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Artificial Turf vs Natural Grass

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gef21

All-American
Jan 25, 2005
4,575
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We are seeing injuries because of potential turf issues (I popped my achilles when my foot got stuck in the turf 3 weeks ago), but we are also seeing a potential between a risk of increase in cancer with exposure to the black rubber pellets. It depends on where they got the pellets from.
 
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RUGuitarMan1

All-Conference
Apr 5, 2021
2,239
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I think the quality of turf fields has improved greatly over the recent past. Grass fields are the best for the players and aestheticaly speaking. The problem with grass fields is they are very difficult to maintain in the late fall and winter in the colder climate areas. There will be many complaints about footing , etc which can also contribute to injuries, which is the major complaint against turf fields.
 
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dconifer0

All-Conference
Oct 4, 2004
4,245
3,261
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Saint Puppy said:
No way they are going to natural grass. MetLife Stadium had 2 sold out concerts and 2 football games in 4 days with turf - that does not happen on natural grass.

The answer to all of your Questions is.....MONEY!!!!
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You are probably right, but then again, the sports world turned away from artificial turf once when the novelty (and appearance) of Astroturf faded. Many Astroturf fields were replaced with natural turf in the eighties. We can always hope.

Ha, I remember way back when I was a kid, my brother and I would take this into consideration (artificial turf vs. natural turf) when picking which game to watch on TV (unless it was the Redskins, of course; then, it didn't matter).
 
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RUskoolie

RUskoolie

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Aug 1, 2007
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I liked playing on field turf. At that level, you are so fast and powerful the grass gets beaten to bloody hell. I remember Pitt and Houston having really poor playing fields. Same with UCONN. Cant remember a good one tbh...I guess UNC?
 
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RU to the Core

Senior
Sep 29, 2006
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I live out in Pittsburgh and tried getting sod for my lawn in 2020. Landscaper said the sod farms were struggling bc the heat and the Steelers grabbed all the available sod. He had to drive like 3 hours to get it.

As someone who has played soccer on good and bad turf and grass. Grass is far superior for soccer.
 
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NickRU714

Heisman
Aug 18, 2009
13,604
12,367
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Saint Puppy said:
No way they are going to natural grass. MetLife Stadium had 2 sold out concerts and 2 football games in 4 days with turf - that does not happen on natural grass.

The answer to all of your Questions is.....MONEY!!!!
Click to expand...

Business opportunity: some sort of hard mobile cover for grass surfaces.
Like a pool cover?
Stadiums can roll it out over the field during other events and not trample the grass.
It would have to be slightly raised and rigid. Not just a tarp.

#PatentPending for anyone who takes this idea and runs with it!
 
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e5fdny

e5fdny

Heisman
Nov 11, 2002
113,732
52,395
102
RUskoolie said:
I liked playing on field turf. At that level, you are so fast and powerful the grass gets beaten to bloody hell. I remember Pitt and Houston having really poor playing fields. Same with UCONN. Cant remember a good one tbh...I guess UNC?
Click to expand...
At one point it was considered the worst field in the NFL.
 
R

RUPete

Heisman
Feb 5, 2003
26,846
16,117
0
RUskoolie said:
I liked playing on field turf. At that level, you are so fast and powerful the grass gets beaten to bloody hell. I remember Pitt and Houston having really poor playing fields. Same with UCONN. Cant remember a good one tbh...I guess UNC?
Click to expand...
I remember everyone slipping all over the place during the Texas Bowl. They had the roof closed and I think enough humidity or moisture got trapped inside that night to have condensation settle on the grass.
 
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A

ashokan

Heisman
May 3, 2011
25,325
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In HS we played on some "grass" fields in Yonkers that had mostly dusty dirt with a few patches of grass in the corners. There were lots of pebbles that spectators liked to toss at our helmets (if you ever had a helmet on you know the "clack" goes right through your head).
 
V

voltz99

Junior
Sep 25, 2015
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Roy_Faulker said:
NFLPA position is to require games be played on natural grass.

Curious if you think this starts the pendulum swinging away from artificial turf at the college level.

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The NFLPA is behind the curve. Old turf was terrible. Modern turf is FANTASTIC.

Old turf was like a layer of sandpaper on top of concrete. The new stuff is like a plush carpet.
 
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F

FRA10Thunderbolt

Heisman
Oct 21, 2010
15,504
15,016
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Just an FYI, Rutgers is home to one of the worlds foremost turf grass research programs. If Rutgers cannot figure out a way to get Real Grass to grow then it cannot be done.
Real grass with proper sub layers is not only better for the players but the environment as well. Fake grass fields are plastic and shredded tires, That **** ain't good for players to be inhaling when it gets kicked up, plus those carpets need to be replaced every 5 years due to weathering and wear, they then get trucked to the local landfill.

