Are turf football fields for Rutherford County a 'luxury or necessity?'

[BarneySox2007]

9 hours ago, Blaze45 said:

Field envy in the Boro... wish we would go ahead and do the same 

 

I used to laugh about Sevier County having that crown in the middle of the field that was so bad if you were on one sideline you could only see the players on the other side from should pads up.  I never knew our field was running downhill into one corner where the guy is putting the carpet together that it had to be raised a couple of feet when they leveled it for the turf. One of my old coaches told me that was why we took the other side so we would be running downhill in the forth quarter if needed.

 

[Blaze45]

1 hour ago, BarneySox2007 said:

I used to laugh about Sevier County having that crown in the middle of the field that was so bad if you were on one sideline you could only see the players on the other side from should pads up.  I never knew our field was running downhill into one corner where the guy is putting the carpet together that it had to be raised a couple of feet when they leveled it for the turf. One of my old coaches told me that was why we took the other side so we would be running downhill in the forth quarter if needed.

 

Now that's funny 

 

[GWAVE1]

8 hours ago, davidlimbaugh said:

How Taxpayers Get Fooled On The Cost Of An Artificial Turf Field

There are two sides of this issue, and both have some great points. Atlanta, Georgia turfed their high school fields years ago during the water shortage when Lake Lanier got really low. They ran the numbers and realized that after paying people to mow the grass, fertilize the grass, aerate the grass, line the grass, rinse and repeat, turf saved them money. No mowing (no need of a tractor, salary of person to drive the tractor, maintenance for said tractor, gas for said tractor) No lining (no constant striping, no paint to purchase, no one to pay to stripe it). No more overseeding. No need for irrigation. More money from more activities, from band competitions to youth and middle school sports. Some people look to save a dime and spend a dollar. Atlanta decided to spend that dime to save those dollars. Others in Georgia following suit:

More turf fields nearing completion

I am not for one over the other.  Both sides to the argument have pros and cons.  In Georgia's case with the water shortage I see their point somewhat.  However, that is not the case here with multiple water sources.  Also I would argue against that article and reasons being that a field, last it was quoted, ran around $750000.  The coaches paint the field, tractor for mowing is already purchased and that is all it does so maintenance is very very low, it would take a lot, and I mean a lot of water and paint to equal the cost, irrigation is in place.  Now where you do get cost savings is seed, Lyme, and I know at Gallatin they hauled in truck loads of sand 2 years ago, so field cost would be gone.  Plus, maybe the biggest part, taking the time to do those things would be given back to coaching or family.  I am not sure about Rutherford County school fields but ours takes a beating.  Varsity games, 9th grade games, jv, and 2 middle schools during any given week.  So I do see pros and cons.  For a $750000 price tag and 8-10 year maintenance cost which might only include grooming the field, I do not know.  I wish I knew the upkeep costs to weigh it out over that period of time.  I wish the city of Gallatin would purchase over field and stadium and do something more with it.  The county never wants to do the things necessary to make it up to date.  I guess when you have a 100 year old stadium that is what you get.  Yes literally 100 year old field.  

[strongx]

12 hours ago, Blaze45 said:

Field envy in the Boro... wish we would go ahead and do the same 

 

Wish you could come get ours. We've had it six years and spent over 7 figures so far including recent warranty work. Can't imagine there is that much maintenance. But it really looks good. I'm not a fan of the fake stuff for various safety reasons, but it looks good.

Sounds like a niche in the boro to work on multiple fields.

 

[STARSNBARS]

Pursonallee eye thaink keapin' yore artyfishull terf mowed two a propurr hite heps.....

 

[Booger]

13 hours ago, BarneySox2007 said:

The Maryville field was suffering from male pattern baldness so they came in and installed another one under warranty. The guys doing that job told me ten years was about the life of a field.  After five years it was easy to see how the sun had faded the field a lot, especially after seeing the difference in the old one and the new turf.

Booger thinkin he nose that feller

Booger just sayin

[Gerry Bertier]

Turf price tag of $750,000.

i think one could argue that you could put $25,000-$50,000 dollars a year into your field and save money.

I know a high school that gets $10,000 a year to upkeep their field and they have one of the best in the midstate.

To me turf is not a fiscally responsible decision for schools. Also add in the increase of injury.

[BarneySox2007]

3 hours ago, Gerry Bertier said:

Turf price tag of $750,000.

i think one could argue that you could put $25,000-$50,000 dollars a year into your field and save money.

I know a high school that gets $10,000 a year to upkeep their field and they have one of the best in the midstate.

To me turf is not a fiscally responsible decision for schools. Also add in the increase of injury.

Maryville really didn't have much of a choice because the field was in a low spot on the campus which had been building around it for many years with an inadequate drainage system turned the field into a garden by season's end.  I always thought the stuff was 20 years but the guys that put it in told me 10 years.  I told the guys installing the rug my situation of bringing in fleas in the summer when I laid out in the yard and those boy's sent me home with a big piece of the stuff that was 6 by 7 feet so I can stay inside during this hot weather and roll around on my piece of the Maryville Football Field.

[STARSNBARS]

Eye down'tr thaink hits 750Kay evurtime ewe enstall hit.....Aftur tha furst enstallayshun, no moore grading, prep werk and drainige sistem haz two bee dunn....

[Blaze45]

3 hours ago, STARSNBARS said:

Eye down'tr thaink hits 750Kay evurtime ewe enstall hit.....Aftur tha furst enstallayshun, no moore grading, prep werk and drainige sistem haz two bee dunn....

750K was what I found it to be for the first install complete... As I undersatnd it, it runs about 475k for new turf on the replacement.

[MountainTroll]

On ‎7‎/‎21‎/‎2017 at 0:39 PM, Blaze45 said:

I think aside from the maintenance you have to look at the safety of the playing surface.  Our soil is a very hard compacted clay. I believe there is also an argument to be made that turf with its peletized  rubberized underlayment  offer up a better, safer surface. A recent study Harvard shows that 70 + % of head injuries (concussions) in high school play were due to head to turf contact. Meaning the head hitting the compacted playing surface was the culprit.  There are those that would argue that professionals  prefer grass as it is safer, and this would be true if  the fields used at high school were maintained in the same fashion.  Grass fields at that level have a full time maintenance crew that tine arreate the field and test for soil compression. . They use a bowling ball dropped from a certain height to assimilate the head taking a hit from direct contact to the turf  and there has to be an acceptable level of compression to the soil.  If the high schools were to operate with the same safety guidelines the cost would far outrun that of turf, especially given the amount of work that would be required in the fall to keep the field at that level of safety and playing condition.  

Artificial turf fields also get compacted, and  It takes special equipment to aerate and clean the infill. Not something that can be borrowed from Joe at the golf course. If the manufacturer's maintenance schedule isn't followed, the fabric deteriorates prematurely and the warranty will often be voided.

G Max testing of artificial turf

[STARSNBARS]

44 minutes ago, MountainTroll said:

Artificial turf fields also get compacted, and  It takes special equipment to aerate and clean the infill. Not something that can be borrowed from Joe at the golf course. If the manufacturer's maintenance schedule isn't followed, the fabric deteriorates prematurely and the warranty will often be voided.

G Max testing of artificial turf

Eye heered ov a feller inn tha Chattynooga area who wuz goin' two look intwo werkin' on artyfishull feeleds....