New Win For AstroTurf®~ Citrus Bowl

AstroTurf® is really excited to bring their turf to the Citrus Bowl in Florida. Congratulations to AstroTurf® and to Orlando Parks and Recreation.

AstroTurf coming to Citrus Bowl

By Mark Schlueb, Orlando Sentinel
5:22 p.m. EDT, June 21, 2010

Grass is out and AstroTurf is going in at the Citrus Bowl stadium.

The Orlando City Council voted Monday to negotiate a contract with AstroTurf to install the artificial turf pioneer's fake grass at the Citrus Bowl stadium. The deal isn't final, but the vote all but guarantees that AstroTurf — rather than a competing artificial surface — will soon be underfoot at the stadium.

The decision follows a nationally televised debacle during the most recent Capital One and Champs Sports bowls, when players slid around on loose sod that had recently been laid down and was then deluged by heavy rainfs.

City officials say artificial turf is more durable and can handle multiple days of heavy use without the maintenance required by natural grass. Modern artificial turf isn't injury-prone like early incarnations, they said.

A competing company, Field Turf, complained that AstroTurf does not hold a Florida general contractor's license. But AstroTurf was the company recommended by Orlando's turf consultant.
Venues Director Allen Johnson said the company will work with a licensed contractor to put down the turf. "They'll have to meet whatever requirements there are to install the product on the field," Johnson said.

Negotiations will determine the final price, but it can't exceed the budget of $1.5 million, he said. The work is expected to be done by Sept. 1.

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Ripken Experience to Add New Field

MYRTLE BEACH – Extra Bases LLC, a joint venture between Ripken Baseball and Burroughs & Chapin, today announced plans to construct an additional 90-foot baseball diamond during the 2010 season at The Ripken Experience.

The field will be named Forbes Field after the historic former home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Chris Flannery, President of Ripken Baseball, Inc. said, “When we constructed The Ripken Experience we did it with the idea of continued growth.

Adding an additional 90-foot diamond allows us to host more young ballplayers and continue to enhance our programming.”

Forbes Field will be the complex’s third 90-foot diamond that is used for groups from 13 year old and up.

The two other 90-foot diamonds, Griffith Field and the Polo Grounds, have hosted over 2,000 games during their 5-year history.

The Ripken Experience operates youth baseball tournaments along with specialty programming.

The complex celebrated its 5,000th game during the 2009 season and was recognized by the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce for its impact on sports tourism in Myrtle Beach.

“Today is a very proud day for Ripken Baseball and our partners at Burroughs & Chapin”, commented Ripken Experience General Manger Bobby Holland. “For years we have been turning away between 50 – 150 teams a year in our older age group programming due to space limitations at our complex. The addition of Forbes Field is going to afford more teams, players and families the opportunity to play at our complex and visit Myrtle Beach; it’s a win in every scenario.”

Construction of Forbes Field will begin this summer and the project will take approximately 2 months to complete.

The playing surface will be composed of a new synthetic surface known as Astroturf GameDay Grass 3D. The 40-year old company has over 160,000,000 square feet of turf in use worldwide.

Currently such professional and collegiate facilities using the material include the Toronto Blue Jays, Buffalo Bills and Old Dominion University to name a few.

Information Found at scnow.com

McBroom, West Texas A&M Favor AstroTurf® for New Fields

This isn’t your grandfather’s AstroTurf.

And it’s not FieldTurf, either.

The artificial turf being laid down at West Texas A&M’s new athletic complex will include more than 700,000 square feet of AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D, a far cry from the carpetlike surface used to cover the old Houston Astrodome in 1966.
Though AstroTurf was the first company to produce synthetic turf for athletic fields with the Astrodome, FieldTurf – which was introduced at Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium in 1999 – has been the maker of choice in Texas for many college and high school fields, including the Texas Longhorns’ Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
But when WT Athletic Director Michael McBroom was trying to decide which company to supply the turf for the university’s $21.8 million complex, he was open to all options.
“You name the company, and we looked at it,” McBroom said.
He also looked to old friends for help.
One of them was former WT quarterback Keith Null, now a quarterback with the St. Louis Rams.
The Rams’ practice facilities feature the new AstroTurf 3D, and McBroom said Null gave the turf a great review.
The product was recently installed at Wichita State’s baseball facility, Eck Stadium. McBroom heard nothing but good things about that field.
McBroom said those two inquiries helped him pick WT’s new artificial turf, which was manufactured in Georgia and trucked to Canyon.
“It’s great stuff,” McBroom said. “We really think it’s going to be good for our athletes and for the students who use the intramural fields, too.”


McBroom, WT favor AstroTurf for new fields Follow this link to see the original article.

Field at Burnaby Lake West first infill artificial turf to be replaced

Excerpts from Burnaby Newsleader

One of the first infill artificial turf fields in the Lower Mainland is set to be replaced if Burnaby council gives its approval.

Field is hard
“We know it’s experienced compaction over the years, it’s pretty hard,” said parks director Dave Ellenwood.
It will be the first of the three original such fields at the complex to be replaced, at a cost of $365,000 to remove the existing turf and prepare the site and more than $525,000 for a new synthetic turf field by AstroTurf®.
The original producers of infill artificial turf, FieldTurf, had its patent expire a few years ago so several suppliers are now available, Ellenwood explained.

More advanced
The replacement field will be a more advanced, newer generation of the product that will result in more even distribution of the infill and an extended lifespan. The infill is also designed to not float to the surface during heavy rains as the current field has a tendency to do.

Astroturf, a family-owned business, is the only 100% vertically integrated synthetic turf manufacturer. Astroturf has the most experienced management team in the industry as well the most diverse product range. Another victory for Burnaby and Astro Turf®.

Synthetic Grass Greener with Soy Backing

Synthetic lawn and turf may not actually grow, but its popularity continues to develop, due to concerns about water usage and increased interest in urban areas. That growth comes with the backing of soy, as Universal Textile (UTT) uses its BioCel and EnviroCel backing on a number of turf products. The United Soybean Board and the soybean check off helped develop soy based polyols which, UTT used to develop their carpet backing system from the beginning to develop the backing products, which UTT also uses for carpet-backing. UTT began using soy-based technology on synthetic turf in 2007, with the goal of providing sustainability to the synthetic turf industry before customers demanded it, says Doug Giles, UTT. Sustainability wasn't the only attribute, as soy-based turf backing also performs well."Performance-based polyurethanes replaced the traditional latex backing systems earlier," says Mike King with Synlawn, a manufacturer of synthetic landscape grass. "With the soy-based polyurethanes from BioCel and EnviroCel, we are able to meet federal and state requirements, as well as demand for an environmentally friendly product.""Soy-backed turf incorporates all of the performance attributes previously associated with traditional polyurethane," says Giles. "Advantages include price stability, a reduction of carbon emission and improved air quality by planting more soybeans with every yard of product sold."Landscaping represents a major industry, with water restrictions in many Western states. Synthetic turf can be used for putting greens, playgrounds, rooftops, airports, pet kennels and other areas. One of Synlawn's sister companies, AstroTurf® , a manufacturer of synthetic sports fields, uses BioCel technology as well. Synthetic lawn and turf use soybeans in hotels, casinos and churches across the country Lowe’s home improvement stores offer Synlawn products across the country for consumers interested in installing their own synthetic turf. The company also has distributors across the country.

This article provided by BioBased Solution May 2010 Issue - Interactive New Uses for Soy.