I decided if anyone would know it would be the refs.

Just curious but are there many D1-AA, D2 & D3 schools that have the new turf and do you know any looking into installing the new turf.

I am working on an article. "Turfs on the Rise!" Pun intended. LOL

R.K. Speights
Yhe NET Sports Gazette

Sidebar question for the refs. Do you like grass or turf to play on.

[Edited by TheNetGazette on Feb 13th, 2004 at 09:26 PM]

I don't know about how many colleges are switching to turf.

But i do know that i love reffing on that new type with the ground up tires in it. It feels better than grass. Its too bad only one venue in our city has it. It's really better than the old turf which was like a carpet on top of cement.

The ground your running on needs to absorb some of the impact.

Infills
 

I have learned there are two types on infills, 1) rubber only (splash effect) 2) 70% rubber, 30 sand. The sand rubber makes it more like natural sod.

ironically the first new turf I walked on was at Rose Stadium in Tyler, Texas. A fellow journalist to me down on the field, but before I could go out on the field he made me take off my shoes and socks and walk barefoot. It had that cool feeling of grass that had just been cut.

I liked the way it felt. i can remember the first time i walked out on the field at the Astrodome. I thought this is harder than concrete and it was. LOL

We have 2 high school fields here with the "tire fill" turf. The "rug" itself is layed over a sand/dirt mix to facillitate drainage. One field was put into use 2 seasons ago. it was a bit rushed into action, thus the rubber was not compacted enough, crap flew all over the place and the ball picked it up big time when wet. The other one opened mid-season last year. I worked first game on it and a big difference with the rubber compaction, hardly any got into shoes or flew around.
The turf is VERY comfortable on the feet, markings are accurate as both fields had them lasered in. Initial costs are over 500k, but I believe they have a 10 year warranty and living in a water crazy area, seems to be cost effective.

We had a high school here install it 3 years ago. I love the stuff. Like everyone else said, it is easy on the legs and feet. It has terrific traction and is great in water.

The only gripe I have (and this is with the total rubber in fill field) is that when it is a sunny, hot day, it heats up a lot, even more than AstroTurf did. If you look straight down at the firld, it looks more black than green from the rubber in fill and this stuff absorbs heat like crazy.

There's a turf made by Sportexe that has eliminated most of the problems ya'll mention.

Their sand and rubber mix doesn't splash, it's almost like sod. If you water the field before the game a couple of three hours before, it's brings the tmep down and keeps it down.

I sat in on three presentations this week and I was impressed with their product.

Long Island, NY for years was the place for grass turf and daytime football.

Schools are starting to bring in turf fields but it is a hard sell because of the up-front cost. Cost of athletics is in the property tax bill and such an improvement first requires a bond issue to be passed -- and an increase in already high taxes. What most voters don't realize is that upfront cost is recovered since the fields are multi-use and the cost of watering and general maintenance drop steeply, plus, postponments due to rainy weather cost the schools hundreds of dollars which ADs have to balance against the cost of playing the game and having the field get chopped up. And, that costs money too.

Yes, we have lights on a lot of fields now.

Rent To Own
 

This same company has a program I told the CEO that sounds like Rent to Own.

You can actually lease the field turf for five years and then pay a small sum (token) and it's yours. LOL

Also, I heard something yesterday that I haven't confirmed but do believe it's true.

SRI-Astroturf/Astroplay the number two turf company filed bankruptcy.

Re: Rent To Own
 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TheNetGazette
[B]This same company has a program I told the CEO that sounds like Rent to Own.

You can actually lease the field turf for five years and then pay a small sum (token) and it's yours. LOL

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
That's plain crazy!! What does the company do if the school does not want to keep the rug??? I'm sure the costly part is the installation labor, used tires are free..Now I'm sure the rug is fairly expensive. Sure doesn't hold resale like a Benz...lol

It's like all lease purchase programs, an investment banking company is the one who buys the paper. The turf company is owned nothing. The school signs a lease agreement with the banking company.

It's just like a lease purchase on a car.

Actually the turf does have resale value.

I have learned something in my many years on this earth, if it can be financed, it will be. LOL

In the northeast part of Oklahoma we have at least 5 schools with the new turf installed at the high school level. At least 3 of them have been put in in the past 3 years. In addition Tulsa Unversity installed it as did Oklahoma State (tho they are not really in the Northeast part of the state.) I am not sure how many, if any schools in the Oklahoma City are have it.
Is it better than grass? Big time yes. It is easier on the feet and legs. No mud. Every step is a true step, no holes or ruts. And the lines are marked. 10 yards is 10 yards.

Indiana University got it this year, worked great! There is also A HS about 40 minutes north of Bloomington that has it as well, I definitely like it a lot!

Don't have an answer about the number of new turf fields going in.

As for officiating on the new turf - I love it. Definitely easier on the legs and joints. Like the old artficial turf fields, these get pretty hot in late summer, perhaps even hotter than the old types due to the black ground rubber component. But the added comfort more than offsets that (heat) disadvantage. I like working on natural grass fields too, but unfortunately a number of them are not properly maintained and end up compacted, with ruts and holes, and overall not a very good situation. The turf fields, as someone already pointed out, also have more accurate markings that also are a definite benefit.

The new turf fields, although a significant up front financial challenge, are a good long term solution because you can use them for multiple sports, without the worry of tearing them up in wet weather. There are a couple more turf fields going in here in the metro Omaha area and I predict a few more will follow.

The turf is okay - I prefer natural grass, but with the number of flag football games we play each year, we have to use the turf towards the end of the season.

Also - the little rubber pellets are a pain in the a**. We installed them on a soccer field three seasons ago, and they still stick in everyone's shoes.

Turf companies are now going to a sand/rubber infill. 25% sand and 75% rubber. That is eliminating the splash and sticking problems. Also, it gives more of a sod feeling. G-max is a little harder but only a few points. Gives a more consistance G-max, too.