Community Corner

Turf Questions: Where the Rubber Meets the Sand

After meeting with representatives of three installation companies Tuesday evening, members of the town's Turf Committee have some decisions to make.


Industry advancements have made it easy to build a turf field that would best suit any sport and any level of competition, but what is needed when a turf field is expected to serve an entire community?

Members of the town’s Turf Committee will have decisions to make after hearing opinions from representatives of three industry leaders Wednesday evening regarding the possible installation of turf on Fontana Field at . The prices and type of turf recommended were virtually the same for each of the three companies, but the challenge will lie in determining the best rubber to sand ratio for the foundation to meet a wide variety of needs.

“This is a field that needs to be used for field hockey, soccer, football and lacrosse and for players ages 8 to 18,” said committee member Brian Goralski. “We need something that isn’t tailored to a specific sport but a field that will serve the needs of an entire community.”

Todd DeWolfe and Bruce VanDolson of ProGrass told members that the best way to meet needs of a town lies not necessarily within the turf itself but rather in the foundation beneath the surface.

ProGrass was one of three companies that presented to the committee Wednesday evening, with representatives of Shaw Sportexe and FieldTurf also providing insight into how a turf field is installed, as well as the safety and performance of each.

All three companies presented proposals that would cost between $800,000 and $900,000 to install and included equipment such as a grooming machine, sweeper and John Deere for maintenance. Each presented an eight-year warranty on the turf as well, although ProGrass was the only company that would be able to present the same warranty on the base underneath the turf.

Committee Chairman Michael DeFeo said the meeting wasn’t about costs, however. The information presented Wednesday would instead be used to determine the specifications needed if the town were to move forward with the project. Once presented to the Town Council, a bidding process would be used to determine the best candidate and exact costs.

“Right now, our focus is on the foundation. We need to look at the specifics to determine exactly what it is the town needs,” DeFeo said.

DeWolfe, vice president of sales for ProGrass, told the committee that although there are subtle differences in the available materials used for the turf carpeting – all three recommended a hybrid fiber for extensive use – the rubber to sand ratio providing a base underneath will determine the give in the field, as well as the specific maintenance needs.

“We use a concept known as G-Max. The ratio of rubber to sand will determine the speed of a ball and the level of cushion a field provides,” he said.

The ratio is different for each sport – for example, field hockey players and soccer players would prefer something with less “bounce” and therefore more sand – but recommended a base that is 30 percent sand and 70 percent rubber by weight for a multi-use field.

The ratio was similar to that presented by Joe Kacevich, northeast territory manager for Shaw Sportexe, who also recommended a 70-30 mix, but Kacevich also said that a thicker base provided by his company would give the field more support and help lower the G-Max factor, enhancing both lifespan and performance.

All three companies provided examples showing the average lifespan of a field to be 10-12 years.

While the recommendations were similar from ProGrass and Shaw Sportexe, Eric Hughes of national installation leader FieldTurf said his company would recommend a 40-percent rubber to 60-percent sand mixture.

Hughes said his company has installed more than 4,500 turf fields throughout the nation and an in-house research and development department has determined that the mixture maintains higher performance while actually improving safety above the standards of natural grass.

“It has a similar playability, but reduces the likelihood of injuries,” Hughes said. “Every sport is unique, but this mix would provide a good base for multiple use.”

With an idea of how each works, DeFeo said the committee now has decisions to make. First, members will take a “field trip” to visit several different fields from each company to see the installed fields first hand and test each option.

Once the information is gathered, the committee will meet again to compile their findings with funding plans determined during previous meetings and a mock schedule currently being designed by Southington High School Athletic Director Eric Swallow and Southington Recreation Director David Lapreay to complete a proposal for the council. No date has been set for that meeting.


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