Historically, Wildwood has played on natural grass for the entirety of its football program’s existence. While the familiar sight of grass-stained uniforms will soon be a thing of the past, the program—known for its team speed—anticipates an even faster pace of play on the synthetic surface starting in 2025.

(The 2024 season turned out to be the last on natural grass for Wildwood Middle High School. You can see what it used to look like in this photo during a game against The Villages last season. Photo Credit – Joe Ott.)

While some concerns have been raised about the safety of artificial turf compared to natural grass, the benefits for high school programs have been well-documented. Turf fields offer consistent playability, and allow for greater year-round use. Unlike natural grass, which often becomes at times, unplayable due to overuse and weather conditions, artificial turf ensures that the facility remains in top condition for various athletic and community events.

Artificial turf does require maintenance, but significantly less than its natural counterpart. With the transition, Sumter County high schools officially enter a new era, leaving behind the days of natural grass at the high school level.

(The turf field will save countless hours of preperation before games. Here crews install a sub-base and that will soon be followed by the field itself. We have heard it’s a beautiful design and can’t wait to see the finished project.)

As someone who played football, I personally prefer natural grass, but many of the surfaces in Florida can be questionable due to the soft sand bases used. This transition ensures that these athletes have a high-quality and reliable field to compete on.

That’s not to say that natural grass won’t be around for years to come. Many Lake County School’s have great natural grass surfaces. Mount Dora High, Eustis High, Umatilla High and Leesburg High for example all do amazing jobs taking care of their natural grass surfaces year round and I hope they continue to use natural grass. But as far as Sumter County goes, natural grass has become a thing of the past. Is this a good thing or a bad thing in your opinon? Let us know in the comments below.