Breaking the surface: uncovering your sports surfacing needs. (Facility Focus).

On the surface, the choice of a sports surface doesn't seem to be as essential or critical as the selection of team equipment and uniforms.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Choosing the right surfacing could be the most important decision your school ever makes. After all, you don't buy carpeting or linoleum for your home without taking into consideration how much wear and tear it will encounter, how long it will endure, or its safety concerns.

The pursuit of the perfect grass field is every coach and athletic director's nirvana but price, maintenance, and Title IX have made it unrealistic in 2002. Title IX had a major impact on sports facilities. Our schools learned that they couldn't accommodate all their sports teams and intramural programs without building more fields. With so many schools being landlocked the dynamic obviously called for a synthetic surface. But some couldn't afford a high-end synthetic, and so the need arose for surfaces that were financially feasible while providing some of the characteristics of grass and AstroTurf.

Says Chuck Fleishman, Chief Marketing Officer for American Sports Products Group, the holding company for Southwest RRecreational Industries (SRI) "Schools have learned that a field with a tremendous amount of use potential makes more sense financially and recreationally than the cost of maintaining four or five separate fields, not to mention the land costs of building those additional fields. We see the trend continuing."

In addition, the company is the official sponsor of NACDA; has two FIFA recommended AstroPlay fields in Portugal and Switzerland; boasts several IAAF-approved outdoor tracks, including the Penn Relays and Drake Relays; and is the official sponsor of 2003 European Nation's Cup AstroTurf Field Hockey championships.

SRI of Leander, TX is the foremost provider of natural and synthetic turf playing fields. It is to surfacing what Home Depot is to home improvement. It is comprised of three synthetic surface companies: NeXturf, AstroPlay, and AstroTurf, plus Martin Surfacing (indoor gymnasiums), Southwest Track (EuroTan and Martin ISS brands), and Southwest Tennis. It even publishes its own industry magazine, Sports Facilities Today.

SRI sold approximately 40 synthetic fields in the U.S. in the 80s and will sell 250 fields this year. "Its tremendous growth," says Chuck Fleishman, "is not coming from the pros, nor from Divisions I, II, and III, although there has been a lot of growth there. It's coming from where that bulge really is, the nearly 16,000 high school districts in the U.S. That's who's creating this momentum in terms of sales and installation of synthetic turf."

Turf Going

AstroTurf made its initial impact in a baseball game in the Astrodome on April 8, 1966. Ironically, the synthetic surface, which was basically a rug rolled over dirt, was brought in because the Astrodome's original surface, real grass, continually died.

In the genesis of synthetic surfaces, the industry has sought to develop a unique product that would be both user-friendly and safe. The new synthetic turfs have been designed to mimic natural grass and have incorporated sand and rubber infill to improve durability and performance.

"Since the introduction of AstroTurf, other companies have tried to duplicate its feel and play by introducing new technology and giving it a longer pile," reports Darren Gill, marketing coordinator for Montreal-based FieldTurf.

Among the more than a dozen companies in the synthetic surface business aside from Southwest Recreational and FieldTurf are Cincinnati-based Sportfield, Hummer Turfgrass Systems of Lancaster, PA, Sprinturf of Wayne, PA, Sporturf/Grass-Tex of Dalton, GA, and ProGreen International of Arvada, CO.

FieldTurf's current composition offers an interesting combination. The fibers consist of a polyethylene and polypropylene blend that is treated and tufted into a unique porous surface backing. The precise pattern of the fibers gives it a real grass look and feel. The patented ground rubber and silica sand infill, interacting with the synthetic grass fibers, provides what the company calls the ultimate footing for athletes. The company also claims to have 10 times more insole per square foot, which acts as a cushion.

The rubber is part cryogenically treated tires and recycled athletic shoes.

FieldTurf's partnership with Nike has produced the Nike Grind, which is part of the footwear giant's Re-Use-a-Shoe program where people turn in their old Nike footwear, which in turn becomes the rubber mix FieldTurf's infill.

According to Gill, the life expectancy of the product--which sells for $5.50 per square foot for high schools and colleges--is estimated at 12-15 years.

"It's an all-purpose field," he says of the product introduced in 1994. "Every high school has to have it. Every team needs a field to play on. Every team has to have practice time. You can have everything from a sports team to a gym class to the marching band using the field in a single day. It can be a scheduling nightmare."

