GMC getting new soccer field

Published 10:48 am Saturday, March 8, 2025

For the second time in eight years, the entire Georgia Military College soccer field is scheduled to be replaced.

The natural-grass playing surface known as Robertson Field is one of the many facilities shared between the junior college and prep school. The men’s and women’s junior college teams play their seasons in the fall while the prep teams compete in the spring.

“The current soccer field has seen significant wear and tear over the years due to continuous use for matches and drills nearly 10 months a year,” GMC said in a Feb. 21 press release.

The field located next to the Kidd Center at the corner of South Elbert and East Greene streets was last ripped up and replaced summer of 2017. It’s in an interesting place topographically. The north and east sides of the field run parallel to hills that lead down to the Oconee River Greenway. About half of the south sideline, meanwhile, butts right up against a large concrete wall topped by a plaza where fans can watch GMC home soccer matches.

The upcoming field replacement project includes a re-engineering of the subsurface to make it more stable. The aim, according to GMC, is to support a healthier root system to enable the surface to better hold up to its high level of use.

GMC director of communications Kenley Pearce was asked if artificial turf was considered as an alternative.

“We did get a quote for artificial turf and the cost was not feasible at this time,” she said. “We believe the option we’ve selected will do just as well for usage the field gets and will be a long-lasting solution.”

When asked about costs associated with natural-grass field replacement, Pearce said final costs are unknown.

Work on the field replacement is scheduled to begin in April and be completed by July. The GMC Prep soccer teams are utilizing Davenport Field, home to the GMC football teams, as an alternative for home games this season.