WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA – When I went to Heather Farm to take a walk this Summer, I found that the fields were surrounded by giant metal fences.
And more to the point, they weren’t there anymore!
Where the grass fields once stood, there were now big holes in the ground with lots of construction equipment. Turns out Heather Farm was swapping out its tricky-to-maintain grass fields for turf.
Now, that project is done! After years of planning and a full season of construction closures, Heather Farm’s long-promised all-weather turf fields are officially open.
The original sand-based fields, installed in 2001, were seeing roughly 5,700 hours of annual use and had reached the end of their life, with ruts, bare spots, and frequent rain-out closures.
The process of redesigning the fields was a long one. But, by late 2024, the city had selected a contractor and approved a construction budget of a little over $7.7 million for the Heather Farm Synthetic Sports Field Project, funded by a combination of General Fund reserve dollars, Measure O revenue, American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds, and contributions from the Walnut Creek Soccer Club.
Under the new plan, Fields 1 and 2 were stripped down and rebuilt with a drainage pad, organic infill, and new perimeter fencing and netting.
All of that culminated in the December 1 ribbon-cutting, where Mayor Cindy Darling and city staff celebrated the opening of the new turf and thanked Measure O voters and Walnut Creek Soccer Club families for helping make the project possible.
I can’t wait to be able to actually take a stroll in the park again–even if I’ll miss the grass on my toes!
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