Tremendous improvement in the artificial turfs has renewed interest in these turfs for sports fields. The decision to use artificial turf is difficult because these fields are a huge investment to install, maintain, and eventually replace. This technology is relatively new and still evolving, and thus questions abound on performance, safety, injury, maintenance costs, lifespan, warranty, heat buildup, etc. Artificial turfs make sense and are justified in some cases. Unfortunately in many cases, artificial turfs are being oversold with unattainable promises as a silver bullet for maintenance budgets or shortage of usable space. Some questions that must be answered prior to investing in a new artificial turf include:
- Warranty: How long does the warranty last? What’s covered? What’s not covered? What does the owner have to do to maintain the warranty coverage? What causes the warranty to become null and void?
Installation: Who’s installing? What’s their experience? References? Drainage needs? Backing? Sewed or glued lines? Painted or stitched lines and logos?
Lifespan: How long will this turf really last?
Maintenance: Who will do it? What needs to be done? Brushing? Cleaning? Repairing? Stitching? How much does it cost to maintain? How do we deal with vandalism?
Heat buildup: How hot will it get on the field?
The Sports Turf Managers Association has just released “A Guide to Synthetic and Natural Turfgrass for Sports Fields” and it is available at http://www.stma.org/sites/stma/files/STMA_Synthetic_Guide_2nd_Edition.pdf. It is a pretty good reference and can serve as a good starting point in your research. If we can help with artificial or natural turf, please contact me at zreicher@purdue.edu or dan.gamble@kmcturf.com