Some football players – and their moms – are raising their eyebrows: ‘Can you play excellent football on artificial grass?’ Of course you can!
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The days when artificial grass was made of hard, stiff plastic are long gone. The structure of artificial solutions has changed tremendously over the years, giving it the look, feel and even ball bounce capacities of a natural grass surface. But that’s not the only reason artificial grass makes for a perfect football pitch.
1. Reliable and consistent playing surface
A natural football field suffers greatly from heavy foot traffic. With cleats grinding into the dirt every practice and match, ruts and bumps in the surface are inevitable. If you’re tired of patching up holes and keeping the field flat, artificial grass will be a real gamechanger.
A football pitch with artificial grass ensures perfect playing conditions for many years to come. Even more: it doesn’t need a recovery period in between matches. You can host many subsequent games, and even after the last one of the season, your field will still be in great condition.
2. Ready for use in any weather condition
Playing on a muddy and puddled field might strengthen your players’ warrior attitude, but it won’t help them win any matches. If the condition of your grass pitch is too poor to play on, you might even have to reschedule your games, disturbing both schedules and morale.
Artificial grass is an absolute winner in all weather conditions: from heavy rainfall to frozen winters and long hot summers, it’s always ready to handle your players trotting out onto the field.
3. It keeps your players safe
Your players are less likely to trip or fall when they have a perfectly flat football pitch beneath their feet that doesn’t get slippery when it rains. Artificial grass stays strong during the roughest of games, and so do your players.
Passing, tackling and scoring in the heat of a football match takes a heavy toll on the body, especially the knees. Artificial grass helps cut down on injuries that keep players off the field. It absorbs shocks and reduces impact, thanks to the combination of soft turf fibres, infill and, in most cases, a special shock pad layer underneath the football turf.
4. Little to no maintenance
A well-maintained football field is key for successful passes, assists and Maradona turns. That’s not only because it’s easier to play on, but also because the appearance of a perfect pitch boosts confidence and team pride during home games. And your fans? They will feel nothing but enthusiastic about cheering you on with such an enjoyable view.
Unlike real grass pitches, artificial football fields don’t require a lot of maintenance. Apart from some regular cleaning, it’s almost a no-score draw for time and money spent. Since you don’t have to mow, trim, fertilise and water an artificial football pitch, it pays for itself in a relatively short time.
5. More durable than natural grass
If you want to get the best return on your investment in a football field installation, artificial grass is the better choice. High-quality artificial turf that’s designed for your purpose – setting the stage for fantastic football games – always scores higher in terms of durability and resilience than a natural field.
Withstanding the wear and tear of about 10,000 hours of play per year, the lifespan of an artificial football field is considerably longer than the annual 400 to 800 hours of a natural field. And thanks to UV-resistant and colour-fast fibres, it always keeps its amazing green hue.
6. Make money out of it
We bet the sports club next door will be jealous of your artificial turf … Well, invite them over! With a football field which easily stands up to continuous use, you could consider renting it out to other teams and sports clubs. Or double your own use of the field by growing your teams and enlisting more players.
Besides, your artificial grass field doesn’t have to be used exclusively for football. Make optimal use of your available space by permanently marking your field for other sports as well.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Artificial Grass For Football Field.
7. Perfect inside and out
One of the most underestimated advantages of artificial grass is that it doesn’t need sunlight to grow. Do you have large stands that put most of your field in the shade? Or do you want to spruce up your indoor sports facilities with a touch of turf? Artificial grass is the perfect solution.
You might even take it up a notch by adding artificial grass to your locker rooms or cafeteria. Looking for inspiration? Check out these 7 fun ways to use artificial grass.
8. Expert advice on the best artificial grass for your football field
Turfgrass offers an extensive range of revolutionary artificial grass designed especially for football fields. Our local experts will gladly help you select the best fit for your club: the right pile height, colour, drainage system and stability characteristics.
I should not be writing this. The voice in my head says to keep my mouth shut. Yet, the other voice says, maybe someone will find this information helpful. That is after all what we are supposed to do at Illinois Extension, make sure the knowledge and research do not stay locked up somewhere, but extend it out across the state to help people make more informed decisions. Even though it may open a can of worms, it is time to talk about synthetic turf.
Hopefully, the idea of replacing a home lawn with synthetic turf was short-lived. A year ago it seemed to be a very popular concept on social media. But now I’m seeing lots of online commentary stating “Boy I wish I didn’t put in fake grass!” Maybe it works in Nevada, but it is not a great idea for Illinois.
