AstroTurf installation at Greeneville High School almost complete

The Greeneville Greene Devils will start their 2008 season on a new state-of-the-art synthetic turf system from AstroTurf.

The Greene Devils will be playing on the latest in innovation and technology, GameDay Grass 3D. An advanced hybrid system which according to third party testing most closely replicates natural grass, GameDay Grass 3D utilizes a proprietary technology called Root Zone™, a simulated thatch layer at the base of the turf system that replicates the underlayer of root fibers and thatch found in natural grass. The density of the RootZone, providing stability, cushion and consistent performance over time, means that less granulated rubber infill is required, reducing the problems related to infill migration and “fly-out.”

Standardized testing used to measure shock absorption supports that the hybrid GameDay Grass 3D is uniformly more consistent with softer, natural grass as opposed to firmer turf products using less fiber content and a higher amount of infill comprised of sand and rubber, a system introduced in the 1990s.

Coming off a IMAC Conference Championship and a trip to the Class 4A quarterfinals, the Greene Devils will open their season at home on August 22 against Jefferson County.

Greeneville Football Website

How one high school makes money with AstroTurf

By Steven Matthews

http://www.journal-news.com/

Six years ago, Princeton High School's Viking Stadium was utilized only five times a year for home football games.

Then in 2003, the high school installed AstroPlay turf and Princeton officials say they could not have made a wiser investment.

Last year, Viking Stadium was used 300 of 365 days. Community groups, private soccer clubs, athletic organizations and physical education classes use the field — in addition to Princeton's athletic teams.

"I do believe it's a no-brainer for schools," Princeton athletic director Scott Kaufman said. "There's a sticker shock at first, but you have to look at its value for kids and the community. Schools are starting to get it because they understand the impact — the revenue impact, the safety impact and the usage impact."

The turf cost Princeton $680,000 and the district's goal was to have it paid off in seven years. But because the field generates about $40,000 a year in revenue from outside groups, the Hamilton County school is ahead of schedule and hopes to pay it off this upcoming school year.
Renting Princeton's field costs $60 an hour without lights and $75 an hour with lights. About 90 percent of the revenue comes from November to March.

The rental fee for tournament soccer games ranges from $200 to $400, while it's $1,500 to $2,000 for playoff football games. All of the gate receipts from tournament games goes to the Ohio High School Athletic Association; the Princeton boosters get the parking and concessions revenue.

Princeton's old grass field cost $60,000 a year to maintain, which included cutting, watering and painting. Now, all that's done to maintain the turf is grooming it three times a year, and Kaufman does that himself with a brush pulled by a tractor.

The life expectancy for Princeton's field is 12 to 15 years. But the revenue generated in years six through 12 will be put aside to pay for the replacement turf.

"It's a pretty good situation where we've done something great for our teams," Kaufman said. "It's great for our community, and ultimately through the life of the turf, it will save taxpayers money and generate revenue that wasn't possible before."

AstroTurf Installation begins at All-City Stadium in Denver

8 years after installation of their first AstroTurf system, Denver Public Schools had no reason to look elsewhere when replacing their AstroPlay system at All City Stadium.

Installation is currently underway for the new, state-of-the-art GameDay Grass XPe field which will be ready for the start of football season.

Denver Public Schools, utilizing GSV's exclusive U.S. Communities contract, was able to purchase the field within hours and have crews on site installing within weeks. Without utilizing the U.S. Communities contract, DPS would have been unable to have the field completed before the start of the season. To learn more about U.S. Communities, visit http://www.uscommunities.org/

"The crew is really moving on it," said John Andrew, Manager of Athletics for Denver Public Schools. "They have started to lay the actual new turf and it looks great."

CPSC Staff Finds Synthetic Turf Fields OK to Install, OK to Play On

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff today released its evaluation of various synthetic athletic fields. The evaluation concludes that young children are not at risk from exposure to lead in these fields.

CPSC staff evaluation showed that newer fields had no lead or generally had the lowest lead levels. Although small amounts of lead were detected on the surface of some older fields, none of these tested fields released amounts of lead that would be harmful to children.

