The installation of FieldTurf at Patterson Field was completed earlier this month at a cost of about $700,000, according to Dawson-Bryant Schools superintendent James Payne.

“We’ve known about the product for about two or three years, but we weren’t able to do anything about it until serious donations came in,” Payne said.

The reduction in man hours and maintenance costs is dramatic. Fake grass doesn’t need mowed or watered, seeds and fertilizer do not need bought or sowed and end lines don’t need painted. Plus, the field can be played on during wet or dry conditions without worry of damage.

FieldTurf has woven artificial grass that more closely resembles real-life grass instead of the carpet-like texture of AstroTurf. Plus, Field-Turf has a rubberized base while AstroTurf essentially laid on concrete.

FieldTurf must be groomed occasionally, and the groomer was provided in the purchase, but the costs of maintenance are significantly less.

“It’s going to allow our maintenance staff to work in other capacities,” Payne said.

Source: The Herald-Dispatch