Artificial Turf

In Canandaigua, New York the chance to have an artificial turf field added to the district?EUR??,,????'?????<

Cory Jenner, a consultant from Appel Osborne Landscape Architecture, gave a public presentation at Canandaigua Academy discussing the cost and maintenance specifics of artificial turf.

Financially speaking, artificial turf is more cost-effective over time, Jenner said, although the initial installation of a turf field is twice that of a natural grass field. Looking out 20 years, the cost per event on a turf field is about $300, compared to $970 per event on a natural grass field.

Judy Braiman, president of Empire State Consumer Project, is an outspoken advocate against the use of artificial turf fields in America’s high schools. A study done by the group Rochestarians Against the Misuse of Pesticides in 2007 showed traces of chemicals like arsenic, cadmium, chromium, and lead in the turf’s infill, or the material dispersed between a turf’s fibers.

“I’d like to know what studies they have to prove it’s safe,” said Braiman.

Though concerns have been raised about the presence of lead in the fibers, Jenner said it’s only apparent if it’s purposely extracted from the material, and that the amount is minuscule.

“A 50-pound child has to eat 100 pounds of turf fiber to be affected,” Jenner said.

The rate of injuries on a turf field are no more or less than those on a natural grass fields. Athletic Director Jim Simmons said a turf field could add about three months of outdoor playing time for sports teams and the physical education department, with the ability to play outside until December and starting back up again in March.

A turf field also allows for more games and practices that otherwise couldn’t happen in rainy weather, Simmons said.

“If you have one football game on a grass field in really bad conditions, you could destroy that whole field for a season and literally not be back on it,” Simmons said. “So, you have to cancel the game, or make a decision to tear up the field.”

The district projects that a turf field would add about 715 hours of usage time to the 544 already used per year.