Middletown Will Install Turf At Normandy Park, Nut Swamp School

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — The youth sports fields at Normandy Park — which are used by thousands of Middletown children each year and have fallen into extreme disrepair, according to one local official — will be replaced in 2020 with turf.

Middletown Township announced the news Thursday, Dec. 12. Multi-use turf fields will be installed at Normandy Park and the grass field at Nut Swamp School will also be converted to synthetic turf. Middletown approved paying $5.15 million in the form of a bond to pay for this work.

The work is expected to begin in Spring 2020.

"When I took office in 2009, one of the primary complaints I would receive was that the facilities for our youth athletes were sub par compared to many towns in Monmouth or Ocean County," said Middletown Twp. Committeeman Tony Fiore in a Facebook post Friday morning. "Five years later, sub par started to become downright unsafe due to extreme over use from over 8,000 youth athletes who depend on these fields."

At their meeting this week, the Township Committee unanimously approved the $5.15 million bond. The bond costs are being paid out of the dedicated Monmouth County Open Space Trust Fund. This way, Middletown will not have to borrow to pay for this.

Here's a map of where the turf will go at Nut Swamp and Normandy Park:

Middletown youth sports teams such as soccer, lacrosse and field hockey will be able to play on the fields, said the Township in a statement. The new turf fields will be striped for soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and baseball. The roller hockey rink and basketball and tennis courts will remain at Normandy Park.

These teams have grown and become multi-seasonal and there is a need for year-round places for them to play, said the Township.

“Constant overuse of the fields has caused a severe degradation of our current grass facilities,” continued Fiore, who is also the deputy mayor. “Adding more synthetic turf fields allows the Township to ensure that both our grass and synthetic turf are in the best possible playing conditions for our young athletes and participants.”