FieldTurf is the system of choice for many NFL and Division I football teams, including the Seattle Seahawks, Detroit Lions, and University of Nebraska. It also is prominent at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and its field at the Fanny Blankers-Koen Sportscomplex in Almere, Holland is FIFA recommended.

"It gets back to usage," says FieldTurf CEO John Gilman. "Fields that have very limited use can probably keep the grass growing. If you have enough events to keep the stadium going and make it worthwhile--whether it is high-school games, college games, whatever--you need a turf that won't wear out. That's where it makes sense."

AstroPlay consists of a polyethylene grass zone, which is about an inch-to-inch and half tall. The polyethylene is cut into ribbons that look like grass, then tufted into the fabric, Below that grass zone you have a little area about 3/8 of an inch tall which has nylon, that has also been tufted.

Introduced in 2001, NeXturf is a knitted system and a much more stable product. As opposed to AstroPlay, which has recycled black rubber, NeXturf has green EPDM virgin rubber particles. Under the NeXturf fabric, the padding options include: a 5/8-inch closed cell pad (black foam pad with holes) in it or a 1/2-inch recycled rubber pad that has binder (small stones) in it to give the impression of being paved, or a 19mm e-layer under a 3/8 closed cell pad.

Southwest Recreational is working hard on the shoe-surface relationship. Says Chuck Fleishman: "We don't fit our surfaces to shoes, we fit the shoes to the surfaces. We're starting to close that gap so that the players' footwear is being tested according to the fibers and fabrics that are being used in surfaces. It's a very critical component of future progress."

NeXturf (preferred for baseball and football) costs $10-$12 per square foot for the fiber and $4-$6 for the sub base per square foot. AstroPlay (soccer and football) is $4-$6 for both the fiber and sub base. AstroTurf (the preferred surface worldwide for field hockey) runs $7-$9 for the fiber and $4-$6 for the sub base.

"If they have the budget, we recommend NeXturf," says Chuck Fleishman. "But if they don't have the budget, we highly suggest AstroPlay, our anchor system. It's like saying you can get a Mercedes 320 or you can get an Avalon XLS, which is a real nice car, but it's $20,000 less."

The warranty for NeXturf and AstroPlay is eight years, but the products are expected to last 10-11 years. AstroTurf has a life expectancy of 10-15 years. Maintenance responsibilities are up to individual schools because they use their own staff, but companies like Southwest provide guidelines on brushing, cleaning, and washing.

Hummer Turfgrass Systems, manufacturers of Sofsport, which is being touted as "The Ultimate Unreal Grass," is another company that is singing the praises of a sand and rubber filled synthetic turf system.

The polyethylene surface is tufted at a height of two inches and is top-dressed with a mix of non-compactable sand and coarse rubber. The system is installed over a Dodge-Regupol recycled rubber base for more player-friendly conditions.

What's more, Hummer installs a full under-field drainage system that it says is capable of removing 20 inches of rain per hour.

Sporturf/Grass-Tex mainly caters to baseball, specifically indoor hitting facilities, practice mats, and actual fields.

Yet another player in the turf wars is Sportfield, manufacturers of RealGrass synthetic turf. The company made headlines recently when the Dallas Cowboys "uprooted" the RealGrass playing surface at its training camp inside San Antonio's Alamodome and placed it in their Valley Ranch practice facility.

According to GM Scott Smith, the company "supplies more than 1,000 college and university programs, including Florida State, Texas, Miami, and Arizona State, in addition to providing products for all 30 major league teams." The Bermuda baseball surface is a combination of polypropylene and knitted nylon that is laid over asphalt or concrete. Prices range from $125 to $325 per square foot.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is so enamored with RealGrass that he had it installed at Texas Stadium before the teams' Oct. 6 home game, replacing the stadium's traditional Sportfield artificial surface.

RealGrass' secret is that it incorporates life-like individual blades of grass, bolstered by unique modified fibers, with a polyurethane pre-coat that provides what the company calls the ultimate in tuft-bind.

According to Sportfield, RealGrass is filled with cuboidal rubber infill, which creates a realistic looking and feeling surface. The unique texturized fiber curls down to cover and trap the rubber granules, preventing the system from expelling the infill upon impact.

Individual systems can drain vertically or horizontally depending on customer preference.

Playing the Field

Before investing in a synthetic surface, Chuck Fleishman offers a checklist for prospective purchasers: How are you going to use this field? What sports are going to be played? How often are you going to need the field: 24 hours a day, seven days a week, once a week?

