"Everything is all set," Randy Meck, the interim director of facilities and operations for the athletics department, said. "At this point, it's just the construction process."
Amy Fowler, the head coach of Dartmouth's field hockey team, said she could not be more pleased with the approval of the plans.
"We're thrilled," Fowler said. "It's going to be great."
The construction of the field follows the resurfacing of Scully-Fahey Field, where the field hockey team formerly held its practices and games. In the resurfacing, Scully-Fahey was switched from AstroTurf to filled turf.
Filled turf, the surface of both Scully-Fahey field and Memorial Field, is a type of artificial turf that is made of blades of artificial grass that look and feel like real grass. These blades are inserted into a base of small rubber balls.
The feel of the filled turf field simulates real grass better than AstroTurf.
Though filled turf is superior to AstroTurf for both men's and women's lacrosse, it can hamper the motion of a field hockey ball.
AstroTurf allows a field hockey ball to move more freely and accurately. The majority of Division I field hockey teams play on AstroTurf.
The new field is scheduled to be completed in mid-August, just before the field hockey team arrives for its pre-season practices. If construction goes as planned, the team will avoid having to play home games off campus.
The team was able to play on the old surface of Scully-Fahey until the end of the 2007, at which point the old surface was ripped up and replaced.
The AstroTurf field project was originally approved in April, but was suspended for a brief inquiry into some of the conditions on the field.
The project was given the final go-ahead to begin construction last week.
The field should take about three months to complete. The project will be concurrent with the construction of an adjacent practice field that will be used by Dartmouth's soccer teams.
"We're looking to have the field completed for field hockey [by] the middle of August," Meck said. "We're looking at approximately 90 days for the construction of the field."
Meck added that the construction would include removing all of the current natural grass -- a month-long project -- before installing the drainage and irrigation systems and "actually getting the AstroTurf down."
Fortunately for the field hockey team, the summer construction of the field will prevent problems due to snow delays that plagued the renovation of Scully-Fahey.
Dartmouth's men's and women's lacrosse teams were forced to practice and compete on Memorial Field while construction was finished on Scully-Fahey.
Dartmouth does not have another AstroTurf field, however, so the field hockey team will be forced to compete offcampus in the event of delays on the construction of the new field.
Barring any setbacks, the team will play its first home game on the new field against the University of Massachusetts on Sept. 5.
