Demand for Artificial Turf for High Schools is Growing!
Post-Dispatch
By Carolyn Bower
March 27, 2005
Some area high schools have turned to artificial turf instead of natural grass for athletic fields as demand for use and the need for maintenance increase.
The latest plan is in the Rockwood School District , where residents will vote April 5 on a bond proposal that includes $2.8 million for artificial turf at four high schools. The bond issue would require no increase in the tax rate.
If voters agree, Rockwood would join schools such as Christian Brothers College , St. Louis University High and St. Dominic High that have gone synthetic. Clayton High School plans to convert to artificial turf in the fall.
The artificial turf business is booming, and high schools are major prospects. About 600 synthetic fields have been installed at high schools, universities, parks and stadiums around the country, according to the Synthetic Turf Council, a nonprofit group. Installation of artificial turf increased by 18 percent last year from the previous year, the council reports.
School officials say the artificial fields save money on maintenance and reduce the risk of injury.
"Artificial grass makes good sense for kids," said Rich Grawer, athletics director for the Clayton School District . "Probably in 10 years, maybe five, every school district will have one of these."
Synthetic turf offers opportunities for use year-round, rain or shine, at a time when demand for the fields has increased. More outdoor sports are being offered for girls and boys, and marching bands need practice time, school officials say.
Still, researchers and parents have raised questions about synthetic fields - safety, expense and who should pay for it, maintenance and replacement of pieces damaged by wear and tear, vandalism, gum, cigarette burns and bodily fluids.
The new generation of artificial fields includes those with 2.5 inches of polyethylene, polypropylene or nylon fibers attached to a porous backing and filled with bits of either rubber or sand or both. Other fields provide a fiber over a pad for cushioning.
The products have evolved a long way from the old AstroTurf that was too hard, said Ron VanGelderen, president of the Synthetic Turf Council, based in Dalton, Ga.
But even with the new generation of turf, the risk of head injury remains about the same as on old artificial fields, said Dr. Rosanne Naunheim, associate professor of emergency medicine at Washington University.
Naunheim studied older AstroTurf as well as newer FieldTurf at the Rams' practice field in Earth City , as well as a frozen grass field in Earth City . The study was published in the December issue of the Journal of Trauma.
"The new artificial fields are no safer than the old artificial fields," Naunheim said, adding that the new fields may get compacted and firmer over time, increasing the concussion risk. The safety of grass fields varies according to whether they are hard and hot, muddy and cold or frozen. Naunheim said new artificial fields might pose less risk than frozen natural-grass fields.
Several high school athletics directors said they were aware of the study, adding that most football injuries involved legs, knees and ankles. School officials said students were less likely to turn ankles or suffer abrasions on the new generation of artificial turf.
Barb Rectien, who lives in Eureka , pays for her daughter, 11, to play soccer on a private artificial turf field. "I have to admit it's a lot nicer to play on," Rectien said.
One thing Rectien has noticed is that, after games, bits of black rubber on her daughter's socks, shin guards and shoes drop onto carpet, floors or shower drains.
But Rectien's biggest concern is Rockwood's proposal for taxpayers to pay for the artificial turf rather than seeking private or corporate donations.
"My daughter could use the field, but during these economic times, to put in a turf field with tax money when there are much greater needs just blows us away," Rectien said.
The new synthetic fields range in cost from $500,000 to almost $1 million.
Clayton has turned to private individuals and businesses to raise the money to replace its grass field with artificial turf.
Rockwood expects to spend about $700,000 for artificial turf at each of four high schools. The cost of maintaining a natural grass field at each high school is about $54,000 a year, said Dennis Griffith, an assistant superintendent. That money includes the cost of regrading the field every seven years, as well as the cost of fertilizing, seeding, striping, mowing and watering.
"Our costs are going to decrease significantly for maintenance with an artificial field," Griffith said. "You can groom an artificial field maybe once a month. You don't have to fertilize, line or water the field."
John Hutchison, vice president and chief financial officer of CBC, said the school opened in fall 2003 with the first artificial turf field in the region. The school paid about $400,000 for the field and got a 15-year guarantee.
"The artificial surface more than paid for itself, and we could use the field for games as well as practices and PE classes," Hutchison said. "We would highly recommend the field. It makes economic sense, and it provides a safe, even surface on which to play."
As important as saving money on maintenance is offering more opportunity to use a field to a greater number of students, Rockwood school officials said.
On rainy days the marching band at Rockwood Summit High School in Fenton has practiced on the school parking lot because officials did not want students stomping on the wet grass and wearing out the football field.
John Shelden, assistant principal and activities director at Rockwood Summit, said artificial turf would allow football teams, soccer teams, bands and community groups to use the field no matter the weather.
Shelden said that grass practice fields would exist but that artificial turf would open opportunities at the same time that interest in girls and boys sports has exploded.
"People say, 'Why do we need this frill?'" Shelden said. "It's not a frill. I've been 30 years in education. I have seen the benefits of extracurricular activities for young people - activities such as sports, band, choir, drama. To me, this can be another classroom out there."
