UPDATE: Dodgers to Defend New Turf (Field) for 2011 Season

This article was updated to correct information about the financing of the original field and the repaired field.

The various boys and girls teams representing the Dodgers who play at Ted Monica Stadium at Twombly Field will have an extra spring in their step this fall.

Contractors recently completed installation of a new synthetic turf playing surface, replacing one laid down in 2007.

The old field had shown premature wear, said Board of Education President Lisa Ellis. After almost a year of working on the contract and paperwork, a settlement between the Board and installer Shaw Sportexe of Kennesaw, Ga., provided for the new playing surface at a cost of $115,000 to the Madison school district. The funds for the field repair were borrowed by the district from the Morris County Improvement Authority, and will be paid in full by over the course of five years.

The original field installed in 2007 was paid for primarily through private donations secured by the MAF, which essentially purchased the field and gave it to the BOE, Ellis said.

A new field typically costs $350,000 to $500,000.

The previous field was only covered by a pro-rated warranty. This time, the Board insisted on a full eight-year warranty.

"All in all, it worked out very well for us," said Ellis. "This is a much better surface than original field. We considered it a repair more than anything."