School Sports Venues Continue March Toward Synthetic Turf

Its not just professionals who are making the change toward synthetic turf for their

playing fields; Narrabean Sports High has plans to build a stadium that utilizes fake grass as its official playing surface. The project is slated for completion by the end of the year and has raised many interesting debates over the continued use of natural grass vs. the investment in synthetic grass installation.

The Artificial Migration

It may be time for a change all across Australia with regards to incorporating water-saving artificial lawns in both residential and sports-based applications. Keeping those lawns green, and particularly the expanse of sports fields, is both challenging and expensive in Australias harsh climate. This is doubly true when the lawn in question is being used actively for vigorous sports, which can tear up the grass even further. Replacing natural turf is an expensive proposition, requiring more than just new sod. Apart from installation costs, there is an investment of time in nurturing the new grass to blend with the remaining turf. Yet, sports fields get frequent use, and there's not enough time to wait for new grass to grow out.

Recently, there have been several reports of other sports teams making the move toward fake grass rather than real. At the Prince of Wales Complex in Ballarat, the city has renovated one of its central baseball diamonds with a new artificial infield playing surface in an effort which was designed to meet the needs of the surrounding community while promoting the sport itself. The decision to commit to a synthetic infield may increase the likelihood of the Prince of Wales Complex becoming a premier location for hosting future games. This will allow the area sports teams to keep generating public interest in their sports and expand upon that interest. Accordingly, an increase in sporting events held at the complex will lead to economic growth as well, bringing a return on investment to the sports organization and the community.

Budgetary Considerations

Synthetic grass installation can save tremendously on budget for sports teams over the long haul. Although many management companies may see the initial installation cost and reject the proposal of switching outright, these companies may not be taking into consideration the maintenance costs associated with keeping up a naturally green lawn. Typical costs include fertilizing and watering, plus trimming and mowing. There is the additional potential cost of lining up rainy-day alternative locations in which to play or practice if the natural grass surface puddles or has drainage problems. Fake grass allows rainwater to drain through rather than stand in puddles, allowing teams to play after even heavy rain storms and other inclement weather.

Supporting Native Companies

When choosing to make the switch over to an artificial commercial surface, its a good idea to go with a local, Australian-based supplier. Ordering products from other companies in Europe or America can lead to issues with the turf being inappropriate for our local climate and weather conditions. Australia can see massive temperature extremes which make the typical wax-based synthetics inappropriate for our climate. Extreme heat on a racetrack, for example, will cause melting of the surface which could also block the drainage system which is installed below the track.

Local synthetic turf manufacturers, however, use different processes and materials in order to make the end product suitable for our unique climate challenges. Wax is not used as a binder in Australia, where the hot summers would cause tracks and other synthetic grass surfaces to soften and break down much more quickly with normal use.

by: Andrew Sullivan

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