A debate rages on comparing synthetic turf and natural turf in an athletic setting. I have spent the past few years sitting on couches, tailgates, and bleachers with other sports fans debating the merits of real and artificial turf. There are certainly positives to both viewpoints. Yet, both systems have downsides. Schools, park districts, and other organizations that manage athletic fields must choose how they invest their money for their sporting facilities.
Starting, let’s look at synthetic athletic turf. Essentially, this system is comprised of rubber material and plastics installed on a gravel and/or sand base. The surface is considered more cushioned for falls, yet that cushioning varies and depends on the depth of the rubber material below the surface. Synthetic turf is marketed to need fewer inputs. It doesn’t need to be mowed, fertilized, aerated, reseeded, and so on. That reduction of efforts is seen as cost savings for the lifetime of the field. Synthetic turf can be played on in the rain without destroying the field and it can handle more frequent use. When you’re in a rural school with one field to handle all your sporting events, synthetic turf can make a huge difference in access to a high-quality play surface.
Very often the main downside people mention about synthetic turf is a perceived increase in injuries. There is a lot to unpack in that argument, more than I have room in this article, but in short, we can’t just point to synthetic turf as a culprit. There are multiple factors to consider, including ever-changing gear, footwear, rules, and athleticism of the players. However, there are evident health concerns about synthetic turf. Quite obvious is how much hotter the playing surface becomes during sunny weather. The radiating warmth can lead to overheating of athletes, and even skin burns during hot summer weather. Additionally, the cushioned surface changes with time. As debris, paint build-up, and the degradation of rubber occur, it alters the hardness of the surface. Synthetic turf has also been shown to have a greater potential for abrasions and burns from sliding.
Synthetic turf also has a lifespan. It does not last forever. And depending on local climate, maintenance, and use it can shorten or increase that lifespan. While many companies make varying claims on the lifespan of their synthetic turf, it seems like most synthetic field surfaces last ten years or less. The base layers under the play surface can last longer.
The upfront cost of synthetic turf is often the biggest hurdle for most organizations. It is not uncommon for an initial installation cost of synthetic turf to reach $1 million. But after installation, there are maintenance costs. A study showed annual labor costs averaging $6,000 with 375 hours of labor for synthetic turf compared to $4,000 for 250 hours of labor on natural turf fields. Finally, a used-up synthetic turf must be landfilled and that will incur more costs.
These athletic fields have a playing surface of traditional living turf grasses. It is not uncommon for these fields to be planted in the native soil. However, some athletic fields have their grass growing in a sand base.
The primary benefit to natural grass play surfaces is we have been using these for a long time. The research has been done and the knowledge is out there on how to manage these fields. Natural grass fields also introduce fewer synthetic materials into the environment. A natural grass play surface is cooler and more forgiving when it comes to sliding. Plus, if you’ve ever been on a hot synthetic field, it often smells like hot tires. A natural turf athletic field smells like, well grass!
Yet, the major problem with natural turf is all it takes is one game in poor weather conditions to destroy a field. Imagine a football game in the rain. Cleats tearing at the ground. Players coming off the field with mud and chucks of turf in their helmets. The day after, the field manager is met with a mud pit. And how do you get the field ready for next week’s game let alone the soccer game coming up in a few days? And when the ground becomes bare and dry, we now have a harder surface where players are more prone to injury. Essentially, natural turf play surfaces have limitations on the amount of use, which may restrict who can use a school or community field.
Managing a natural turf field is more than just mowing. It requires a higher level of horticultural knowledge and continued education. Organizations have to be willing to hire trained or pay to train their staff on turf management. In this case, we are not dealing with a plastic carpet, but instead living plants that will respond and change with time. These living plants are growing under high-use conditions and require inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, overseeding, and more beyond this list. Becoming experienced in these different practices is critical when it could make or break your athletic field’s performance.
Installing a particular field because the county next door has one is not a great way to go about this decision. It should involve multiple groups of individuals in a community, especially the people who manage the athletic fields.
There are some resources online that can help inform organizations during this process. These will be linked below. Also, I’m not a turf expert, just the messenger. If you contact me asking if you should go with natural or synthetic turf, you won’t get much out of me.
The decision to invest in synthetic or natural turf is a choice that must be weighed individually by an organization’s unique situation. Here are some resources that may help as a guide:
Are you interested in learning more about S-Shaped Sports Turf? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!