FieldTurf Continues to be a Great Investment for Organizations Across America

AUGUST 21, 2013 – Often overlooked for their all-weather, safety, and durability traits, new generation artificial turfs have become known for delivering big savings and even generating real cash. Since the widespread adoption of new generation infilled artificial turf in the late 1990s-early 2000s, thousands of schools, municipalities, and sports teams at all levels across North America have been benefitting from playing surfaces that are not only safe for athletes to play on but provide for long-lasting, aesthetically-pleasing and low maintenance options. These fields have resulted in significant monetary savings.

Wayzata High School, a perennial football powerhouse in the state of Minnesota, has recently installed their 2nd FieldTurf surface and reported that the experience with their initial field resulted in massive savings.

“We had our initial FieldTurf field for a decade now and can confidently say that this investment has paid dividends throughout our entire organization both immediately in the short-term and each and every year thereafter,” said Wayzata High School Director of Athletics Jaime Sherwood. “In addition to the surface providing elite-level performance, the low annual cost of maintenance compared to other surfaces has more than justified the initial expense. Our “cost per use” of our FieldTurf field is much lower than any grass field that we’ve ever had on campus”.

The savings enjoyed by FieldTurf owners when it comes to the reduced maintenance costs of artificial turf fields versus natural grass surfaces are significant. What field owners have also realized is that if a quality infilled turf system is installed the right way from the beginning, the turf field investment becomes even better in the short and long-term. Generating revenue by way of field rentals has become commonplace for more and more field owners.

The Community Unit School District 200 in Illinois has had their share of experiences with turf fields, having installed two artificial grass fields ten years ago. They have since replaced both of those fields in 2013 after 10 years of use.

“FieldTurf has been a great investment for our schools,” said Bill Farley, Community Unit Assistant Superintendent of Business Operations. “We installed two fields in 2003 and both were replaced in 2013. It was an easy decision for us to go back to FieldTurf when it came time for replacement. Without a doubt our investment in artificial turf has paid off. Our maintenance costs have declined and we have been able to reallocate resources for other operational uses.”

Mission Hills High School in San Marcos, California, FieldTurf owners since 2004, has seen their costs reduce on a day to day basis and have reaped the benefits of an all-weather high performance turf system for many years. They have since made the decision to install their 2nd FieldTurf surface.

“FieldTurf has proven to be one of the most worthy investments for us,” said Athletic Director and Varsity Head Baseball Coach Ken Putnam. “Its all-weather playability and low-maintenance durability have allowed us to greatly reduce our day-to-day costs and recoup our initial investment within the allotted time. Our investment is amortized every time a team steps on the field, and thankfully with FieldTurf’s quality product, we can rest assured that many teams will do so for the life of the field. Our first FieldTurf field lasted 9 years and when it came time to replace it, there was no doubt that we would be installing another FieldTurf field”.

As much as the benefits of new generation artificial turf are very apparent upon initial installation and throughout the life of the field, once the field is due for replacement, and if the underlying base is still in good condition, in many instances resurfacing with a new infilled turf system can be done at a fraction of the cost of the original installation.

Montgomery County in Maryland conducted a report on some of the artificial turf fields in the county which included annual revenue estimates in the lifecycle cost analysis totaling $80,000/year. The report also presented a 20-year calculation of cost per hour of use comparing artificial turf to Bermuda Grass. The turf option was over 6 times less expensive versus the grass alternative.

With hundreds if not thousands of fields due to be replaced in the coming years, there is the potential for even more savings for artificial turf field owners down the road. Now that’s something to get excited about!