WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) — A $1.4 billion project is in the works at the Watertown City School District.

Watertown’s Athletic Department is in the planning stage for its stadium turf replacement project. This project will update older facilities.

“Our turf is well over the age of a turf,” Director of Athletics Mike Morgan explained. “What it should be, you look to replace turf every 10 to 12 years and our stadium is a little bit over that. The surface is in great shape but it’s definitely in need of repair.”

A new turf means a new design. Through an online survey, the entire school community is currently voting on two options.

The first design is a traditional green turf with purple endzones, Cyclone in the middle and gold accents. The second option is an all-purple turf with golden endzones, Cyclone in the middle and detailing.

Morgan said the latter of the designs was chosen to help promote school spirit.

“We’re purple and white. We’re very proud of that,” he expressed. “Purple and white are unique colors for a high school athletics department. So we wanted to showcase our pride in being purple and white.”

Solid-color turfs are rare in high school sports, but it has been a trend in collegiate athletics.

Examples of this include Boise State with a blue field, Eastern Washington with a blood red field and SUNY Morrisville with its all-black field.

If chosen, the purple field could be a win for the Cyclones, Morgan added.

“If our turf is purple, you know who you’re getting; you’re getting Watertown,” he said. “It could be a mind game for opponents, which is positive in order to kind of up the ante with competitiveness.”

The Athletic Department confirmed that there is not a difference when it comes to the cost or safety standards of the two options. Both fit in the budget and would have similar surface temperatures.

Morgan said this is why it will likely be a toss up between green and purple.

“It’s like Christmas. I have no idea which way it’s going to go,” he stated. “My hands are out of this one. I’m just as curious as you all are. So we’ll see what ends up happening.”

Watertown’s turf design survey will remain open until Thursday, September 28 at 6 p.m. The survey can be found online.