CARROLL COLLEGE AND SAINT XAVIER UNIVERSITY WILL PLAY FOR THE NAIA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ON ASTROTURF

(ROME, Georgia) - The combatants for the 2011 NAIA National Championship football game are set to play on the AstroTurf at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia.

Defending champion and six-time national champion Carroll College will take on Saint Xavier University, which is making its first-ever national championship game appearance.

“We’re excited about these two great programs competing for the national championship,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf. “The AstroTurf field at Barron Stadium is one of the finest in the country and a major reason the NAIA has chosen to host the championship game in Rome through 2015.”

The Fighting Saints of Carroll College, a Helena, Montana school, are looking to tie Texas A&I for the most national championships in NAIA history. Carroll won four straight titles from 2002-2005, as well as in 2007 and again in last year’s game in Rome.

In the semi-final game, the Saints racked up 447 yards of total offense and converted on nine-of-14 third-down attempts in defeating previously unbeaten Georgetown (Kentucky) 35-3. The Carroll College defense has not given up a second half score in four games.

Saint Xavier, from Chicago, beat top-ranked Marian University 30-27 in the semi-finals. Freshman strong safety Clayton Fejedelem intercepted a pass in the end zone with eight seconds remaining to seal the deal for the Cougars.

The Russell Athletic – NAIA Football National Championship will kick off this Saturday, December 17th, at 4:30 p.m. EST in the 56th installment of the game.

The game will be broadcast in HD by the CBS Sports Network. CBS Sports Network is available across the country through local cable, video, and telecommunications providers. It is also available via satellite on DirecTV Channel 613 and Dish Network Channel 152. For more information, including a full programming schedule and how to get CBS Sports Network, go to www.cbssportsnetwork.com.

The AstroTurf surface at Barron stadium has been credited with keeping the game in Rome after a couple of muddy games on natural grass. Barron Stadium also hosts the high school football games of the Rome Wolves, as well as numerous other events. The heavy usage sometimes made the old natural grass surface susceptible to the weather.

“The new field was really important,” said Bill Peterson, Athletic Director at Shorter University and part of the host committee. “Without the AstroTurf, I doubt that we would have been able to secure a long-term bid. With AstroTurf, the weather becomes irrelevant, even late in the year. ”

In addition, playing the game on the AstroTurf surface generates approximately $2 million per year in economic impact for the community.

The field features 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 has a face weight of 60 ounces of fiber per square yard, 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 field features a RootZone, a thatch layer which holds the sand and rubber infill in place for less splash and migration, making for a more consistent playing surface.

The Horseshoe fiber was introduced in 2010 and is already in use on game fields for teams such as Kansas State University; practice fields at schools such as Stanford University, University of Tennessee, and Auburn University; baseball game fields for the Tampa Bay Rays, Wake Forest, Duke, and Ohio State; and numerous high school football fields around the country.

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 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.

ASTROTURF AND NFLPA PARTNER FOR COLLEGIATE BOWL GAME

(LOS ANGELES, California) - AstroTurf and the NFL Players Association convened this week in Los Angeles to discuss the upcoming AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, an all-star game showcasing the talents of draft-eligible collegiate players.

NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith made no bones about the importance of the event.

“It didn’t take us long,” said Smith, of the decision to host the game. “If an athlete has the talent, drive, and will to go to the next level, why wouldn’t we provide that young man with an opportunity to showcase his talents?”

Smith said the new 10-year labor peace “provides us with an opportunity to move forward in the way we address, deal with, and prepare” players looking to play at the NFL level.

He also cited AstroTurf for “sharing our vision in protecting and preparing athletes.”

Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf, said there were 30-year industry veterans who would be shaking their heads in wonder because “AstroTurf and the NFLPA are up here on stage together arm-in-arm.”

Peeples said the NFLPA chose to partner with AstroTurf after visiting their Georgia-based manufacturing facilities and people, as well as the Center for Athletic Field Safety at the University of Tennessee, which is funded by AstroTurf.

“Our platform going forward, as it has been in the past, is for safety,” said Peeples.

Willie McGinest, a 15-year NFL veteran who has three Super Bowl ring to his credit, echoed those sentiments.

“I came into the league in 1994,” said McGinest. “Our union and AstroTurf have made great strides since then. It’s a unique and great marriage.”

Matthew Hatchette, who played eight years in the NFL, cited AstroTurf and the NFLPA for hosting this game and providing an opportunity for players to make it to the NFL.

Hatchette attended Langston University, where he said only two scouts came to see him play. He also said he had to make his own highlight films and be persistent in making calls and writing letters before getting his shot at a professional career. He said the game provides a perfect opportunity for players from smaller schools and those that are late bloomers, physically.

The game will take place on January 21st at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles. The Home Depot Center is a world-class facility with several sporting venues, including a 27,000-seat stadium which is home to the LA Galaxy professional soccer team.

The new AstroTurf field was installed in only six days, and features new AstroBase technology, a series of 15,000 structural panels, which provide the base system for the field.

The field surface is all new AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D60 Extreme. The field combines a monofilament Horseshoe fiber with a slit film product. The Horseshoe fiber has an Omega-shape, which is more resilient and bounces back, staying upright longer. It also reflects less light and heat. The slit film offers the ultimate in durability.

The field also has a face weight of 60 ounces of fiber per square yard, the highest in the industry. This adds to the durability provided by the fiber shape.

In extensive testing, AstroTurf GameDay Grass systems perform 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 field features AstroFlect heat reduction technology, which can lower surface temperatures by as much as 18%.

The field also has RootZone, a thatch layer which holds the sand and rubber infill in place for less splash and migration, making for a more consistent playing surface.

The field will be used next weekend to host all five state championship football games of the California Interscholastic Federation. It will also host a number of other sporting events before being removed in February and being made available for sale to a school or organization looking to utilize a state-of-the-art synthetic playing surface.

The AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will be broadcast on NBC Sport Network, which will be rebranded from Versus on January 2nd.

The teams will be coaches by NFL coaching legends Dick Vermeil and Tom Flores. The two last faced each other in Super Bowl XV. Flores’ Oakland Raiders defeated Vermeil’s Philadelphia Eagles 27-10.

The night before the game, the NFLPA will host their annual PULSE Awards at Club Nokia at LA Live. Some of the celebrity presenters will include Joe Manganiello, Ed Asner, Jaime Pressly, Holly Robinson Peete and Hill Harper. The event will honor many active and former NFL players.

