Sandy Springs resident Nicole Boemanns and her two sons, 6-year-old Adrian (left) and 4-year-old Ian, enjoy snow cones Aug. 26 on the new turf at Hammond Park.
Five-year-old Immanuel Ford, a student at Ison Elementary School, takes a swing at an orange ball during the “First on the Turf” event at Hammond Park.

Sandy Springs resident Nicole Boemanns and her two sons, Adrian and Ian, tested out the new synthetic turf at Hammond Park during the Aug. 26 “First on the Turf” back-to-school bash.

“Looks great,” Nicole said as she slurped some snow cones with her sons.

The city of Sandy Springs spent $450,000 and two months installing the AstroTurf at Hammond Park, Director of Recreation and Parks Ronnie Young said.

Dist. 4 Councilwoman Ashley Jenkins, who brought her children to the event, said it had been too difficult to seed the heavily-used field. The new turf, she said, now allows year-round use.

Young said the city rents the field to a variety of sports teams and will soon host a semi-professional football team. The field also is available to the public at times.

“We can’t wait to turn them loose out here,” Young said.

Amy Wenk was editor of Reporter Newspapers in 2021-22.