(RALEIGH, NC) - Three years after completion of stadium upgrades at Cardinal Gibbons High School, officials decided to install a new, state-of-the-art AstroTurf® field, which is making its debut this football season.
That’s not a minute too soon for Principal Jason Curtis.
“We have 1,200 students at Cardinal Gibbons and 800 are involved in athletics,” said Curtis. “We’ve been blessed with great student athletes and great programs. The new AstroTurf field will allow us to do so many things.”
Cardinal Gibbons teams have begun a return to prominence in recent years and that has sparked resurgence in interest and participation. The school is over 100 years old, but was the first integrated high school in the state of North Carolina. It became a challenge because many teams refused to play them. It was a sad situation that took years to overcome and the athletic program suffered, as well.
Cardinal Gibbons officials had been talking about the possibilities of synthetic turf for several years, but as participation increased, so did the need for practice space and time.
“Our grass was taking a beating,” said Curtis. “We also faced weather delays and cancellations.”
The new grass, though, is AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ 3D52H, and will be able to provide Cardinal Gibbons with more field availability and fewer worries about the weather.
Curtis said they chose AstroTurf because of the positive relationship, the company history, and the fact that the company stands behind the product.
“We’re proud to partner with Cardinal Gibbons for this tremendous project,” said AstroTurf President Bryan Peeples. “It’s exciting to be able to work a school with such a proud tradition and such awesome growth prospects for the future. We are looking forward to many W’s in the Cardinal Gibbons win column.”
The field will feature the revolutionary new Horseshoe™ fiber. This new fiber is enjoying unprecedented success in the sports field marketplace, due to factors such as its unique shape. The fiber is an “Omega” shape with two end columns with a thicker diameter. The design imparts mechanical memory so that the fiber remains upright longer, unlike other fields whose fibers quickly flatten and split or shred at the spine. The Horseshoe™ fiber continues to spring back to its original configuration, even after years of heavy foot traffic or exposure to ultra-violet radiation.
The field also has a face weight of 52 ounces of fiber per square yard, one of the highest in the industry. This adds to the durability provided by the fiber shape.
In extensive testing, the Horseshoe® fiber performs most like natural grass from ball roll, to slide
resistance, to the biomechanical function of cleats penetrating and releasing properly. A study at Michigan State University, funded by NFL Charities, found that AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ systems looked and performed more like natural grass than any other synthetic product measured, also making it the safest option.
The Horseshoe fiber’s shape also allows it to reflect light and heat away from the surface. That, in combination with AstroFlect™ heat reduction technology, can lower surface temperatures by as much as 18%.
The Horseshoe™ fiber was introduced in 2010 and is already in use on practice fields at schools such as Stanford and the University of Tennessee; baseball game fields for the Tampa Bay Rays, Ohio State University, Wake Forest, Duke; and numerous high school and college football fields around the country, including Kansas State University.
The field will also have a nylon RootZone™, a thatch layer which holds sand and rubber infill in place for less splash and migration, making for a more consistent playing surface.
According to Curtis, having a technologically advanced field such as this will help the teams get better because they will have more opportunities to practice. He also says more kids will want to participate.
“Not only are our students and parents excited,” said Curtis. “But, we have several elementary and middle schools from which we draw our students and those kids are excited, too.”
The new field will begin hosting events next Thursday, August 18, as Cardinal Gibbons takes on Panther Creek. The game will start with a “Blessing of the Field” and a “First Run”, in which students 8th grade and below will get to run the length of the field and receive a commemorative t-shirt.
The following night, the Crusaders will attempt to capitalize on an impressive 11-3 mark in football as they kickoff the new season under new head coach Steven Wright against Clayton.
About AstroTurf®
For many athletes and sport enthusiasts, the AstroTurf® brand has redefined the way the game is played. The company offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies, leveraging the industry’s first vertically integrated manufacturing system. A growing number of high schools, colleges, professional sports teams and municipalities continue to select AstroTurf®-branded products for their premium quality, technical superiority and safety. Recent innovations from AstroTurf® include GameDay Grass™ 3D with RootZone®, a polyethylene/nylon hybrid system which most closely replicates natural grass; a non-chemical antimicrobial shield protecting against MRSA and other infectious bacteria; and AstroFlect™ Technology which significantly reduces turf surface temperatures. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com.
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