About AstroTurf
For athletes and sport enthusiasts, AstroTurf 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. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com.

CALIFORNIA (CIF) STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP BOWL GAMES TO BE PLAYED ON ASTROTURF

(CARSON, California) - Earlier this month, the NFL Players Association announced that AEG Facilities’ The Home Depot Center in Carson, will host the inaugural AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, a college football all-star game.

AstroTurf, the inventor of synthetic turf, will install a brand new synthetic surface for the game, which will be removed and sold following the game. In planning for the event, AstroTurf and The Home Depot Center arranged the installation of the field prior to the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games.

“We’re excited that the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games will be played on AstroTurf, and look forward to hosting high school and collegiate athletes on our playing surface, which is considered to be the finest synthetic surface in the world,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf.

This year’s state championship games are scheduled for December 16-17. The Home Depot Center’s sod removal began last week, and the installation of the new AstroTurf field will be complete by December 10th.

“This marks the first time in our facility’s history that synthetic turf has been installed in our stadium, and through our partnership with AstroTurf and the NFLPA, we’re pleased to be able to offer a state-of-the-art artificial field for the high school athletes playing in the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games this month,” said Kyle Waters, Vice President of Events and Operations at The Home Depot Center.

“We appreciate the efforts of AstroTurf and The Home Depot Center in enhancing the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games experience,” said Marie Ishida, Executive Director of the CIF. “Knowing that our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete on a top-of-the-line field surface, makes for a great championship environment.”

The field surface will be the all new AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D60 Extreme. The field combines a monofilament Horseshoe fiber with a slit film product. The Horseshoe fiber has an Omega-shape, which is more resilient and bounces back, staying upright longer. It also reflects less light and heat. The slit film offers the ultimate in durability.

The field also has a face weight of 60 ounces of fiber per square yard, the highest in the industry. This adds to the durability provided by the fiber shape.

In extensive testing, AstroTurf GameDay Grass systems perform 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 field features AstroFlect heat reduction technology, which can lower surface temperatures by as much as 18%.

The field also has RootZone, a thatch layer which holds the sand and rubber infill in place for less splash and migration, making for a more consistent playing surface.

The AstroTurf will be filled with approximately 325,000 pounds of a manufacturer’s blend of silica sand and ambient rubber. The AstroTurf surface will cover about 81,000 square feet.

The CIF State Championships begin Friday, December 16th. The Division IV game will start at 4:00 p.m. and will be followed by the Division I game at 8:00 p.m.

There will be three games on Saturday, December 17th. The Division III game kicks off at noon and will be followed by the Division II game at 4:00 p.m. The final game of the event will determine the Open Division state champion at 8:00 p.m.

The AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will be held on Saturday, January 21st. Tickets for the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games and the AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl are available now at www.homedepotcenter.com.


About AstroTurf
For athletes and sport enthusiasts, AstroTurf 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. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com.

ASTROTURF NFLPA COLLEGIATE BOWL COMING TO LA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the NFL Players Association unveiled its plans to host Southern California’s premier football event – The AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.

The AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will be held January 21 at the Home Depot Center on the campus of California State University Dominguez Hills in Carson, Calif. Under the direction of Super Bowl-winning coaches Tom Flores and Dick Vermeil, 100 of the country’s top draft prospects will showcase their talent in front of 25,000 fans and pro scouts.

However, the AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl experience is much more than a game for participating players.

“Our mission is to provide these young men with an unforgettable all-star game experience but just as importantly with invaluable information for their transition out of college,” said Clark Gaines, NFLPA Assistant Executive Director. “The NFLPA is a player’s primary resource for information on the business of football, and we will educate these players on how to succeed in the NFL and in their post-football careers.”

For one week preceding the AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, pro-football players and coaching legends will work with the game’s future stars, giving them first-hand insight on what it takes to win on and off of the field. Flores and Vermeil will provide the players with elite-level practices and playbooks and the players will interact with the community through youth clinics and more.

Tickets are on sale now and start at $15. Visit Ticketmaster.com or HomeDepotCenter.com.

For the latest news on the AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, follow twitter.com/NFLPABowl and facebook.com/NFLPACollegiateBowl.

Read more on ESPN.com: http://es.pn/vAm3TJ
https://www.nflplayers.com/Articles/Press-Releases/AstroTurf-NFLPA-Collegiate-Bowl-Announced/

JOSE BAUTISTA'S PLAY ON ASTROTURF RESULTS IN SECOND SILVER SLUGGER AWARD

(TORONTO) - It looks like Jose Bautista has found a home on the AstroTurf in right field for the Toronto Blue Jays. It also looks like he’s found his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award, given to the best offensive player at each position.

Bautista, from the Dominican Republic, has been in the big leagues since 2004, when he was on the rosters of four different teams. Since then, he has played six different positions.

2010 became a true breakout year for Bautista. Playing right field full time, Bautista belted a league-leading 54 home runs, making him the 26th member of the 50 home run club. He was selected to the All Star team and won the Hank Aaron Award and the Silver Slugger Award.

Bautista was just as impressive in 2011. He hit 43 home runs and became the first player since Mark McGwire (1998-99) to lead the lead in home runs over two consecutive years. In July, he set a record for the most All Star votes ever for a single player, with 7,454,753. That surpassed the previous record set in 1994 by Ken Griffey, Jr.

Yesterday, the league announced that Bautista was a recipient of the Silver Slugger Award for the second consecutive year. He also won a second consecutive Hank Aaron Award for his efforts this season.

Bautista’s coming into his own has paid off in handsome dividends for the slugger. The Blue Jays, in order to make sure he is still playing on the AstroTurf in the Rogers Centre, awarded him with a new contract this past February. The deal extended his contract for five seasons and was valued at $64 million.

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays are the two Major League Baseball teams which play on AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D systems. AstroTurf is The Official Synthetic Turf of Major League Baseball.

AstroTurf is becoming more widely used in baseball due to the realistic, grass-like looks and performance it provides players and teams. Recently, many college programs have added AstroTurf baseball fields, including Kansas, Kansas State, Wichita State, Ohio State, Duke, and Wake Forest. The Virginia Tech Hokies are currently installing a new AstroTurf playing surface.

“Jose Bautista is one of the most exciting players in the game and we’re proud that he plays on a great surface like AstroTurf,” said Bryan Peeples, president of AstroTurf. “We are also proud that so many players who will have an impact in the future are able to play on our fields, as more and more teams make the change.”

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 only 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.

