It’s not what you’d expect for a small Illinois town, but the new $20 million Du Quoin High School features state-of-the-art athletic fields that would be the envy of larger urban school districts. St. Louis-based Byrne & Jones Sports has completed a $2 million project, which includes a new baseball park with an artificial turf infield, a synthetic turf football field, an all-weather composite track and other site improvements. The school is part of the Du Quoin Community Unit School District #300 in Du Quoin, Ill.
The new sports complex features a ball park with a brick façade entry way, seating for 400, a concession stand and restrooms. The artificial turf infield allows the Du Quoin High Indians to play rain or shine. The natural grass outfield has a drainage system to efficiently shed water from the site. The field will have a 12- to 15-year lifespan while reducing the costs of maintenance.
“Created by support from our community, our new facilities serve students in grades kindergarten through 12. So far, middle school and high school students are using the fields for football, track, band, physical education, baseball and softball,” says Gary Kelly, Ph.D., superintendent of the Du Quoin Community Unit School District #300. And we expect our elementary students will enjoy using them through our local youth club that will partner with the district to develop program opportunities.”
Fieldturf Revolution artificial turf also allows 24/7 use of the Du Quoin football field around which is a Champion Structural Spray eight-lane track. Other playing surfaces include natural turf fields for football practice and softball, and a sodded baseball outfield.
The Du Quoin Community Unit School District #300 serves 1,500 students in about a 105 square mile radius that includes the communities of Du Quoin, St. Johns and Sundfield. It includes Du Quoin Elementary School, Du Quoin Middle School and Du Quoin High School.
In addition to the Du Quoin school district athletic fields, Byrne and Jones Sports has also installed artificial turf fields in Southern Illinois for Saluki Stadium at the University of Southern Illinois – Carbondale and GCS Ballpark in Sauget, Ill. for the Frontier League Gateway Grizzlies baseball team. Other major installations include Faurot Field at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. and Francis Field at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.
St. Louis-based Byrne & Jones Sports is one of the Midwest’s largest installers of artificial and natural turf fields, track and field surfaces, and tennis courts. For more than three decades, the firm has installed more than 1,000 athletic surfaces.