BLOOMFIELD, New Mexico – Fans from around San Juan County have been in awe of the new synthetic turf softball fields at Bloomfield High School for a couple of years now, but the Bobcats’ turf is also gaining national recognition.
The softball field was recognized this year by the American Sports Builders Association as a national winner in the Distinguished Single Fields category. The award is judged based on layout and design, site work, drainage, base construction, surface, amenities, innovation and overall impression.
This year, the Bloomfield synthetic turf softball field was chosen for its construction excellence over nearly 60 other fields across the country.
“We did the football field and the track, and we talked about a baseball field,” said Bloomfield Athletic Director Phil Sategna. “Well Mr. Randy Allison, our old superintendent, said we had to do something for the girls first before we dream of a baseball field. We didn’t cut any corners on it. We went over budget $200,000 but we knew we needed to make it first class, and we ended up making a one-of-a-kind field.
“The girls don’t walk more than 10 steps from their dressing room to the field, and the coach’s office is built right on the other side of the dugout. A lot of thought went into the overall design, and that is why we won that award, ” Sategna said.
“The way we elevated the bleachers where there are no blindspots. It all worked into the architect’s plans. Those plan obviously must have been good because there were a chunk of projects from other states. They looked at all the pictures and the plans, and low and behold Bloomfield won the thing. It’s a big deal.
It might not be a big deal to people around here, but if you are a contractor or architect, you were a part of this and it is a big feather in everybody’s cap to be a part of something that won a national award. We can be proud of it.”
Sategna credited architect Dan Losee of Losee Architects in Sandy, Utah, for the field’s immaculate construction.