PENBERTHY REC SPORTS COMPLEX AT TAMU REOPENS WITH NEW ASTROTURF FIELDS

(COLLEGE STATION, Texas) - Texas A&M University recently hosted a grand opening ceremony for the newly renovated Penberthy Rec Sports Complex.

Several new AstroTurf fields, as well as a maintenance building and a pavilion were constructed. The complex also features new lights, a new parking area, a new area to check out sports equipment, and new bathrooms and showers with changing areas. The total cost of the project was nearly $9 million.

“The Texas A&M student body deserves outdoor facilities that are on par with the indoor facilities, said Dennis Corrington, the Executive Director of Rec Sports. “Not only do we meet that expectation, but now we have one of the top collegiate recreational facilities in the nation.”

Texas A&M enlisted the help of AstroTurf to create more playing opportunities for the approximately 15,000 students who participate in intramural sports and sport clubs at the College Station school.

The Penberthy Rec Sports Complex is a 48-acre facility which plays host to the outdoor intramural and sport clubs programs for Aggie students. The complex was named for W.L. Penberthy, the father of intramural sports at Texas A&M.

Over 463,500 square feet of that facility was being converted to AstroTurf. Construction is complete and students are now using the center.

“We knew we needed to make a change to synthetic turf,” said Rick Hall, Senior Associate Director of Rec Sports. “We talked with several turf companies and educated ourselves throughout the process. AstroTurf is the one that impressed us. We feel like we’re getting the best turf system at a very affordable price.”

Hall, along with other representatives from Texas A&M, visited Brenham High School’s Cub Stadium field and the eight AstroTurf fields at West Texas A&M University during the process, and came away knowing that AstroTurf was the right decision.

The fields are constructed of AstroTurf GameDay Grass Extreme. The new surface contains the all new Horseshoe fiber. Horseshoe, is an Omega-shaped fiber which has better mechanical memory and remains upright longer, has a more grass-like ball roll, and offers the best aesthetics of any field. It is combined with the AstroTurf XP fiber. XP is a slit-film product which offers better infill encapsulation, best resistance to wear, and great pile density. The product also features texturized RootZone. RootZone® is a fiber which acts as a thatch layer, creating minimal rubber splash, uniform energy return, and better shock absorbency, while encapsulating the infill and reducing migration.

Burnside Services handled all base and drainage work on the project, as well as all driveways and parking lots. Burnside is operated by Tommy, Dayle, and Jake Burnside, all of whom attended Texas A&M.

“This is, by far, the largest athletic field project we have worked on,” said Tommy Burnside. “This is about 11 acres of turf and we moved 50,000 yards of dirt.”

Two of the fields are 150 yards X 100 yards and will primarily host intramural sports events such as flag football and soccer. Each field can accommodate two flag football fields or modified soccer fields. Each field can also be converted to full-size fields for soccer, lacrosse, and ultimate.

“We have one of the largest intramural sports and sport clubs programs in the country,” said Hall. “Athletes use those fields from 6:00 p.m. until midnight, five days a week and we were wearing out our fields by the sheer volume of play.”

The weather didn’t help either. According to Hall, from September to the end of January in 2008, they had seven inches of rain and 20 lost rain days. In the same period, from September 2009 until January 2010, they had nearly 20 inches of rain with 44 lost rain days. They needed an alternative.

“With AstroTurf® we are getting surfaces which are not affected by the weather,” said Hall. “Also, it allows us to implement some field rotation to help keep our natural grass fields in great shape. Rotation was a luxury we didn’t have before.”

Intramural sports, first brought to college campuses in 1913, continue to grow in both popularity and importance. According to the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA), 75% of students who attend school offering recreational sports programs and facilities, participate in or use them. That numbers equals approximately 5.3 million students.

A 2006 study published in Recreational Sports Journal said 31% of students reported that an intramural sports program was an important factor in attending the college, and over 37% said those same programs were important in deciding to stay at the school. 83% of students said they participate in recreation sports on a weekly basis, and 93% said they would like to.

“We have a lot of prospective students and parents who look at our indoor and outdoor rec sports facilities,” said Hall. “I have no doubt it influences their decisions. It is a key factor in the development of life skills and wellness. It also has some effect on the recruiting of faculty and staff members.”

The other two fields are 150 yards X 85 yards and host the university’s sport club programs such as lacrosse, soccer, ultimate, and rugby.

Sport clubs are also an important part of the collegiate recreational landscape. Over 80 sports are offered for sport clubs at colleges across the country and nearly 11,000 sport clubs are registered and active at NIRSA member institutions.

While the Texas A&M project is a large one by most standards, it is just part of a growing trend toward recreational sports development. In 2008, NIRSA estimated nearly $4 billion in recreational sports
facility construction between 2008-2013. Those project estimates were for 96 new construction projects, 62 expansion projects, and 62 renovation projects, with an average project price of about $21 million and covering about 90,000 square feet.

The growth in projects such as this will make Texas A&M a showcase facility for others looking at similar projects. Hall said they will be hosting regional workshops for other schools and anticipates spending a lot of time showing the new AstroTurf fields and touting the positive benefits of having them. He is also expecting calls from other high schools and municipalities which are exploring the benefits of synthetic turf.

The fields at Penberthy also have an added environmental and economic impact. In 2010, BASF did a study comparing AstroTurf fields to natural grass fields. In 11 environmental categories, AstroTurf had a lower environmental footprint than natural grass. Factors contributing to this include reduced maintenance and mowing, which cause a variety of emissions. Other factors include elimination of fertilizers and pesticides, as well as the need for water. AstroTurf fields also use soy-based polyols in the backing of products, reducing their dependence on foreign oil.

From an economic standpoint, over 20 years, AstroTurf fields are 15% less expensive than natural grass fields, even when the cost of turf replacement is considered.

“We are proud to be a part of this enormous project at Texas A&M University,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf. “Recreational and club sports are so important and these fields will allow Texas A&M to provide the very best surfaces available, while ensuring the growth of their programs over the years to come.”

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.

RECORD-SETTING RAINFALL DOESN’T AFFECT TEAMS PLAYING ON ASTROTURF®

(CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee) - On Monday, September 5th, remnants of Tropical Storm Lee created a deluge that set all-time, one-day rainfall records throughout Chattanooga, Tennessee and Northwest Georgia.

Over 10 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period, surpassing the record of 7.61 inches, set in 1886.

The rain closed schools and businesses, while creating flooding throughout the area. The rain, however, did nothing to diminish the playability of AstroTurf fields serving area sports teams.

