The football field at DuVal High School in Lanham, Maryland, was shut down after topsoil full of broken glass was spread across the field.
Cellphone video shared with News4 shows rocks, chips of glass and the necks of glass bottles that were found on the playing field.
The findings prompted safety concerns among school staff and Maryland state Sen. Alonzo Washington.
“I came out to look at it and determined that it was unplayable,” he said.
Washington said he first heard about issues with the field last week, from the athletic department, and went to look. When he returned this week, he saw no improvements.
“There was glass throughout the field, and the soil that they provided here, there was large rocks. There was feces of birds and dogs that were in this field,” he said.
Prince George’s County Public Schools said they made plans to fix field surface issues at DuVal High School, Parkdale High School and Largo High School.
“We heard that there were concerns about the conditions of the field surface […] and so a plan was developed to immediately address those concerns,” Dr. Charoscar Coleman, the district’s chief operating officer, told News4.
Here’s why glass ended up on DuVal High School’s football field
So what went wrong? PGCPS said a first load of top soil was placed on DuVal High’s field earlier this month. That first load was inspected but the second was not.
“Our staff was not able to be there when the second load came and, apparently in that second load there was quite a bit of material in that dirt that contaminated the field. There was gravel and glass that was spread out through the field,” said Sam Stefanelli, the director of building services.
“Apparently there was an issue at the plant. This is what we’re getting from the vendor, that caused this issue,” he added.
Here’s the plan for fixing the field
PGCPS said Thursday that the field will be shut down for repairs. The decision comes less than a week before the high school fall sports season starts.
“The school district will develop an alternative plan for the students to have a playable surface. For the fall, the students will also have access to a safe playing field for practice,” Coleman said.
PGCPS officials said they plan to remove and replace all the soil on the field, and that they hope student athletes will be able to play there before the end of the fall season.
Washington, the state senator, said he secured funding for field renovations.
News4 asked PGCPS for the name of the company that provided the soil. They said they could not share that information because of contract stipulations.
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The district said DuVal High is on a list of schools set to get comprehensive stadium renovations. That could begin in April 2025.
