New Field turf at Kannapolis
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Update. The grass is gone and working on putting the new drainage system in. Then the new turf.
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I prefer natural grass but I support turf. The field can be used much more often without the worry of maintenance and condition. Soccer, JV and varsity boys and girls. Football, JV and varsity. Band. Sports practice especially football. Use it for youth league football and soccer for a fee. For coaching staffs it frees up a lot of their time from working on the field and preparing for games. Some fields have been in such bad condition come playoff time it changed the way the game was played drastically.
Like at Kenan last December.
Absolutely. Due to the construction of the indoor facility Kenan was used for practice and was resodded multiple times but the root system would not take properly. Result after a few days of rain was a complete mess.
For schools who have to play everything on one field, I can see the allure.
Soccer (which I don’t really care for, or understand) is terrible on turf though. The ball rolls and rolls. Doesn’t slow as easily.
I still have a hard time seeing how it is cost effective though. To have to replace it in a decade or maybe 15 years at best... 800,000 cost at minimum. That’s a lot of overseeding and sanding and mowing.
Plus, can you imagine laying down and doing leg lifts, grass drills or any other ground related activity on that field when its a sizzling 110 degrees from the direct sunlight?
Sure, summer practices are in the morning for the most part, so perhaps it isn’t as bad as i’m imagining.
Soccer (which I don’t really care for, or understand) is terrible on turf though. The ball rolls and rolls. Doesn’t slow as easily.
I still have a hard time seeing how it is cost effective though. To have to replace it in a decade or maybe 15 years at best... 800,000 cost at minimum. That’s a lot of overseeding and sanding and mowing.
Plus, can you imagine laying down and doing leg lifts, grass drills or any other ground related activity on that field when its a sizzling 110 degrees from the direct sunlight?
Sure, summer practices are in the morning for the most part, so perhaps it isn’t as bad as i’m imagining.
Btango, those are all valid points and I get what you are driving at there. I just like to see football unis with dirt and grass stains on them at the end of a game. I realize that few high schools have multiple fields with adequate seating for all fall sports. And due to that almost all fall sports end up being played on the football field. But they made it work for all the years before field turf became en vogue. So just personally, I want to see natural grass football fields.
I prefer grass, also. Back in my day we did not have soccer and the youth teams played at the old stadium. There were very few travel teams in various sports. People did not think about having all day events and renting out the facility for money. Bands had their battles but the school hosted.
A few years ago I was informed that one CMS high school had six football games and six soccer matches over a weekend. Not sure what they got per game although I was told $100 per game. They had the concessions going and made additional money there. The games were played in the morning and through the afternoon so the lights were not used. That is the type of things can help pay for a stadium and you would be hard pressed to do that on a natural grass field.
Keeping up one or two practice fields and the stadium is concering for time of the staff as much as the money needed. Some schools have limited space, like Kannapolis, and that makes it even more helpful.
I want to see the best players play under most preferable conditions more than a slop fest. The 3A state title game would have been much better on a turf field last year. Jacksonville's speed and the Catholic misdirection. Would have been much more interesting instead of seeing them slog around the middle of the field unable to get much footing and escape the pile.
If you go to Friday nights in k-town FB page he has some good pictures of the new turf. And it looks awesome. Can't wait till this Friday night.
Sorry, I am probably the one and only person that does not do Facebook.
A.L. Brown continues to improve football stadium and faculties! Go check out Friday Night In Ktown on Facebook to see more.
Been there, done that, Sportsnut. You aren’t missing a thing. Take the absolute worst arguments on Preps and multiply it times a hundred. Got off Facebook in 2016 and haven’t missed it a bit.