A Real Grass Field with proper management can last many years,
 
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V

vkj91

Heisman
Feb 7, 2007
188,065
48,942
98
NickRU714 said:
Business opportunity: some sort of hard mobile cover for grass surfaces.
Like a pool cover?
Stadiums can roll it out over the field during other events and not trample the grass.
It would have to be slightly raised and rigid. Not just a tarp.

#PatentPending for anyone who takes this idea and runs with it!
Click to expand...
Vegas has a way to slide their entire playing surface outside for natural sunlight and to allow concerts etc to go on without damage

 
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C

Colbert17!

Heisman
Aug 30, 2014
17,239
18,622
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As the great Dick Allen said about artificial turf "If a horse can't eat it, I don't want to play on it."

Legend is that he actually said, "If a horse can't eat it or I can't smoke it......"
 
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R

RU to the Core

Senior
Sep 29, 2006
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Do what Tottenham stadium does. They have grass on these massive metal moving floors that all detach from themselves and then slide underground. It’s incredible. So you could have grass and then just tuck those underground and have a hard surface pop up for concerts.

Go look on YouTube for a video of it in action. It’s crazy.
 
WhiteBus

WhiteBus

Heisman
Oct 4, 2011
39,359
21,742
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RU to the Core said:
Do what Tottenham stadium does. They have grass on these massive metal moving floors that all detach from themselves and then slide underground. It’s incredible. So you could have grass and then just tuck those underground and have a hard surface pop up for concerts.

Go look on YouTube for a video of it in action. It’s crazy.
Click to expand...
Giants Stadium tried that. A complete, expensive failure.

 
M

MoreCowbellRU

All-Conference
Jan 29, 2012
2,199
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BROTHERSKINNY said:
Just an FYI, Rutgers is home to one of the worlds foremost turf grass research programs. If Rutgers cannot figure out a way to get Real Grass to grow then it cannot be done.
Real grass with proper sub layers is not only better for the players but the environment as well. Fake grass fields are plastic and shredded tires, That **** ain't good for players to be inhaling when it gets kicked up, plus those carpets need to be replaced every 5 years due to weathering and wear, they then get trucked to the local landfill.

A Real Grass Field with proper management can last many years,
Click to expand...
Rutgers had a natural grass field in our stadium at one point and had major problems at the end. My first question was " doesn't Rutgers have an entire school on growing grass??" . The answer was that the company that installed it was the problem. My next question was " then why the hell would RU hire somebody to grow grass?" The answer was basically 🤷‍♂🤷‍♀️🤷. They ripped it out and put turf. Can't remember the year. Will do a search.

Edit: 94-03 was real grass.
 
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RUskoolie

RUskoolie

Hall of Famer
Aug 1, 2007
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RUPete said:
I remember everyone slipping all over the place during the Texas Bowl. They had the roof closed and I think enough humidity or moisture got trapped inside that night to have condensation settle on the grass.
Click to expand...
That field felt like sand. It was horrible.
 
V

vkj91

Heisman
Feb 7, 2007
188,065
48,942
98
e5fdny said:
Pretty sure the Arizona Cardinals have a set up like that as well.

They might have been the pioneers on this too?
Click to expand...
Could but I don’t think so. I’ve walked around the outside of that whole stadium multiple times for fiesta bowl and can’t imagine where it would slide to. But could be wrong
 
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P

Plum Street

Heisman
Jun 21, 2009
27,306
23,009
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RUskoolie said:
I liked playing on field turf. At that level, you are so fast and powerful the grass gets beaten to bloody hell. I remember Pitt and Houston having really poor playing fields. Same with UCONN. Cant remember a good one tbh...I guess UNC?
Click to expand...
The Texans stadium is that bad ?? Didn’t they play a Super Bowl on that surface ?
 
e5fdny

e5fdny

Heisman
Nov 11, 2002
113,732
52,395
102
nukem said:
Watch this set up at Real Madrid. Unbelievable. And the field at Arizona slides in and out on a big tray so they can get sun on it.

Click to expand...

Not a fan of the seams.

Why not do the roof and get real sunlight instead?
 
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nukem

All-Conference
Feb 3, 2003
2,104
4,594
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e5fdny said:
Not a fan of the seams.

Why not do the roof and get real sunlight instead?
Click to expand...
I would imagine this was their solution to being able to hold concerts and other events with out ruining the grass field. I don't believe the seams on this field are an issue because of the design. But who knows.

Here is the Cardinals field in motion. Their solution was to roll it in and out to get sun.

 
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dconifer0

All-Conference
Oct 4, 2004
4,245
3,261
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Those "roll in a giant tray of natural turf from outside" are cool for domed stadiums. But for traditional outdoor stadiums is it really necessary? Just grow the toughest natural turf and expect a little brown in November. Old school.
 
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