Despite the recent elimination of eight Terrapins varsity teams and an $83 million debt, the university’s athletics department is slated to go ahead with a project to spend $1 million renovating four different on-campus athletics fields.

The department will allocate the money to switch the Bermuda grass of Byrd Stadium, the outfield of Shipley Field and one football practice field to artificial turf. It will also replace aging synthetic turf on another football practice field. While an official construction date for the projects has not yet been hammered out, it was necessary to spruce up the fields, according to James Stirling, the university’s procurement and supply director.

“It’s getting close to the end of its lifespan,” Stirling said of the football practice field, which will get a replacement for its 10-year-old artificial turf.

While the project — which will lay a combined 287,000 square feet of synthetic turf on the fields, according to the request for proposal — does not yet have an official start date, officials are currently mulling over price proposals from different contractors, according to Stirling.

“We’re in the process of evaluating price proposals,” Stirling said. “There’s no contract yet … It’ll take some time to complete the evaluation.”

According to Bill Olen, Facilities Management’s director of capital projects, the athletics department requested artificial turf for Byrd Stadium around spring 2008, and the Board of Regents — the 17-member board that oversees the University System of Maryland — approved the switch that June.

Plans to install synthetic turf on the three other fields emerged this spring but do not require Board of Regents approval because they are considered routine maintenance projects.

Olen said Byrd’s location, as well as its frequent usage, prompted the athletics department to switch to artificial turf.

“There have been ongoing main issues with Byrd Stadium,” Olen said. “It’s really hard to keep grass growing out there between the location of the field — it’s in a bowl — and the fact that other sports use it.”

Additionally, the funds will be used to add storm utility drainage piping, concrete paving and the relocation of existing utilities, among other things. The installation of turf is projected to take about 70 days at Byrd, 44 days at Shipley and 90 days for each football practice field.

However, some students, such as sophomore neurobiology major Kate Turlington, said the renovations aren’t justified considering the recent upheaval.

“Unless it’s going to cut costs in the long run, it’s not fair to take that money away from the eight teams that were cut,” Turlington said. “It’s kind of like favoritism to certain student-athletes.”

And several student-athletes said they thought the athletics department should be spending money elsewhere, especially considering the football team’s record.

“I don’t think it’s necessary for football, because their season isn’t that good anyway,” said freshman kinesiology major Kasey Tapman, a member of the field hockey team.

“They should spend that money on things we actually need — why’d they get rid of those teams if they’re putting in turf?”

foley@umdbk.com