SPRINGFIELD — Maybe there’s nothing worse than waiting for grass to grow.

Starting this fall, that won’t be an issue for Effingham County's local high school football teams and other sports that use their football stadiums.

Effingham County and South Effingham are replacing the grass playing surfaces at Rebel Field and the Corral with synthetic turf. Construction is expected to be completed before the football season.

“We’re grateful for the commitment of (county school district superintendent) Dr. Yancy Ford and the school board and everyone involved in making an investment in our kids and programs,” ECHS football coach John Ford said.

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The cost of resurfacing the fields will be about $3.5 million combined for the two schools. The financial support came from a SPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) proposal passed by county taxpayers.

Pope Construction is doing the field preparation — ECHS had a leaking drainage pipe under Rebel Field that needed to be replaced and rerouted — and Sports Turf Company is installing a synthetic surface with the latest advances in safety and durability.

In the past, artificial surfaces were made more grass-like with crushed rubber. However, with the South’s hot sun baking down, field temperatures could become oppressive. Now, little pieces of pine wood — stripped of their nutrients so they don’t splinter — replace the rubber, which keeps field temperatures much cooler.

The turf goes on top of a mat, which forms a layer above a drainage system.

Ron Womack, the county school district’s chief operations officer, said new fields were modeled after similar surfaces at Camden County, Pierce County and Columbia County high schools. All three schools have resurfaced their football fields during the last two years.

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“We were getting to the point where we were running out of land and we didn’t want to practice on the grass (stadium) field and tear it up,” Womack said. “(Having a synthetic surface) gives us more options. Coaches can be more flexible because they can practice in the stadium.”

And the fields will benefit the community along with the high schools. Womack said local recreation department teams could play games on Saturdays.

Fall sports already keep the local stadiums busy. Middle schools, junior varsity and varsity football teams all play their home games in the county high school stadiums.

In the spring, boys and girls soccer and boys and girls lacrosse have games in the stadium.

Then there’s spring football putting its footprint on the turf.

Grass fields needed upkeep — mowing, re-seeding, fertilizing. Lines, numbers and logos had to be painted before every game.

Rainouts weren’t uncommon on grass fields, and a game played in the rain could lead to worn spots for an entire season.

Maintenance could be cut drastically with a synthetic surface.

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Womack estimated the new surfaces could pay for themselves within 8-10 years.

South Effingham football coach Nathan Clark wished the turf could have come a year earlier.

Last season, the Mustangs played host to Effingham County in its annual cross-county rivalry game. Clark said it rained for about 1½ days leading up to the game.

“Usually, we’ll cut the grass on Wednesday (for a Friday game), but the ground was so wet we couldn’t use a tractor (because the heavy machinery caused large ruts),” Clark said. “It was our biggest game and the field was in embarrassing shape and there was nothing we could do about it.”

The elements aren’t a problem anymore.