“We practiced on the AstroTurf on Monday,” said Mark Mariakis, head coach of Ridgeland High School in Rossville, Georgia. “We have a game to prepare for. It was business as usual for us.”

Playability and availability, as it relates to weather, have always been key selling points for any synthetic turf system. Many companies make claims about drainage rates, but few ever have the opportunity to showcase field performance in an extreme weather situation like Monday’s.

Ridgeland has an AstroTurf GameDay Grass™ 3D60H system. McCallie and Gordon Lee have the AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D60 Extreme system.

All AstroTurf GameDay Grass fields have extensive drainage systems in the base work and the turf features 5/16-inch perforations on four-inch centers throughout the field. These systems are designed to drain over 30 inches per hour.

The McCallie School in Chattanooga did not practice on the field Monday because school was out, but Coach Bubba Simmons kept tabs on how the field was doing.

“It drained just like it was supposed to,” he said. “On Tuesday, we practiced and had two games on the field.”

It was much the same for Kevin McElhaney, head coach at Gordon Lee High School in nearby Chickamauga, Georgia.

“We practiced inside because the rain was coming down so hard,” he said. “But the field was ready and available. We were right back out there on Tuesday with no problems at all.”

Synthetic turf fields offer over four times the availability of natural grass fields for play and practice. Natural grass fields, when besieged by this type of weather, can be muddy and can have areas of standing water. Most schools, in this situation, will limit practice and play for safety reasons and aesthetic reasons.

“I can say that if this happened two years ago when we were still playing on grass, we probably wouldn’t have been able to even host home games for several weeks,” said Mariakis.

Kansas Jayhawks head baseball coach Ritch Price faced a similar situation before installing an AstroTurf playing field.

Kansas suffers through extreme weather in winter and early spring. Just the residual effects of weather can keep the team off the field. In a conference with powerhouses such as Texas and Oklahoma, which don’t typically undergo the same effects of bad weather, decreased practice time can have a major affect on a team’s performance.

In their last season playing on natural grass, Kansas missed 19 practice days because of weather effects on the field. Since converting to AstroTurf, Kansas hasn’t had to deal with the effects of weather as they did in the past.

It’s made a difference in the Chattanooga area, too.

“The only problem we faced in the rain was the ball being wet,” said Simmons, of McCallie’s experience with the downpour. “I told our kids that they are very lucky and should be thankful that they attend a school where support for the program allows them to be able to play on a surface like AstroTurf.”

McElhaney echoed those sentiments.

“Having this AstroTurf field is going to lead to better practice, better game performance, and increased support for our program,” he said.

Yet, while it was nice not having to miss practice and playing time, all three coaches agreed that they’d rather not see another 10-inch torrential downpour this season.

This Friday, Ridgeland faces Cedartown, McCallie plays Tyner, and Gordon Lee has an off week.

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.

MADISON SOUTHERN TEAMS WITH ASTROTURF® TO BEGIN NEW TRADITION

(BEREA, Kentucky) - At some point, every team goes through a rebuilding year. It’s rare, though, to see a team have to rebuild an entire program.

Madison Southern High School in Berea, Kentucky is starting at square one and the poster for Friday night’s scrimmage and dedication ceremony says it all.

“New coach. New field. New helmet. New uniforms. New attitude. New beginning.”

“This program looked just like our field did before,” said new head coach Jon Clark. “It was tattered and torn.”

At the end of last season, the football team had 25 kids. In four seasons, the team had won 3 games. The school board decided to make a number of improvements, including hiring a new coach. The team now has around 80 players.

“We’ve changed it from the ground up,” said Clark.

The change at the ground level came with the addition of the recently completed AstroTurf® field.

“This has been a great project,” said AstroTurf President Bryan Peeples. “It’s always exciting to watch the transformation of a new AstroTurf field and it’s exciting to watch the transformation in this program and the newfound pride that goes along with it.”

Principal David Gilliam said the school chose AstroTurf because of aesthetic appeal, ease of maintenance, and increased field availability. Gilliam said the addition of the AstroTurf has gone beyond their original goals.

“This is the whole package,” he said. “The whole town is buzzing. People have been driving by to watch and to stop and take pictures. Everywhere I go people ask me about the AstroTurf.”

“This is a town of 14,000 people,” said Clark. “So, it’s a big deal.”

Gilliam says the students are excited, the players are excited, and the band is as excited as anyone. They will now be able to practice on the field and host competitions. It’s a win-win for everyone.

The new winning attitude began earlier this year. Clark arrived in February and brought an all new coaching staff. He started with about 30 kids and implemented a 6:30 a.m. workout program. Clark has also implemented a program emphasizing character development and leadership. He has started a study hall and players know that if they don’t make the grades they don’t practice or play.

Students have responded to Clark’s leadership and the team wound up with so many players that the school had to buy new equipment.

Under Armour sponsored the team’s new uniforms and they got new helmets, as well. Through dedicated boosters, they have raised money to help improve the facilities, with the most visible symbol of the changes taking place being the new AstroTurf field.

AstroTurf is no stranger to making big changes.

The company invented the synthetic turf industry in 1965 and installed the first field in the Houston Astrodome in 1966. The company continues to change the synthetic turf industry and the world of sports by developing the most technologically advanced playing surfaces in the world. AstroTurf offers fields that play more like natural grass than any other surface and are safe for athletes.

AstroTurf has invested millions of dollars into research programs to create safer and better performing fields. They funded the Center for Athletic Field Safety at the University of Tennessee, which opened in July.

Recent installations of AstroTurf surfaces include practice fields at the University of Tennessee, Auburn University, and the University of Georgia. Kansas State University will play its football games on AstroTurf this fall.

AstroTurf is the Official Synthetic Turf of Major League Baseball and is in use by the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays. Collegiately, recent AstroTurf installations for baseball include Ohio State University, Duke University, Wake Forest University, the University of Kansas, and Kansas State University.

Madison Southern is among the newest AstroTurf installations and hopes to establish a tradition of excellence on the new field. The past is in the rearview mirror.

“It’s a new start,” said Clark. We’re 0-0 on this field.”

The new playing field will see its first action on Friday night as the Eagles participate in a preseason scrimmage. The field will be dedicated in a celebration that will involve thousands of people and will include the U.S. Army parachuting the game ball in the stadium from 10,000 feet.

The first regular season game will be at home versus Bourbon County on August 26th.

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.