"The kind of sports will determine the kind of system," says Fleishman. "Especially if you are including American football. Soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, intramurals, and the marching band all have other needs, We inquire about what kind of use they are anticipating and what they're trying to do. That's really the first thing you have to look at it."

Next, Fleishman suggests that the school check the cost in terms of maintenance, water, environment, and issues related to its site.

"If your school is in Santa Fe, you will certainly have a great concern for the water supply, due to the long drought," he says. "If you're in the north, you may have a concern for snow removal and frost. Environment produces different concerns."

Southwest has focus groups in place to help people understand both the visible and hidden technology. It also has products with which they can change the amount of Ultra Violet protection. In Seattle, you will have a lot of rain and drainage concerns. Arizona schools don't have to worry as much about drainage issues as about UV concerns and color fastness.

Chuck Fleishman's message: "Look at all of the concerns and decide what you can do to provide your constituents--the communities you serve within the school--with a surface that will be the most multi-purpose possible and give the best return for your investment."

Surprisingly, the technological benefits of a synthetic surface have yet to capture the masses. Many people still cannot yet grasp that the positives will outweigh the negatives. Like Novocain, you have to give it time.

FieldTurf's Darren Gill: "Artificial surfaces have generally become more acceptable. In fact, there are several areas of the country, like in the Washington area, California, and northern New Jersey, which have totally embraced it. They now realize it's the only way to go."

Tim Knox, football operations coordinator at Western Michigan U. in Kalamazoo, believes that the installation of a synthetic system at Waldo Stadium was inevitable.

"We were unable to grow grass because of where we are located in Michigan," he says of installing a NeXturf XL system. "It's very difficult to maintain a field throughout the season. When we looked at synthetic fields, we saw that NeXturf was backfilled with rubber pellets, while FieldTurf has rubber and sand.

"Now, suppose we had a heavy rain and the field froze? The sand would become hard as rock. We had to take that into consideration. We didn't want a frozen field."

Ringgold HS in Monongahela, Pa., alma mater of Joe Montana, is home of the first-ever installed FieldTurf surface. The turf, which was laid in 1994, has taken a licking but has kept on ticking.

"The field has been used as a playoff site for football as well as for soccer, and the soccer teams like it very much, too," says first-year Ringgold AD Jeff Matty. "They say it provides a true bounce. Considering the wear and tear from all our sports, it's probably the best surface out there."

Matty advises schools in similar situations to strongly consider a synthetic field:

I was a football coach last year at South Fayette (in McDonald, Pa.) and we played on a grass field. By the middle of the season it was destroyed. The conditions were terrible, The kind of turf we have at Ringgold looks and plays much like grass but it lasts a lot longer. Plus, the whole community can use it. That makes it beneficial to everyone.

Keeping Track

While the technology and consequent need for synthetic surfaces have boomed, our tracks, tennis courts, and gyms have retained their status quo.

Track design has not dramatically changed over the last 10 years. It hasn't been necessary. Track programs aren't growing and participation figures are very level in growth compared to soccer and other sports.

"Tracks have not made the degree of change that turf has," says Chuck Fleishman. "It is still very polyurethane based. There are several different ways of doing it. Flood and chip or full bore. A lot of the technology is not that new. However, we do have new layer technology in polyurethane that will be announced in December. It's a substantial technology move to improve the track in terms of performance and durability."

Southwest's EuroTan poured-in-place synthetic track surface has been a staple at the some of the premier relays in the country: Penn Relays, Drake Relays, Texas Relays, and Louisiana Relay. The company's polyurethane binder provides a shock absorbency and resiliency that significantly reduces the stress on ankles and knees.

One of the major trends in polyurethane track production has been the introduction of mercury-free technology. A potent neurotoxin capable of damaging the central nervous system of adults, mercury has been used as a catalyst in all urethane-based track surfaces since the 1970s.

"There was a lot of lead and mercury in polyurethane," Chuck Fleishman says. "Because lead and mercury helps the gym floor or track set up more consistently."

Southwest now uses waterborne coatings, and the company is doing everything in its power to minimize lead and mercury usage to the point that it no longer uses lead. The mercury used has less parts per million than is found in the air, far below the EPA standards.

One of the proponent's of mercury-free technology is Advanced Polymer Systems. The Corona, Calif.-based company has been leading the way with new developments in advanced urethanes.

APS's Tartan tracks include those recently installed at both the U. of Oregon's legendary Hayward Field--home of Prefontaine Classic--and at Division III powerhouse Susquehanna (PA) U.