“A yearly estimate in the neighborhood of 500,000 gallons of water,” Superintendent Chris Steinbruck said referring to previous water expenses.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Turf improvements underway at Flour Bluff ISD’s baseball and softball fields are expected to bring major water savings and long-term benefits for student-athletes, staff and the entire Flour Bluff community. Construction crews have moved into the stone base and linear installation phases, which will form the foundation of the district’s new turf system.

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At Flour Bluff ISD, the makeover marks a significant shift for programs long accustomed to the upkeep of natural fields. Director of Facilities and Planning Zach Graf, who previously coached baseball for eight years, said the transition will improve both maintenance and quality of life.

“I coached baseball here for eight years before I came into this role when Coach Steinbruck became the superintendent,” Graf said.

Graf noted that maintaining the old fields required daily work from coaches and players.

“We spent an hour every single night after practice working on this field, so that was time that kids were away from home, that’s times that we’re away from our families, so just in terms of a quality of life for the student athletes here in terms of quality of life for the coaches here, this is a huge improvement,” Graf said.

Head baseball coach Jesse Buttler said the team has found creative ways to keep practicing during construction.

“The last couple of weeks we’ve been using these temporary batting cages, which we’ll get continued use out of them once the construction project is finished,” Buttler said.

Senior player Kolton Struy said the new turf will also help their teams practice and play more consistently. 

“The weather was always the biggest inconvenience for us, like not having this, but we’re blessed to have the football facility over there when the weather was bad. So now we can just come out here raining, whether it’s raining or not,” Struy said.

Superintendent Chris Steinbruck said the district will see substantial water savings once the turf is in place.

“A yearly estimate in the neighborhood of 500,000 gallons of water,” Steinbruck said. “The dirt and the infield and the mound and home plate had to be watered with city water three to four times a day to keep that infield moist so the wind doesn’t blow that surface off.” 

The project became possible through Bond 2025 funding.

“It was included in Proposition B and we were just so blessed and that the community supported all three bond propositions on May 3, 2025. And so that whole process was community driven,” Steinbruck said.

For Graf, who grew up in the district, seeing the upgrades take shape hits close to home.

“I grew up in this community. I went to school here. I’ve worked here, and this is getting to see these projects come to life and getting to see what the taxpayers voted on really turn around and benefit the community is definitely special,” Graf said.