It was nine years ago when I saw synthetic grass in person for the first time. I was in Round Rock, Texas, to cover a high school football game.
I walked into Dragon Stadium and marveled at how green the field was. I wondered how they managed to keep it watered all summer in the blazing Texas heat, how grass could be that green in late August.
As I headed toward the pressbox, it began to dawn on me that this wasn't normal. I mean, nothing is normal about high school football in Texas, but really, how could they keep the grass so green?
I went inside the pressbox and sat down, still mesmerized by the field. I pulled out my binoculars and trained them on the green, green - GREEN! - field in front of me. It didn't look right.
Intrigued, I decided the only thing that will put my mind at ease was to go down and look at the grass up close. So I marched down to the field, stood on the track and gazed at it. Up close, I began to realize it was a mirage.
But it was so close to real, I still needed to bend over and touch it, to feel the plastic blades between my fingers. Only then was I convinced it wasn't actually grass.
In the years since, synthetic turf has sprung up all over the place. It's become popular at the high school level because the stadium fields are used by so many teams and athletes. But those fields are also used by marching bands, flag twirlers and PE classes.
That's what prompted District 203 to include installing synthetic turf at the high school stadiums in a referendum that passed in February. If all goes to plan, Naperville Central and Naperville North will play home games on the stuff beginning next fall.
While there are some health and safety issues, as explained in Sunday's Sun, the district really has little option. Especially at Central where the school is going to lose its football practice fields next year when its lease with Naperville Cemetery expires.
Soon there will be no "awe" moment when people enter a stadium where the field seems a little too green to be natural, but, boy oh boy, it sure does look real.
As more fields convert, North football coach Larry McKeon said the uniqueness wears away. No longer will playing on the turf at North Central College be as special. It will just be another game on another artificial surface.
Maybe when that day comes, I'll enter a high school football stadium in some other state I never imagined I'd be living in and I'll be mesmerized by the field and its odd surface. I'll wonder, when did grass become so brown and wilted?
What are your thoughts about District 203's plans? Do you see another alternative to the shrinking practice field issue that won't cost about $1 million? Or are you pumped to see the stuff on your home field? What about you readers in District 204, do you want to see it at Neuqua Valley or Waubonsie Valley, heck, even Matea Valley? Are you concerned about safety issues, or do you think those are blown out of proportion?
I'm interested in hearing your views.
With Waubonsie losing some practice fields due to the freshman campus converting back to a middle school when Matea opens, I think they need turf too. There is just not enough practice areas for three levels of football, three levels of soccer, and the marching band in the fall. The band is rarely allowed to practice on the football field as it is now.
I am a huge fan of the natural grass, but I don't think the synthetic turf would be a major issue when it comes to safety. As long as we're not talking astro-turf or stuff that's hard as concrete, synthetic turf may serve a good purpose in District 203 and 204 facilities. With all the activities that take place on the fields, they tend to get pretty beat up at times, and turf would be a very sturdy alternative. With all the advancements being made in field surfaces these days, I don't see a problem if they decide to do this. As long as it "looks like" grass and plays like it, we shouldn't have an issue.
As a former college football player, natural grass fields are preferred by the overwelming majority of players. Artificial turf fields have improved with the rubber infill systems, but you can't beat a natural grass field for playability, lower field temperatures and reduction of injuries.
Natural Grass is overwelmingly preferred:
The NFL players survey from 2006 had responses from 1511 players and 73% preferred natural grass fields vs 18% preferring artificial. 9% had no preference. 74% of the players said artificial turf caused more soreness and fatigue vs 5% for natural grass and 21% had no response. Major League Soccer players do not like playing on artificial turf at all.
Artificial turf fields certainly have their place if fields are in limited supply and over used. You can play in all weather conditions and won't damage the artificial turf fields.
Aside from player preference, we need to consider the total cost of artificial turf fields vs natural grass fields.
Installation Costs:
Natural Soil football fields cost $50,000 to $150,000 per field.
Sand based fields typically built for colleges and NFL fields cost $250,000 to $350,000.
Artificial turf Fields with rubber infill cost $850,000 to $1,000,000.
Our high schools are built on natural soil fields. Waubonsie and Neuqua Valley groundskeepers have done an excellent job maintaining these heavily used fields.
Maintenance Costs:
Maintenance costs are underestimated with artifical turf fields.
Artificial turf fields are sold on the premise that there is a substantial reduction in field maintenance costs.
A good resource detailing the facts of artificial vs natural grass can be found at http://www.turfgrasssod.org/pdfs/ArtificialTurfBooklet2.pdf
Artificial turf fields need to be groomed and raked to prevent the blades from laying flat. The rubber shifts and migrates causing an uneven surface and needs to be raked to smooth out these areas.
Watering artificial Fields
You would not think you have to water an artificial turf field, but it is recommended to install irrigation systems in artificial turf fields to pack the rubber after grooming and also to lower temperatures during warm, sunny days. The Cincinatti Bengals recorded field temperatures on their rubber infill fields of 160 degrees on an 85 degree sunny day. The neighboring natural grass field had temperatures in the low 90's. Watering will help bring the temperature down for a short time.
Static electricity:
Fields require spraying of fabric softeners to help stop static electricity from shocking players and making the crumb rubber stick to the athletes clothes and body.
Spraying disinfectants to prevent infection:
Spraying disinfectants is required since you don't have any natural microbes to break down blood, sweat and other bodily fluids. MRSA infections are a concern with artificial fields.
Debris removal:
Gum, sunflower seeds, tobacco, paper debris, etc. needs to be removed by hand or a special sweeper that will not displace the rubber infill.
Vandalism or normal tears are need to be replaced and the cost to replace sections of turf. One university has spent $13,000 per year on seam repair, damaged areas that needed to be replaced and application of additional crumb rubber.
Replacement Costs:
Infill artificial turf fields typically need to be replaced after 8 years. The turf fibers start to deteriorate and the rubber starts to get hard. Replacing the carpet portion of the field is about $500,000. Additonal costs are required if you need to repair the subsurface.
Disposal fees:
The Atlanta Falcons had to pay $150,000 to buy a special permit to get the landfill to take the old rubber. This does not include the cost to actually haul away the carpet and the infill which typically ranges from $50,000 to $150,000 for a football field.
Cost comparison:
If you consider the cost of $1,000,000 for an artificial field vs $150,000 for a natural grass field the initial cost savings is $850,000. (times three if we installed artificial turf at our three high schools) Maintenance costs per year on natural grass, at the most, would cost $10,000 more per year than artificial. This difference would be eliminated if you had repairs to seams or sections replaced. 8 years at $10,000 per year additional maintenance = $80,000.
NFL teams bring in big roll natural grass sod at a cost of $75,000 to re-sod the entire field when the fields fail. This is what they do for the Super Bowl stadiums every year. 4 foot wide rolls of sod that are 3 to 4 inches thick. Lay it down and play on it right away. If you overused our high school fields and the turf is destroyed, simply re-sod the field every year and you get a brand new natural grass field. Typically you would only sod the worn areas, and the cost would be much less, but even if you sodded the entire field, the cost for 8 re-sods would be $600,000. You are still $170,000 less cost for natural grass vs artificial per field.
Year 8, you will spend over $600,000 to re-carpet your artifical turf field and dispose of the old field. The natural grass field will continue to provide an excellent playing surface that is safe and preferred for our athletes. It is also the fiscally sound thing for us to do.
Conclusion:
It is not a wise use of our public funds to go artificial at Waubonsie, Neuqua or Metea.
If we give proper budgets to the groundskeepers at our high schools, we can have excellent playing fields that can support multi-sports on our game fields and save our district money.