×
×
homepage logo

TURF WARS: School administrators discuss benefits of artificial playing fields

By Justin Nutter - | Jul 8, 2014

By the numbers

The installation of turf has become a growing trend at high schools in northeast Kansas. Talks at Tonganoxie have heated up since many of the Chieftains' neighbors have installed turf in recent years. Left: Tonganoxie's Beatty Field (file photo). Right: Basehor-Linwood's turf field, which was installed in 2010 (contributed photo by Nick Verbenec).

Several area schools have installed turf fields in recent years. Here are some specifics for fields at neighboring schools.

Basehor-Linwood

Duraspine PRO by FieldTurf installed in 2010. Approximate cost: $900,000.

Bonner Springs

Turf by Sportexe (now Shaw Sports Turf) installed in 2006. Approximate cost: $644,000.

Eudora

Ram Turf by ATG Sports installed in 2010. Approximate cost: $650,000 to $700,000.

Free State

GameDay Grass 3D by AstroTurf installed in 2009. Approximate cost: $890,000.

Lansing

Ram Turf by ATG Sports being installed in 2015. Approximate cost: $650,000 to $700,000.

Lawrence

GameDay Grass 3D by AstroTurf installed in 2009. Approximate cost: $890,000.

Piper

Turf by FieldTurf installed in 2008. Approximate cost: $700,000.

In the last five years, Tonganoxie High has seen its neighbors in nearly every direction unveil turf fields in their respective football stadiums. As the trend continues to grow among high schools across the state, many affiliated with Chieftain athletics have begun to ask if — or when — they, too, will replace the natural grass surface at Beatty Field with its artificial counterpart.

Last fall, players and fans saw firsthand how they could benefit from a turf field. THS hosted Basehor-Linwood in a stiff rain in its regular season finale, uprooting a good portion of the grass in a 29-14 win that secured a district title. With the potential of two home playoff games in five days the following week, not to mention a forecast full of more rain, administrators elected to forfeit home field advantage in the bi-district round against Bishop Ward. Instead, THS played the Cyclones on turf at Bonner Springs’ David Jaynes Stadium, ultimately saving what was left of its home field grass for a regional clash with Baldwin four days later.

“I would say the talk of turf has heated up quite a bit,” athletics director Brandon Parker said. “It probably heated up even more when we couldn’t play a playoff game on our field. We would have been putting kids in a bad spot from an injury standpoint.

“Even that Baldwin game was suspect. Honestly, the field hasn’t fully recovered from that game. We still have areas that are tough because it got unearthed. It literally got pulled out at its roots.”

On another rainy evening last month, even the district’s former superintendent weighed in. Randy Weseman, who officially retired on July 1, took a moment at his final school board meeting to discuss the benefits of an artificial surface, starting with the most common, yet unpredictable, nemesis of grass fields across the country.

“With a rain like this, you couldn’t play on our fields for a week. But, with a rain like this with a turfed field, you can play on it in an hour,” Weseman told board members. “You know the old saying ‘if cows can’t eat it, kids shouldn’t play on it?’ Well, that’s kind of antiquated. The whole thing has changed.”

Worth the cost

Weseman is no stranger to upgrades of athletic facilities. He was the superintendent of Lawrence Public Schools in 2009 when the district constructed athletic complexes at Lawrence High and Free State High. As part of the project, both schools’ fields were surfaced with Gameday Grass 3D by AstroTurf.

Bonner Springs was the first area school to switch to an artificial surface, installing turf by Canadian-based company Sportexe in 2006. Other neighboring schools have followed suit in the not-too-distant past. Piper had a turf field installed in 2008, while Basehor-Linwood and Frontier League school Eudora each did so two years later.

Lansing will join that group when it debuts its new school and athletic facilities in 2015, meaning half the Kaw Valley League will play home football games on turf. Tonganoxie, Mill Valley, Turner and Bishop Ward still play on grass fields.

Bonner Springs’ installation eight years ago cost about $650,000, but more recent projects have come at a higher price. For instance, the fields at Free State and Basehor-Linwood each cost closer to $900,000. However, some of that cost has been offset by the ability to use the field for multiple events.

“There are many benefits (of turf), including using it for physical education, practices for multiple sports, soccer games, strength and conditioning, etc.,” BLHS athletics director Joe Keeler said.

Basehor-Linwood currently plays on Duraspine PRO by FieldTurf — the same surface the New England Patriots use at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. The field is used for football and boys soccer games in the fall, girls soccer games and track and field events in the spring and various offseason camps. BLHS hosted two track meets this past spring, including a Class 4A regional.

There are no current plans to install turf, but Parker said the Tonganoxie district is regularly contacted by various companies about resurfacing the field, adding the price would likely fall between $600,000 and $700,000.

Multipurpose

Installing an artificial surface would allow Tonganoxie to save on groundskeeping costs on the game and practice football fields, which see their fair share of use each fall. Between Tonganoxie’s varsity, junior varsity, middle school and youth teams, Parker said the school hosts about 20 games every season.

A turf field likely would eliminate the need for upkeep of a separate soccer facility as well. In recent years, the soccer teams have toggled between the school field behind the east campus and Chieftain Park across the street from Beatty Field.

Additionally, turf would give the school’s auxiliary groups a place to practice or rehearse year-round — a concept their neighboring counterparts have become familiar with in recent years.

“Probably the biggest benefit to the community and the school is the fact that you can be on it, if you choose, 24 hours a day,” Bonner Springs superintendent Dan Brungardt said. “If you go by the Bonner field, you’ll see people on there on the time. If you’re on a grass field, you don’t want to wear it out for the season, but by putting turf on it, not only can we play football and soccer, we can have all sorts of people using it because you’re not going to wear it out.”

Like Weseman, Brungardt has experience with turf installation. He was the superintendent at Great Bend when the high school put in an artificial field in 2008.

If Tonganoxie chooses to install turf down the road, as many as three graduating classes could play all four years of their high school careers on the initial surface. Weseman said replacing the surface would be necessary about 12 years after the original installation, and new turf would be significantly cheaper because a good portion of the original cost is in the substructure.