All 13 turf fields will need to be replaced at the Creve Coeur Soccer Complex due to damaging winds and tornados blew through on Friday evening.
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page says the fields suffered damage such as rips and ripples from wind and water getting underneath the turf. Park officials said it was not possible to replace patches of the turf, saying it would leave an uneven playing surface.
Additional damage included chain link fences stripped down to just poles, stadium lighting bent in different directions and shards of glass and shrapnel lying across the turf.
Page says they hope to have some of the fields redone by the early summer.
"We're hoping we can have the turf replaced, repair some of the lights, get some of the fields operational by mid June."
A trailer was lifted into the air and tumbled over the fields multiple times. Now only a pile of rubble remains.
Page expects the cost to repairs these fields to be "millions of dollars." Who will cover the cost?
"We think this would be eligible for compensation from federal disaster funds," Says Page, adding "this is damage to a government facility and that's how we hope to be reimbursed."