CARDINAL GIBBONS HIGH SCHOOL ASTROTURF® SET TO DEBUT

(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.

PETE’S POOL FIELD AT ENUMCLAW NEARING COMPLETION OF ASTROTURF® UPGRADE

(ENUMCLAW, Washington) - When a team is forced to play its homecoming game as a road game, you can almost bet there is a problem with the field.

That’s a pretty safe bet if you’re Enumclaw High School and the field is Pete’s Pool at the Enumclaw Expo Center.

The solution is nearing completion and it is coming in the form of an AstroTurf® field. The project has been guided by Erik Sweet of SLA Landscape Architecture in Renton.

For many Enumclaw residents, the upgrade is long overdue and will allow area athletes to play on a first-class field. Until now, the field was in no better condition than the dormant landfill which once occupied the land the field was built on.

Pete’s Pool was named after Pete Chorak, who owned a tavern/motel near the site of the field. The field was constructed by Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Works Progress Administration and Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.

The main use of the field was for the games of the Enumclaw Silver Barons, a semi-pro team made up of area loggers and farmers.

In the early 1990s, while the facility was still owned by King County, Rick Bathum and Sheldon Thiel formed the YEAS (Your Enumclaw Area Stadium) Improvement committee to push for needed improvements.

After the improvements were made, the group was dissolved, but was reformed in 2009, because of the condition of the field and other needed facility repairs and upgrades.

Since that time, the usage of the stadium has skyrocketed. Prior to the reformation of the YEAS group, the field hosted about five games per week. Then the field began seeing usage from Green River Community College for games and practice, as well as from area youth sports organizations. The total number of games jumped to nearly 50 games per week, not counting the hours of practice that occurred on a daily basis.

All the play, combined with the wet weather of the Pacific Northwest, the poor drainage of the field, and the high crown of the field, created a perfect storm of sorts.

In 2010, Enumclaw High School played its final two home games in Orting, in Pierce County. Over 90 years, the team had never played a home game outside of Enumclaw, and in one season they missed two, including homecoming.

“Enumclaw is a very proud and independent community,” said Rick Bathum, one of the co-founders of YEAS. “To this community, it affords a belated sense of progress. It presents an opportunity for all existing athletic programs to have a reliable place to compete.”

According the Bathum, this move will allow all games played there to be decided on the field and not by the field.

This means Enumclaw will no longer be the only high school in King County that does not play its games on a synthetic turf field.

In fact, King County holds a special place in the history of synthetic turf. AstroTurf was installed in the Astrodome in Houston in 1966, giving birth to artificial playing surfaces. In 1967, Seattle’s Memorial Stadium became the third installation and the first field used by high school teams. That field was removable and lay over an asphalt base. Following football season each year, the AstroTurf was removed and the asphalt was used for parking.

The new Enumclaw field will be AstroTurf MT 42H, featuring 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.

“We’re excited about the new field at Enumclaw,” said AstroTurf President Bryan Peeples. “This is going to be a great source of pride for the community and a tremendous boost to athletic programs at all age levels.”

Support for the new field has been widespread, thanks to the efforts of YEAS. Individual donations have ranged from $5-$10,000. The Muckleshoot Indian Tribe donated $15,000 and Mutual of Enumclaw donated $50,000.

The organization has also raised significant grant money, including $200,000 from the NFL and the Seattle Seahawks, as well as a $300,000 from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.

Installation will be complete in time for football season and the first game will be the Enumclaw Hornets vs. the Yelm Tornadoes.


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.

ASTROTURF ASSURES CLIENTS ON-TIME DELIVERY

(DALTON, Georgia) - Not only is AstroTurf® the leading innovator for sports turf systems, it is also best positioned to supply customers with guaranteed on-time delivery of AstroTurf® fields, even with its wide array of turf fiber colors, textures and shapes. This is especially important during the summer's busy installation period.

Through in-house extrusion, knitting, tufting, logo-cutting, urethane coating, and by working closely with well-established, dependable suppliers, AstroTurf® is fully capable of meeting deadlines without having to resort to component substitutions or incompatible fiber mixtures. According to AstroTurf®, fiber shortages, even in white and light green, are simply not part of its business model.

"We have the resources, skills, and experience to meet almost any supply challenge," said AstroTurf® President, Bryan Peeples. "In fact, we are so well-prepared that we can easily pick up the slack of others--to step in right now if competitors fall short-- and get projects done on time."

In terms of faster installation, one of AstroTurf®’s key advantages is its ability to prefabricate entire fields; that is, to inlay in the factory, most game lines, numerals, arrows, hash marks and end zone letters.

"This patented prefabrication process enables us to speed up installations significantly, sometimes by weeks, while improving finished quality," continued Peeples.

While other companies are dependent on components shipped from abroad, especially fiber, AstroTurf® is American-owned and American-managed, with most, if not all, components made in the USA.

"We haven't had to inform our sales reps that we can't provide certain fiber styles or colors that have been promised to their customers," said Peeples. "We plan better than that."

AstroTurf® makes most of its fibers and backings in its Georgia production facility and sometimes buys from an industry supplier within 100 miles. This allows AstroTurf® to easily provide things like multiple colors for lines, letters and logos; light and dark green for alternating turf panels (to simulate mown fields; and even tweeds (multiple colors in the same tufting needle).

But the last thing AstroTurf® wants to do is improperly mix fibers. This is a major turf sin, at least to Peeples. "Some companies think it's okay to make colored lines and other markings out of one kind of fiber, while praising the characteristics of and using a different fiber for the green turf,” he said. “We don't."

Fibers that wear at different rates can spell disaster. "Frankly," said Peeples, "if the green fiber is a different shape, and made with a different resin, it will resist wear and sunlight differently from the white, yellow, red or other fiber. Anyone who has had a turf field with 'disappearing white lines' knows exactly what I am talking about."

At AstroTurf®, quality and performance are more important than marketing hype. And so is proper planning and execution.

"We know that clients want a positive experience buying and building their turf field," concluded Peeples. "And getting what they actually paid for is certainly a key part of that experience."

About AstroTurf®
For many athletes and sport enthusiasts, the AstroTurf® brand has redefined the way the game is played. AstroTurf® offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport, and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies, leveraging a vertically integrated manufacturing system. A growing number of high schools, colleges, professional sports teams and municipalities select AstroTurf®-branded products for their premium quality, technical superiority, and safety. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com. You can also check out AstroTurf® on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/AstroTurf/124352067595110.

