Limestone will roll out the red carpet for its football foes during the 2024 season.

Actually, it’s green and artificial turf, but the Bartonville school made a significant upgrade to Frank Leach Stadium in the last 10 months. The Rockets will debut their newly installed turf when Mt. Zion visits on Aug. 30 for Week 1 of the high school football season.

“It turned out real nice,” Limestone athletics director Brian Clausen said. “It looks really sharp. Really, really improves the look of the facilities, in general.”

The $1.1 million transformation is two years in the making for Limestone, the sixth of eight Mid-Illini Conference football fields to now have turf. Also with turf are Dunlap, East Peoria, Metamora, Morton and Washington.

In fall 2022, Clausen along with then-superintendent Dr. Allan Gresham and three school board members took a "turf tour" with a sales representative from ATG Sports. The group visited Dunlap, EastSide Centre and Eureka to better understand what the school would be undertaking.

“They kind of showed us the different things that they had done,” Clausen said.

Ultimately, the board decided and voted to install the synthetic surface like the ones found at Dunlap and Eureka. The ground broke in late October 2023 and was completed in early March 2024 – just in time for the girls soccer season.

But that was far from its only use. Limestone's softball, baseball and track and field teams used the turf, as did its marching band and physical education classes. The 2024 graduation also was held on the new surface.

“There’s all kinds of groups that are utilizing it,” Clausen said. “That was the thing when the word got out that we were going to put in the turf field. There were a lot of people that were upset that we were spending money on this project just to benefit one group and that’s not true.

“It’s a multi-activity use (field). It’s just not for one group. People kind of have to look at it that way.”

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Clausen says spring scheduling was "smooth’," but he anticipates the fall will be a challenge with football, boys soccer and the marching band all looking for time to practice in the newly renovated surface.

“It’s going to take a group effort,” he said. “It’s going to take a lot of cooperation from a few individuals, but we’ll figure it out.”

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA football: Limestone installs artificial turf for 2024 season