Benefits of Installing AstroTurf

There is not a single sports facility that can call itself that it does not have a nice, full green playing area. Baseball, softball, hockey and football are designed to be played on grass, in open or enclosed facilities, but, most importantly, the surface should be green, even and soft. Unfortunately, it is difficult to keep the turf in good shape on most playing fields. Constant irrigation and trimming are a big challenge, not to mention the cost of such maintenance work, and when you have a domed or covered area, the lack of sun adds an extra difficulty.

Artificial grass was developed in the early 1960s to overcome this problem and it had its major opportunity to prove itself in 1966. The year before, a grand, modern, top class stadium opened in Houston, Texas. The great Astrodome, home to the Houston Astros baseball team, incorporated every conceivable technological advance, as well as a beautiful natural grass field that was very expensive to maintain. However, despite all efforts to keep the grass in perfect condition, by the second half of the 1965 season it was yellow and fragile, giving the field a decayed appearance. The Astros played the last few months of the season on a dirt surface painted green.

The company that developed the artificial grass was given the task of covering the Astrodome with their product, and by the second half of the 1966 season the stadium looked radiant again. This circumstance explains why the product started being known as AstroTurf instead of its original name, ChemGrass or artificial turf. It was convenient for the players as well and it worked so nicely that baseball parks in other cities of the Northern United States and Canada started using it. The difference that could be noticed in terms of the game was that the ball bounced higher and in a more straight line than on natural grass.

Some players initially reported that the artificial turf was harder on their knees, which could lead to an early end of their careers, but the technology behind the AstroTurf evolved quickly and now the difference between the artificial and the natural grass is minimal, thanks to sand and rubber infill that mimics the softness of the step on the natural ground, thereby preventing injuries.

When a facility chooses artificial turf against natural grass, the environment also benefits. The amount of water and the chemicals needed to maintain a beautiful; even grass surface can generate a great deal of damage to the natural world around us. Having an artificial surface is also good for creating a multi-purpose field: you can install it and easily rearrange it to be used as a football, hockey, baseball or softball field.