The University of Tennessee and AstroTurf Open Center for Athletic Field Safety

(KNOXVILLE, Tenn.) – From the little leagues to the big leagues, injury prevention and performance are key issues in today’s sports world. Turfgrass scientists at the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture and AstroTurf® have partnered on a research program to address these problems.

The University of Tennessee and AstroTurf® dedicated the Center for Athletic Field Safety (CAFS) this week. The center is a one-of-a-kind facility dedicated to researching the performance and safety of natural and synthetic turf surfaces used on athletic fields. It represents the single largest athletic field research effort ever undertaken. Ceremonies were held at the research site located at the UT Institute of Agriculture’s East Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“Great universities and public/private partnerships provide ideal solutions that make a difference in people’s lives; in this case, the lives of athletes,” Dr. Joe DiPietro, President of the University of Tennessee told a capacity crowd as they overlooked 60 to-scale miniature athletic fields. “We wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the Peeples family and AstroTurf®,” he said.

“This is a very important day for me and my family,” Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf®, said. “Involvement in the center gets to the core of what we are all about. Like UT, we are in the solutions business for the textile and synthetic turf industries. As soon as we can get these research findings out, AstroTurf® and others on the open market can use this information to make safer fields for athletes.”

University of Tennessee Head Football Coach Derek Dooley was on hand and echoed Peeples’ sentiments.

"I think it's a real tribute to what our university's all about," Dooley said. "It's finding solutions, taking your intellectual capacity, using the university to find solutions for America, and that's what we're doing."

“Our goal is to make fields safer at all levels of play. This center is a canvas for collaboration, affecting not only turfgrass study but areas of study such as biomechanics and human kinetics on a national level,” said Dr. John Sorochan, Co-Investigator and Associate Professor of Plant Science.

The two-acre Center for Athletic Field Safety aims to make a long-term difference. While determining the safety and performance of synthetic turf products compared to various natural turfgrass systems, UT turfgrass scientists will also monitor these relationships over time. Additionally, they will evaluate the

environmental impacts of each system. The research should lead to the development of new, more accurate methods for testing the safety and performance of all synthetic turf systems.

“Injuries are a huge concern in all athletics. The CDC has shown in studies that $49 billion is spent every year in medical and legal expenses due to injuries affecting children under 14,” said Dr. Jim Brosnan, Co-Investigator and Assistant Professor of Plant Science.

“Studies have shown that 25 percent of injuries that occur in athletics are potentially related to the conditions of the playing surface, while others have shown 50 percent of all sports injuries are preventable. We need to learn more about how athletes interact with playing surfaces.”

Natural surfaces are planted with Bermuda grass, Kentucky bluegrass and others. Both mechanical and human studies will be performed to create “real play” conditions. The research will be scientifically based for statistical analysis. In addition, the geographic location of the site will enable scientists to conduct research on a variety of surfaces from both cool- and warm-season climates. The unique outdoor research facility comprises 60 small-scale athletic research fields constructed from a variety of playing surfaces. UT turfgrass scientists will compare the safety and performance of synthetic playing surfaces to natural grass surfaces. Field qualities will range from those employed for professional–level sports to surfaces used by schools, public parks and recreation fields.

The UT Center for Athletic Field Safety will also further education for University of Tennessee students, enabling UT Plant Sciences faculty to add another level to the curriculum to train and educate future sports turf practitioners.

It was clear that this center will have a much anticipated impact. The event was attended by dignitaries such as Coach Dooley, Washington Nationals Vice President Bob Boone, and NFL Players Association Assistant Executive Director Clark Gaines, among others.

The importance of this research was underscored by concluding remarks from NFL player Eric Berry.

“As a football player, I trust the fields that I play on to respond to my movement, stops and changes of direction. As I’ve learned first-hand, an unsafe field can quickly result in loss of performance or injury. When I partnered with AstroTurf® in the summer of 2010, I learned about what makes a safe surface from the soil up. Whether natural turf or artificial, researching safer playing surfaces is something I believe in whole-heartedly. With the support of the University of Tennessee and AstroTurf®, I can’t wait to see how students and faculty are able to advance the safety of athletic surfaces. Congratulations on dedicating this one of a kind facility,” said Berry.



About The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture provides instruction, research and public service through the UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources; the UT College of Veterinary Medicine; UT AgResearch, including its system of 10 research and education centers; and UT Extension with offices in all 95 Tennessee counties. The Tennessee Turfgrass team members have developed turfgrass management programs for sports field managers and have served as consultants to the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the PGA of America and professional soccer teams. They advise and consult internationally with sports field managers for cricket, soccer, football, golf, baseball and Olympic venues. For more information on UT’s turfgrass program, visit http://www.turf.tennessee.edu/ or http://www.tennesseeturfgrassweeds.org/

About AstroTurf®
For many athletes and sport enthusiasts, the iconic 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 a truly 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; and AstroFlect™ technology which significantly reduces turf surface temperatures. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com


Go here and "like" the AstroTurf Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/AstroTurf/124352067595110


If you would like additional photographs, please email Connie Geddings at geddin00@utk.edu

THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY BASEBALL TEAM SELECTS ASTROTURF

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - “THE” Ohio State University has decided to play its baseball games on “THE” premiere surface in all of sports.

The Buckeyes will be playing on an all new AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ 3D52 Extreme surface beginning in 2012.

Head Coach Greg Beals, in announcing the decision, said the two primary reasons were to be able to practice and play more often in more types of weather. Other factors influencing the decision were the playability and consistency of the artificial surface.

Beals said the Big Ten school has no practice field, so the game field at Bill Davis Stadium also served as the practice field.

“The new AstroTurf® field will allow us to get that much-needed practice time and be able to play in virtually any condition.”

Beals, who became the Buckeyes head coach last June, said he became an expert on artificial surfaces during the process. OSU facilities staff assisted in the process, but ultimately, Beals made the decision.

The coach and staff visited several fields made by different companies, but selected AstroTurf® after visiting the baseball field at Duke University and the infield practice surface at the Port Charlotte, Florida facility which serves as the Spring Training base for the Tampa Bay Rays.

“I noticed that when I talked to coaches who played on AstroTurf®, they talked about why they liked the brand. Coaches who had other types of fields liked those fields, but just talked about the field and not the company,” said Beals. “Rich Jordan and Matthew Boggs from AstroTurf® listened first and that was the key. They didn’t try to sell us a standard field. They built a field around our specific needs.”

