The sign on the far left entrance gate to Nashua's Stellos Stadium tells the story, as the city has shut down the facility till further notice. (Telegraph photo by TOM KING)

NASHUA — The local high school and youth sports fall season has been thrown into a frenzy on Wednesday as the city of Nashua has closed Stellos Stadium due to what what many believe to be poor turf field conditions.

According to Nashua school officials, the closure will remain in effect for the remainder of the fall sports season.

“The district anticipates that the repair process will begin late this fall and into the winter,” a statement sent out Wednesday afternoon from the Nashua School District said, “and most likely be completed for the beginning of the spring athletic seasons.”

Nashua Mayor James Donchess said the city is working on funding to replace the field and that “I think November is about the latest” that work can be done to have it ready for the spring.

At this time, the cause has not been officially confirmed by city officials, but the Nashua School District’s statement said that the closure was “due to safety concerns relative to the playing surface.” Likewise, an email sent to Bishop Guertin High School parents by that school’s administration confirmed that the facility “is no longer available due to safety concerns on the field surface.”

Gingras and the District’s release said that there was a recent inspection of the field “that identified issues with the field’s surface that could pose a potential risk to students, athletes, coaches and officials.”

City workers were on hand around 1 p.m. Wednesday to put signage on the gates and lock them.

Several high school events — including football — have been rescheduled for different locations. Nashua South is playing its field hockey game today vs. Keene at the field at the Fran Tate Track on school grounds, and the Nashua North vs. Bishop Guertin football game slated for Friday night at Stellos has been moved to 3:30 p.m. Friday afternoon at North’s field.

Word during the latter part of the 2023-24 athletic school year was that the city was planning on replacing the turf over the summer. However, by late spring, that was being postponed. According to fieldturf.com, field turf should be replaced every 8-10 years, “to ensure proper performance and safety.” Rivier University replaced its own field in the late spring of 2023.

The cost of replacing a football field’s turf, according to turffactorydirect.com, can range from $640,000 to $2 million. The last replacement done by the city was in the summer of 2011 at a cost of $609,525.

(Note: This story is ongoing and will be updated.)