Michelle Zhang
Apr 14, 2026
Construction is underway on a second artificial turf field at Mercersburg Academy, set to replace the current Steiger Field. The project, funded entirely by a gift from a Mercersburg alumnus, is expected to expand both athletic programming and student activity space across campus.
“The need for a second artificial field was identified as a priority in the athletic facilities review the school conducted over the last 18 months,” said Head of School Quentin McDowell. “Investment in athletic fields was also noted in the comprehensive facilities condition assessment that was just completed.”
Funding came from a single alumnus who had a meaningful athletic experience at Mercersburg in the 1980s and chose to cover the project’s full cost.“I cannot think of a better gift than one that both helps our school as well as brings great joy to the donor,” McDowell said.
The project has been in the works since last fall, when the school hired civil engineering firm FSA of Hagerstown, Maryland to design the conversion. Getting necessary permits from state, local, and federal agencies, including the Franklin County Soil Conservation District and the Department of Environmental Protection, took from December to early April.
“Once those drawings get submitted to all those agencies for permitting approval, we don’t have any control over that,” said Brad Otto, the school’s facilities director. “That was what was really worrying me because students are going to return in late August, and if we get a late permit, that means a late start, which means a late finish.” Fortunately, the permits came through on schedule.
The field is being laser-graded using GPS technology to create an almost perfectly level surface. It will be built by the same contractor and use the same AstroTurf surface that was used to refresh Regents Field; the contractor already has Mercersburg’s logo and colors on file. “The goal is to sort of maintain equity between the two fields, that there’s not an advantage that one field has over the other,” Otto said.
The new field will also be notably larger than Regents Field. While both are 360 feet long, the new field will be 240 feet wide — about 45 feet wider than Regents — and will feature a 10-foot blue border around the entire perimeter. It will be permanently lined for use by the soccer and lacrosse teams.
For the athletics department, the addition of a new field addresses scheduling challenges about who gets to play on the turf when multiple athletic events are happening simultaneously. “Adding a turf field gives us more flexibility for our athletic teams,” said Chief Advancement Officer John Richardson, “with field hockey, both boys’ and girls’ lacrosse programs, and both soccer programs being able to use that space more year-round.”
Not every student is ready to say goodbye to grass entirely. Simon Brennan ’26, a member of the soccer team, noted that the team’s grass field came with an unexpected perk — opponents used to nice, pristine turf sometimes struggled to adjust, while Mercersburg players had already mastered the trickier surface. “The harder touches would become easy for us,” he said.
And when it came to his personal preference, Brennan conceded: “ I like grass more — it feels more natural.” He also had a more practical reason for the preference: “When I go make a tackle I don’t get burned on my leg and lose my skin.”
McDowell has made getting students outdoors a broader campus priority, and both he and Richardson see the new field as one more space for students to gather, compete, and build community. Richardson stated that the addition of another field could provide free space for non-athletes, “While it definitely helps athletics, it is [intended] for the whole student body.”
The turf project is one piece of a larger ongoing conversation about campus needs. School administrators are currently focused on a potential new academic building and a renovation to the central plant as their next major priorities. In closing, Richardson remarked, “I think it says a lot when we invest like this and have support from our alumni base to fund these kinds of initiatives.”