The new surface will feature an all-new fiber combination called Extreme. The field will combine a monofilament Horseshoe fiber with a slit film product. The Horseshoe fiber has an Omega-shape, which is more resilient and bounces back, staying upright longer. It also reflects less light and heat. The slit film offers the ultimate in durability. The field features 52 ounces of fiber per square yard.

The field will also have a nylon RootZone™, a thatch layer which holds the sand and rubber infill in place for less splash and migration, making for a more consistent playing surface.

“The look and feel of grass, the encapsulation of the infill, and the speed and play provided by the fiber weight made this the best product for us,” said Beals.

The decision by the Buckeyes is part of a growing trend toward synthetic turf in baseball. OSU joins Duke, Wake Forest, Wichita State, and others with AstroTurf® fields. AstroTurf® is the Official Synthetic Turf of Major League Baseball and is used by the Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Buckeyes were able to get the field, thanks in part to a generous donation from New York Yankees star Nick Swisher, a former Buckeye. While there, Swisher was the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2000, won two Big Ten Championships, and was a two-time All Big Ten selection. He was the number one draft pick of the Oakland As. Swisher has been an All-Star and won a World Series in 2009 with the Yankees.

The new field will be called Nick Swisher Field.

“Nick is all about player development and guys getting on the field to make themselves better,” said Beals. “He is as excited as we are about the new AstroTurf® field.”

Swisher’s excitement, though, is surpassed by that of Beals. Beals, according to The Ohio State University athletic department, had a lifelong dream to coach at OSU, which bordered on passion.

He played four years at Kent State University and three years in the New York Mets farm system. He served as an assistant at Kent State for nine years and as head coach at Ball State for eight years, where he won 243 games, three Mid American Conference West Division titles, and one MAC tournament championship. Appointed to his current post in June 2010, he is described as a tireless recruiter and coach, focusing on player development.

“This field will help bring us the best players and will help us develop into the best team we can be,” said Beals. “We have big goals here and this is a major step in our reaching those goals.”

Other benefits of the field are environmental in nature. The field will save as much as 500,000-1,000,000 gallons of water each year and will eliminate maintenance costs and harmful effects of fertilizers, pesticides, and emissions.

Also, Universal Textile Technologies, which supplies the backing on AstroTurf® systems, has replaced much of the petroleum-based backing with backing utilizing polyols from soybeans, a rapidly renewable resource.

Construction on the new Nick Swisher Field will begin ¬¬¬in August.

Meanwhile, Beals is already preparing for the future by recruiting new players. Current players are preparing for next throughout the summer. Fourteen players from Ohio State are playing in collegiate wood bat leagues this summer.

“The level of commitment by Coach Beals and the folks at The Ohio State University is amazing,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf®. “They have a commitment to being the best and we are committed to providing them with the best playing field available.”


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.

ASTROTURF A BIG HIT LOCALLY

By Lindsey Young / Chattanooga Times Free Press


The AstroTurf® field at Ridgeland High School turns a year old in a few weeks, and though no party will be held on its behalf, head football coach Mark Mariakis would buy it a present and take it to dinner if he could.

Mariakis’ wife, Debbie, who coaches only from the stands, would chip in as well.

For the first time in recent memory, the Mariakis' took off for vacation last week without having to make arrangements for someone to take over field maintenance duties. Make that fields. With the nearly maintenance-free (AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ 3D) field in place, Mark Mariakis no longer has to spend several hours each week taking care of the main field AND practice field.

That's just one of the many reasons the veteran coach has no regrets in pushing for the installation of the synthetic field, the top of the line product from Dalton-based AstroTurf® that has become a selling point for the company. When a college, or country, inquires about purchasing a field, a trip to Rossville often follows.

“They said they would make it a showcase field and they did,” Mariakis said. “We had folks in from Boston College recently and within the past two months we've had people fly in from Europe, Australia and Sweden. I knew the field would be a major improvement, but I it's been better than we could ever expect.”

Walker County neighbor Gordon Lee will have an AstroTurf®-installed field ready for the 2011 season, joining Ridgeland, Calhoun, Baylor and McCallie as Chattanooga-area high schools with synthetic fields. To a person, those who have the fields find it difficult to find anything negative to say about them.

“When people hear you're going to spend half-a-million dollars on a field, especially in this economy, it draws some concern,” Calhoun coach and athletic director Hal Lamb said. “But it has been more than worth it with us. Our field had terrible drainage problems and it was often unusable after it rained. We don't have to worry about that any longer and we don't have to have a practice field.”

Two other factors play into the fields' feasibility: schools actually save thousands of dollars each season on field maintenance and the fields can be used much more often than grass fields.

“For what it does for this school and community, it's irreplaceable,” said Mariakis, whose field, like Calhoun's, was a drainage nightmare. “Not only does it give us a great surface to play on, we also have a lined practice field that makes our practices so much cleaner and sharper.

“Also, it's getting used. We can play junior varsity and middle school games on it. The band practices on it and our soccer teams finally had some home games and nearly every Saturday our recreational program uses it. Those are priceless moments for kids to get to play on that field and you can see it in their eyes.”

Mariakis says the school system was spending several thousands of dollars each year to water, fertilize, mow, edge and line. “All that for a field used at most 10 times a year,” he said.

Baylor had its turf installed before the 2009 season and head coach Phil Massey, like Mariakis and Lamb, did so out of necessity. Massey also acknowledges that there is no gauging how much the peace of mind knowing the field will always be playable is worth.

“With playing lacrosse and middle school football there, it had gotten too tough trying to maintain the grass,” he said. “It's been a great investment for us and the kids seem to like it. It's pretty soft. You can still get a little bit of a carpet burn, but its nothing like the old [artificial] surfaces from the 1980s and early 1990s. Its a good cushion for the legs, you don't get the pounding and injuries. We do all our agility work on the field.”

AstroTurf®'s Todd Britton, who is also a veteran football official in northwest Georgia, estimates a typical grass field costs anywhere from $50,000 to $60,000 annually to maintain, making the decision to install the synthetic fields easier for even cash-strapped communities.

“When you consider a field takes between a half-million and a million gallons of water each year to go along with fertilizer and pesticides and gas for mowing, it all adds up,” said Britton, who recently returned from Tampa, where AstroTurf® installed the new Rays' field. “In the long run, even when you have to replace the field one time [in approximately 10 years at an estimated one-fifth of the original cost], they pay for themselves.”

There are even fields that make money right away. Rome's Barron Stadium is the annual host of the NAIA Football Championship, but because of its poor playing surface the NAIA was seeking alternative sites for the game, something that would have cost the Rome area a good deal of money.