Lead is present in the pigments of some synthetic turf products to give the turf its various colors. Staff recognizes that some conditions such as age, weathering, exposure to sunlight, and wear and tear might change the amount of lead that could be released from the turf. As turf is used during athletics or play and exposed over time to sunlight, heat and other weather conditions, the surface of the turf may start to become worn and small particles of the lead-containing synthetic grass fibers might be released. The staff considered in the evaluation that particles on a child’s hand transferred to his/her mouth would be the most likely route of exposure and determined young children would not be at risk.

Although this evaluation found no harmful lead levels, CPSC staff is asking that voluntary standards be developed for synthetic turf to preclude the use of lead in future products. This action is being taken proactively to address any future production of synthetic turf and to set a standard for any new entrants to the market to follow.

As an overall guideline, CPSC staff recommends young children wash their hands after playing outside, especially before eating.

PDF of CPSC Evaluation

Frontier League All-Star Game ends with Home Run Derby

For the fourth time in the past seven years, the FL's mid-summer classic was tied after nine innings. And for the fourth time since that strange summer of 2002, the big bats made the difference.

The Frontier League's All-Star Game went into Home Run Derby mode Wednesday, with the East Division winning it with second-round power by Washington's Jacob Dempsey and Kalamazoo's Mike Russell. The game was tied at 2 at the end of nine innings, tied again after the first round of derby-ball. But Dempsey and Russell combined to hit three home runs in the second round of the deciding derby, while the West finished with only one. It all added up to an official 3-2 win for the East in the 16th All-Star Game played along baseball's Frontier.

It works out like this: This whole thing started the day after the 2002 Major League All-Star Game ended in a tie when both teams ran out of pitching. When that happened, the FL cooked up a way to one-up the bigs with a home run derby when things are knotted after nine.
And it's stuck since.

The West Division rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game, and the East couldn't answer in the bottom.

That's when the game went into derby-ball, with Phil Hawke (Windy City), Jason James (Rockford) and Tim Dorn (Southern Illinois) swinging for the West and Angel Molina (Florence), Russell and Dempsey going for the East.

The first round - where each batter is allowed three outs per at-bat - nearly ended things in favor of the West. But, with two outs, Molina planted a tying home run over two difference fences at Traverse City, opening things up for a second round. In that one, Molina didn't even have to swing, with Dempsey hitting one bomb and Russell hitting two in their turns before the West even hit one. It all went down to Dorn, who hit one longball but fell two short for the West, giving the East the win.

As for regulation baseball, Traverse City's Mike Epping - who turned out as the game's MVP - drove in the first run with a fifth-inning single. Billy Mottram, from Florence, drove in the second one with a bloop single to right-center in the sixth - the only runs that scored until the West's big ninth.

Florence's Angel Molina wins Home Run Derby at Frontier League All-Star Game Skills Competition

Angel Molina of the Florence Freedom outlasted Tim Dorn of the Southern Illinois Miners in the 2008 Frontier League All-Star Game Skills Competition at Wuerfel Park in Traverse City, Michigan, which features AstroTurf GameDay Grass XPe. Molina's 5 home runs in the final round earned him the win and a $1,000 prize.

The home run derby saw 26 entrants compete in three rounds and lasted over two hours. Rockford’s Jason James hit 10 homers in the first round to lead all competitors in a single round, but the total reset after each round and James didn’t make it to the money round. Jacob Dempsey of the Washington Wild Things hit nine in the opening round of competition.

Nine competitors made it to the second round with five advancing to the finals. Gateway’s Mike Breyman and Angel Molina of Florence tied for the top mark in the second round with six each. Angel Molina won the competition by hitting five homers. Molina was the last to go and had three outs when he bettered the mark set by Southern Illinois All-Star Tim Dorn, who blasted five tape-measure shots.

The Beach Bums (30-21) will host the All-Star Game at Wuerfel Park tonight at 7:05 pm. The game can be heard live on The Fox FM in Northern Michigan or online. Traverse City opens the second half of the season with a 12-game homestand beginning on Friday night against the Midwest Sliders at 7:05 pm.

Footballs fly during "Air it Out" at Manning Passing Academy

Over 1,000 fans packed Guidry Stadium Saturday for the Manning Passing Academy "Air it Out" at Manning Field Built by AstroTurf. The fan favorites at the Manning Passing Academy’s Air It Out session, Peyton and Eli Manning, were joined by NCAA D-I QBs and WRs, along with about a dozen high school receivers who had been attending the 4 day camp.

Bidding is underway in the fourth annual Don't Give Up ESPYs V Foundation Auction

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