Mountain View Unveils New Stadium Turf Field
DALLAS – Dallas College Mountain View interim athletic director LeRoi Phillips shared a special moment from the press box overlooking the new facility, the Dallas skyline in the backdrop.
"Everybody is excited," Phillips said. "The way it looks now, we want to keep it that way. You know when you get a new toy, everybody's going to be excited."
Mountain View unveiled a new turf field for its soccer stadium, equipped with bleacher seating on both sides and a press box. Painted in blue around the field, with the signature MV in Lions' yellow and blue in the center circle and two Dallas College D white logos along the sidelines in each half of the field, the new surface will allow Mountain View to play on a fresh new surface for years to come.
"It's going to be great for recruiting," Phillips said. "The area that we are, even where Mountain View sits, I think we're in the best place for recruiting. That turf field looks so good. It's going to be one of the best recruiting tools on this campus."
The project began in the fall, and was completed to begin February. It opens the door for Dallas College to host district and postseason tournaments, along with outside groups for other sporting events. Excavation of the prior grass surface began in the second week of October, and was completed Feb. 3, according to Mountain View facilities project manager Felipe Ibarra. Sandy soil needed to be removed before the turf could be laid on it.
"The sandy soil was using up a lot of water, and grass would not grow on it consistently," Ibarra said.
A vertical cutoff wall was built to stabilize the soil, and drainpipes were installed on the perimeter of the field. A base was installed, using two types of stone. A two- to three-inch diameter base stone and a finish stone similar to gravel were used, and graded to specifications. After that, green turf was installed with the blue border around the field, and the painted logos applied. Infill was applied, and leveled off to specifications. Following a walkthrough, Mountain View's staff began training on how to maintain the field.
"It's a great opportunity for us to continue to improve in our facilities, but also to not only give Mountain View, but all of our teams, an opportunity to practice on with weather or any of those things," Dallas College Executive Athletic Director Sadiaa Jones said. "We also can use it for district tournaments, but also for any future plans that we have.
"The turf field company, FieldTurf, did a great job, from the beginning, from picking out the design, upgrades, all of those things on it. They're a great crew that will come out for any improvements that we need on it, and will touch base with us.
"When we go to championships, our teams play on championships, so now we have our own turf field that makes us better prepared going into national championships. It gives us an opportunity to grow within Dallas College Athletics. It gives our student-athletes and coaches an incredible updated stadium to play on. It's nothing but a plus for us."
Mountain View's men's and women's soccer teams will return to the stadium to play their 2025 seasons on the new field.
"I'm real excited to see how much of a recruitment advantage this will be," Phillips said. "I think kids will come just to play on turf."