Youngstown City Schools
Project Overview
Youngstown City School District is a large school district in Ohio, just four hours from Cincinnati, serving 4,639 students. It encompasses roughly 13 educational institutions, including high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools. Despite being challenged with funding obstacles, its leadership remains committed to providing high-quality education, resources, programming, modern facilities, and mentorship to its scholars.
In the summer of 2022, the district embarked on an ambitious project aimed at redoing its athletic facilities and elementary school playgrounds. After closely considering who would be the right partner for the job, the district selected Motz for its trusted reputation throughout the state as an industry leader and its innovative turf system, InPlay, to serve as the perfect foundation for its school’s playgrounds.
As work began, and the district directly saw the professionalism and expertise of the Motz team, the project scope gradually grew to encompass the district’s other field and track needs. In its entirety, the full scope involved the installation of three full-size synthetic turf fields, one full-size baseball field, two tracks (one new and one replacement), one practice field, and seven InPlay systems.
The Situation
Youngstown City Schools District and Motz began collaborating on improving two main focus areas: the elementary school playgrounds and the prominent athletic stadium within the district, frequently used by multiple high schools for sporting events.
After multiple busy seasons and heavy foot traffic, the well-worn stadium field needed to be upgraded. The district’s leadership wanted a new, safe surface for students and community members to utilize, and Motz stepped in to design, install, and manage the synthetic turf field installation project. As additional facility needs arose, the district tasked Motz with managing and executing an even larger scope of work.
The Play
With so many different individual projects, schools, and needs involved, the project scope called for a strategic team to manage all of the moving parts efficiently and successfully.
Rather than looking at each project in a silo, Motz came to the table with an approach that brought a holistic view to fixing the district’s athletic facilities’ needs, presenting several unique and affordable solutions that the district could choose from.
Motz worked strategically in two phases to accomplish the entire scope of work.
In phase one, Motz designed and installed the stadium’s new artificial turf field, which allowed for a more customizable approach as the team engaged with and received input from the district. Since there were no drainage or foundational issues with installing the new artificial turf field, Motz was able to come in and make an immediate impact while maintaining a smooth and straightforward process.
Within this first phase, Motz also built and installed seven InPlay systems, which were customized based on the individual school’s needs. Each InPlay system offers a high-quality, fully-equipped playing field option and is constructed with panels and netting to create an enclosed area around the field for participants to safely play in — a huge benefit for the district’s young, elementary school-aged children.
Once these first two projects were completed, Motz began phase two of the project scope which consisted of installing a full-size baseball field, two synthetic turf athletic fields, a track replacement, a brand new track installation, and one practice field installation.
Through each of the various projects, the Motz team worked closely with the district, communicating proactively and providing transparency throughout the process as each facet of the project scope moved from development to completion.
The Win
CUSTOMIZABLE SOLUTIONS
Motz’s team took a collaborative, holistic approach to designing, building and installing the synthetic turf fields and with developing how each of the InPlay solutions and layouts would fit on the district’s various campuses. Motz acted swiftly on feedback from the district and made tweaks as needed, showing their dedication to customer service and project excellence.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Motz approached the project with a district-wide mindset, considering the entire scope of the installations rather than focusing on individual projects. The local project management team provided excellent customer service, maintaining open lines of communication and remaining readily available to assist the district throughout the process.
HAPPY CLIENTS
The InPlay systems were a resounding success among the elementary school principals. They appreciated having an enclosed, safe space for children to play and engage in physical activity without having to worry about outside traffic or potentially dangerous circumstances.
By taking a comprehensive approach and offering customizable solutions, Motz was able to help remedy the district’s needs and provide its students and community members with high-quality facilities they can enjoy for years to come.
Ready to Get Started?
Interested in starting a project? Have questions about our process and products? Wherever you are in planning your dream field, we’re ready to walk through your specific needs, answer any questions you have, and talk through how our team of experts will be there to guide you every step of the way.
