Most of the recycled rubber field turf projects at eastern Iowa high school fields have been installed within the past few years.
Vinton-Shellsburg played the first football game on the new turf at Benton Community during the first game of the 2012 season.
At Clear Creek-Amana, where the Viking played in 2014, the field turf has been in place since 2009.
Thirty miles north of Vinton, Independence installed its artificial turf last year. The Vikings will play the Mustangs on that turf on Sept. 25, 2015.
At Kingston Stadium in Cedar Rapids, where the VSHS Marching Band competes in its October Festivals, there has been an artificial field turf since 2009. Kinnick Stadium also added a field turf that year.
A few other high schools throughout Iowa have added the field turf over the past few years.
While all of the comments VS officials received from speaking to school officials in some of these districts were positive, there are no districts in the area that have had the artificial field turf long enough to have had to replace it.
One district in Iowa that recently replaced theirs – after 12 years of use – is Southeast Polk. Located in Pleasant Hill, SE Polk is a growing district with nearly 7,000 students from suburban Des Moines and rural areas of Polk County. Turf representatives told the VS school board that the SE Polk turf replacement cost around $450,000.
We asked administrators at SE Polk High School to share their experience and observations concerning the field turf there. Assistant Athletic Director Darrin Carpenter , who is also a certified athletic trainer, responded to our inquiry. Below are our questions and Mr. Carpetner’s responses:
1. What has been your overall appraisal of the project throughout its life?
When our first turf install was completed, we were one of the first fields in our area to have turf and it was a major undertaking to complete the project, from old grass field removal to new drainage fields and subsurface to the actual install of the turf itself. During that initial install we were told by the turf manufacturer they were uncertain as to what the life expectancy of the field may be, but they estimated 8-10 years. We were able to use our field for 12 years before we replaced it and it provided a solid playing surface throughout its life. It provided a surface for many of our groups to use such as the marching band, our PE classes, our soccer teams, our baseball and softball teams when their facilities were too wet and many community groups. It is very advantageous when there is inclement weather allowing our teams to keep playing through rain and snow and draining quickly if we have major storms allowing us to delay rather than cancel events.
2. Was there a quality difference between the first and last year of its use?
There was a noticeable difference in the field surface towards the end of its use prior to replacement. The fibers had become worn down, more fibers were loose and were carried off the playing surface by player shoes and the hardness of the surface increased.
3. Was the cost of the second turf within the range of what you were told to expect when you first installed it?
If the question is was the cost of the replacement turf within our expected budget/bid price for the project the answer would be yes. If you are asking about the cost estimates for replacing the turf when we did our first install, I do not believe the replacements costs were discussed 13 years ago.
4. Do you have any advice for other districts considering this type of field?
Definitely visit other facilities and see what their turf install looks like and what types of adornments they have placed on the field. Also view different turf manufacturer installs and see how they appear. When viewing other installs try and see different ages of fields to get a perspective of how they age, and also if there is a difference between manufacturers for the aging process. Consider current needs as well as future needs when doing the install; items such as sideline connections for water, power supply for sidelines and power and timing equipment needs for track. In regard to track equipment installs, consider if you will always use the same start finish, the possibility of running events different directions due to wind and how that can effect needs for equipment connection.
5. Do you have any stats regarding player health/injuries?
I cannot provide you with stats in regard to injuries, but I am also the athletic trainer for the school district so I can speak to what we have seen for injuries. I would say that the types and frequencies of injuries we encounter are very similar to what is seen with a grass field; I do not believe there is any higher of an incidence of injuries in general or a higher frequency of a certain type of injury. The only noticeable issue we had as our first field aged, was that our athletes experienced abrasion/turf burns at a greater rate as the fibers began to wear down and the compaction of the field got harder.
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