Synthetic turf project at Tuslaw stadium gets boost from BellStores, David Foundation

Amy L. Knapp, Massillon Independent
Updated ·2 min read
Jesse Gleespen, right, and Tuslaw athletic director Chris Lapish update the Tuslaw turf project progress sign. A volunteer committee headed up by Gleespen has collected about $775,000 of their $950,000 goal to bring synthetic turf to William E. Kurtz field.
Jesse Gleespen, right, and Tuslaw athletic director Chris Lapish update the Tuslaw turf project progress sign. A volunteer committee headed up by Gleespen has collected about $775,000 of their $950,000 goal to bring synthetic turf to William E. Kurtz field.

This story has been corrected to fix an error. See the correction below.

TUSCARAWAS TWP. – A fundraising effort to bring synthetic turf to Tuslaw's William E. Kurtz football stadium is inching closer to its goal.

Tuslaw parent and football Sideliner Jesse Gleespen, who heads up a volunteer committee seeking donations, said they have raised approximately $775,000 toward the estimated $950,000 project.

"We had hoped to raise 80% of the funding by the end of February," Gleespen said. "We are in good shape but still have a little bit to go."

Tuslaw is the only Stark County district with a natural grass field. Officials believe the field can be a disadvantage to their student-athletes who often lose practice time during unfavorable weather conditions. The maintenance is also a drain on the athletic budget. They also hope it will allow more sports, including soccer, baseball and softball, to take advantage of the field.

BellStores has donated $300,000 to become the field sponsor and the Paul and Carol David Foundation gifted the project $150,000, he said. An additional $25,000 in private donations has been collected.

The committee offered several options for sponsorships, including naming the press box/grandstand, concession stand, single corner of the field, scoreboard and time clock.

The district has agreed to contribute one-third of the cost from the district's permanent improvement fund.

Plans call for the turf to be installed by the start of next school year, Tuslaw athletic director Chris Lapish said, but noted as soon as the remainder of the funding is raised work could begin.

"The sooner we start, the sooner we can get kids on the field," Gleespen added.

Anyone interested in donating can visit tuslawathletics.com and click on the mustang give tab at the top of the page or email tuslawturfproject@gmail.com.

The committee is a nonprofit and donations are tax deductible. For more information, call Gleespen at 330-472-7774.

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com.

Correction: Private donations for the project total $25,000. The amount was incorrect when this story first published 12/20/23.

This article originally appeared on The Independent: BellStores, David Foundation set Tuslaw on path to meet goal for turf