Sports Turf Dashboard

Missoula sports teams and Parks and Recreation share a common goal: safe, high-quality athletic turf for games and tournaments. Preserving sports fields in the shoulder seasons can be a challenge for your team's practice schedule, but it's necessary to ensure fields are ready for competitive play.

We appreciate your patience and efforts in preserving athletic turf before its growing season begins. This page is intended to help inform organizations and other members of the public about how the Department considers data in order to safely open fields.

3/24/23 Update: Parks and Recreation athletic fields are currently closed.

All grass fields are currently closed. Soil temperatures at FMRP currently range from 34 to 35°. 

Ground temperatures must be 45 degrees or warmer for 3 straight days, and moisture levels must be less than 30% before fields can be safely opened without sustaining damage. If you have any questions, please contact Brien Halterman at 406-552-6266 or haltermanb@ci.missoula.mt.us. 

Weather permitting, neighborhood park practice fields are slated to open around April 1.


Sport Turf Opening Requirements:

Prior to opening sports fields for reservations, Missoula Parks and Recreation uses the criteria listed below. This criteria was developed from overall best management practices for turf management in our region. These benchmarks must be met, in order to ensure safe and sustainable turf grass.

  • Soil temperature must be holding at 45° or above.
    • The grass does not begin to come out of dormancy until soil temperatures are at 45 degrees. Turf resiliency depends on its ability to grow. Grass that is coming out of dormancy is not yet growing, leaving it more vulnerable to damage that could affect field conditions moving forward. Holding means that the soil temp remains at or above 45° degrees for 3 consecutive days.
  • Moisture levels in the turf must be below 30%. 
    • When fields contain greater than 30% moisture they become unsafe for athletic footing and are more vulnerable to compaction. This is observed when mud and water are pressed out of the ground while simply walking on the fields. It is important that field activity is avoided when these conditions are present for the safety of athletes and future field conditions. 

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