Madera High School unveils new football field

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The first Friday of the high school football season always gets folks fired up. But at Madera High School fans and students will be stunned by the new stadium makeover.

Madera's new artificial turf is the first of its kind for a high school field. Fans were ready watch a Coyote player race down the brightly colored sidelines and into the end zone.

Athletic Director Marty Bitter said, "We're actually the first high school, k-12 high school on the west coast to have a geo-synthetic organic turf field."

Instead of using rubber pellets like we see in other fields, Hellas Construction used a product more familiar to farmers.

Business development manager Dominick Berarducci said, "It's a fibrous coconut husk, rice husk and cork product. The product works to mimic soil."

Berarducci said the fibers can soak up water like soil and keep the field cooler.

"Where typically artificial turf is 60-70 degrees warmer in the sun this product is no more than 10 degrees warmer in the sun."

Bitter said player safety was a big reason why Madera wanted to give the new turf a try.

"It's so much cooler," said Bitter. "It doesn't feel like a sauna."

Madera Unified spent $760,000 to replace the old artificial turf Madera High and Madera South used for nine years.

Bitter said, "With our other turf we were having a little kind of strawberries. Kids getting strawberries that wouldn't heal."

Judging by the school spirit showed by the blue crew during Friday Morning Football on AM Live it appeared the Coyotes were ready to shine on their new field.

Bitter said, "Now the anticipation building up to them getting on it has just kind of come to a crescendo."

The same team which installed Madera High's football field also installed the home field of the Dallas Cowboys.