Nokes-Lasater Field to be turfed

Jul. 14—For years, Cumberland's Nokes-Lasater Field was the only natural-grass field used by Mid-South Conference football teams.

That will change in 2023 as artificial turf is coming to the former longtime home of the Lebanon High School Blue Devils, Cumberland University announced Tuesday.

Other upgrades planned for the 57-year-old facility include a jumbotron scoreboard, sidewalks, play clocks and more.

"This is a special day for our university and our student-athletes," director of athletics Ron Pavan said in a release. "The project will not only enhance the ability of our teams to recruit exceptional student-athletes, but also extend the hours of operation for our high-demand field space. This has been something I have worked to accomplish for a long time and I'm excited to see it finally come to fruition."

Football turf has been a long-awaited project as every other member of the Mid-South Conference has had it for years. Plans are also in the works to add a jumbotron scoreboard on the south side of the stadium to add another element to home games with video replay and hype videos, among other things.

The renovations will also take out the old track and put up new sidewalks and fencing as well as new play clocks.

"It's just a blessing," Cumberland coach Tim Mathis told the Democrat on Tuesday. "This stadium is going to look unbelievable. Coach Pavan just painted the stadium this year (and tore down the original pressbox which had become an eyesore and safety hazard). It's actually maroon now. When the new turf gets here, it's just going to pop.

"We're getting all high-tech. They're doing it right... I can't say enough great things about Cumberland administration, Dr. (Paul) Stumb, about investing into the field."

The project extends beyond football.

The turf will be multi-purpose and lined with football, soccer and lacrosse markings, enabling the Phoenix the opportunity to move a match from the on-campus Lindsey Donnell Stadium to the football field and play night games under the lights. If the weather causes issues on campus it gives the men's and women's teams the flexibility to still play the match instead of having to cancel or seek out another facility.

The new turf also gives the Cumberland University Marching Band the opportunity to host band competitions throughout the year.

Once the field is turfed, it will also serve as home to Cumberland women's lacrosse team which is set to begin in the spring of 2025.

"It's not just for us," Mathis said. "It's for all of athletics at Cumberland. And that's a great thing because it gives all of us a lot of options in case it rains, you can still come over here and play your game."

Stumb, CU's president, has pushed for the addition of lacrosse for some time.

"This is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country and the sport is thriving throughout the southeast region," Stumb said in a release.

The NAIA currently has 42 women's lacrosse teams including three other full-time members of the Mid-South Conference. The sport is played in the spring, so both football and lacrosse will have dedicated time to the facility.

Women's lacrosse will become the 24th varsity sport at Cumberland and 31st including junior-varsity teams.

Groundbreaking is planned for after the 2022 football season in February 2023 and is expected to be complete in time for the '23 football season.

The facility now known as Nokes-Lasater Field was opened in 1965 on what was then the Lebanon High School campus and was home to the Blue Devils until the current campus on South Hartman Drive opened in 2012. Through an agreement with Wilson County Schools, Cumberland was given control of the 5,000-seat stadium, which acquired its name in the early 1990s (for late sporting goods store owner Jimmy Nokes and longtime volunteer Raymond Lasater), with the then-Bulldogs (who have since changed their mascot to the Phoenix) moving a mile from their longtime Lindsey Donnell Stadium home.

WCS renovated the old high school building and now uses it as its central office.

One of the stipulations in the agreement with Wilson County Schools is for the field to be available for middle school teams.

Currently, most middle schools have their own fields.

Only the Carroll-Oakland/Tuckers Crossroads co-op team has used Nokes-Lasater in recent years.

But Mathis said the turf will enable more teams, not just Cumberland's, to use the facility.

"To me, one of the huge benefits is the outreach we'll be able to do for Wilson County as a whole," Mathis said. "High school teams — you're not worried about your field getting tore up, raining and messing it up. Now, those middle school teams, if they want to play here on Thursday night, Saturday when we're not here, have at it. That's the great thing. Some of these teams, Lebanon is a perfect example that doesn't have turf right now. If they're looking at rain coming in for a couple of days, they can move their game over here and still be able to play.

"We're definitely going to be an outreach to Wilson County. That's what we want to do."

Turfing fields has been a trend for several years now. In addition to the MSC being all-turf, many high schools are also going with the synthetic material.

Friendship Christian turfed Pirtle Field in 2019 and Green Hill opened with it two years ago.

The adage "If cows can't eat it, I don't want to play on it" is no longer true, especially with the original rock-hard Astroturf from the 1970s long obsolete.

"It's more practical, it's more cost efficient in the long run as far as equipment, upkeep of equipment, gas, fertilizer, water," Mathis said. "In the long run, it's cheaper. You're being fiscally responsible in the long run doing it.

"And they've made such advancements in turf now that it's as safe as grass... It's not the old Astroturf where it's basically carpet over asphalt."