The 2010-2011 school year kicked off Tuesday with a few new additions to campus, including a new Athletic Center and, overhead, a new turf field for the football team.

The football team had its first practice this week on the field, which is also lined for lacrosse and soccer. The field was manufactured and installed by Field Turf—who supplies artificial fields for many NFL and college stadiums—and consists of a mixture of sand and fine-crushed rubber, called infill mix, surrounding two-and-a-half-inch “grass” fibers. Only a half inch of the fibers are exposed at the surface; the two inches of infill mix provides cushioning, traction, and drainage, much like soil.

The field was completed days before school started. It took 18 tractor trailers to unload the infill mix, and the yard markers, numbers, SFS logo, and other lines were glued in place last. Half of the turf field is installed over the roof of the Athletic Center, and the other half is over a more traditional crushed stone base.

You can check out the field on September 11 for the football team’s first home game against Hyde Charter School. Kick-off is at 1:30 p.m.

Landscaping and track installation is scheduled to continue through September 17.