An AstroTurf® field was installed and the NAIA and Rome officials recently signed an extension to keep the game at Barron through 2015.

Football fields are still the most popular form of synthetic fields due to the heavier wear and tear of football and soccer, but Britton says baseball fields are quickly gaining, due in large part to the larger number of times each year a baseball field is used. McCallie had an AstroTurf® Extreme surface installed in its baseball infield last year.

“Baseball is huge right now,” Britton said. “We've done a number of college fields, including Duke, Wake Forest and Kansas, and we're doing Ohio State soon. We're the official turf of Major League Baseball. I expect more high schools to get [synthetic] baseball fields in the coming years.”

More will definitely go the synthetic route in football, likely beginning with Ringgold as it rebuilds its stadium after it was heavily damaged by April's tornado. And, as usual, Mark Mariakis will continue to sing his field's praises, especially when allowed to spend a carefree week away on vacation.

“Man, the hours you don't have to spend working on the field are priceless,” he beamed. “At this time of the year we would be cutting four times a week, applying fertilizer and always, always edging it. I don't miss it.”

The coach did, however, come up with a negative to having his one-year-old field.

“There is something I've thought about,” he smiled. “The younger kids coming up in our system probably won't understand how good they've got it.”

RICHMOND SPIDERS FIELD HOCKEY TEAM GETTING NEW ASTROTURF

(RICHMOND, Virginia) – Crenshaw Field at the University of Richmond is getting a facelift with a new AstroTurf® System 12 field.

While Crenshaw Field serves many of Richmond’s athletic teams for practice, the Spiders field hockey team plays its home games there. The team is gaining a reputation as one of the premier teams in the country and will benefit from the new field surface.

“In our economic times, putting in a top water-based turf product might seem out of reach for many athletic budgets,” said Richmond Head Coach Gina Lucido. “AstroTurf® was able to come to the table and meet all of my needs to install an elite playing surface. I am thrilled the Richmond field hockey program will benefit from the installation of AstroTurf® in Fall 2011, and many years to come. I look forward to the collaboration between AstroTurf® and my staff and their commitment to lasting excellence.”

Lucido will be entering her fifth year at the helm of the Richmond field hockey program. While at Richmond, she has built a successful program which will be a contender in NCAA field hockey in years to come.

In her second year as head coach, Lucido advanced to the Atlantic 10 title game. In 2009, the Spiders won the Atlantic 10 regular season championship and the Atlantic 10 tournament championship. The Spiders advanced to the NCAA tournament and finished with a national ranking of 19th.

Lucido was a standout player at Ball State University, where she was also an Academic All-American. In February 2006, Lucido was inducted into the Ball State University Hall of Fame.

She began her coaching career at Bucknell University, aiding both field hockey and lacrosse programs. Lucido then spent time at Susquehanna University coaching field hockey and lacrosse before joining the start-up program at Indiana University. During her six-year career as an assistant field hockey coach at Indiana, Lucido helped guide the Hoosiers to an NCAA Final 8 appearance in 2005.

The new field will be an AstroTurf® 12 synthetic turf system. The field will be engineered with a premium knitted nylon system designed to provide uniform traction and consistent footing. It will improve playability when it is wet and absorbs water to maintain wet conditions longer.

AstroTurf® 12 systems were first used in an international field hockey event in 1975 in Montreal. The same field hosted the Olympics in 1976. Since then, they have become the preferred surface for field hockey events around the globe.

AstroTurf® surfaces were also used in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and 2008 Olympics in Beijing. The AstroTurf® 12 system has also seen play in the Pan Am games, World Cup and numerous other field hockey events. The U.S. National team trains on AstroTurf® in Chula Vista, California, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Also, a new AstroTurf® 12 system is used by the University of Maryland, 2011 NCAA Division I Champions. To date, all NCAA Division I National Championships have been played on AstroTurf® fields. The 2011 event will be held at the University of Louisville, on a new AstroTurf® 12 surface just like the ones the Spiders will be playing on.

“Gina is an outstanding coach and the program is gaining momentum,” said Pam Hixon, hall of fame field hockey coach and Field Hockey Ambassador for AstroTurf®. “With momentum come increased expectations. Having a championship AstroTurf® field will help the Spiders exceed those expectations under Coach Lucido.”

The Spiders will begin their 2011 campaign at home against James Madison University, on September 17th.

About AstroTurf®
For many athletes and sport enthusiasts, the AstroTurf® brand has redefined the way the game is played. AstroTurf® offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport, and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies, leveraging a vertically integrated manufacturing system. A growing number of high schools, colleges, professional sports teams and municipalities select AstroTurf®-branded products for their premium quality, technical superiority, and safety. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com. You can also check out AstroTurf® on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/AstroTurf/124352067595110.

COMPETITIVE EDGE SPORTS (CES) DOES IT ON ASTROTURF

Competitive Edge Sports (CES) in Atlanta trains more prospective and current NFL players than any other private facility in the country. A lot of the training takes place on an indoor AstroTurf® field.

The company is getting ready to open a facility in Houston and they are trying to make a big splash this summer.

They have already been doing physicals at Reliant Stadium and will be hosting 7-on-7 passing camps and performance camps this summer. To promote their new facility, they are showcasing some of the things they do on AstroTurf®. The best part is they are doing it on a piece of turf with our logo.

Here is a photo that was taken this past weekend of the floor setup at a Reliant Stadium event.

CARL SMITH STADIUM AT UVA-WISE GETTING NEW ASTROTURF FIELD

(WISE, Virginia) - Despite the rain and unseasonably cool temperatures just a couple of days ago, it would be just about impossible to wipe the smile from Danny Sterling’s face.

Sterling, the athletic director at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise, is happy because the process is underway to install an all new AstroTurf® field at Carl Smith Stadium.

The Highland Cavaliers have played their last 12 seasons on an AstroTurf® System 12 field, and while the field was still in great shape, the school wanted to bring a new championship-caliber surface to the
stadium. The new field will be AstroTurf® GameDay™ Grass 3D52H.

“To say that excitement is the word would be an understatement,” said Sterling. “We can’t wait for the new field. The quality of this product won us over. We looked at other AstroTurf® installations at places like Old Dominion and Wake Forest and there was no question. We also have a long history and relationship with AstroTurf®, so that made the decision an easy one.”

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. This adds to the durability provided by the fiber shape. Further enhancing the durability and safety of the field is the proprietary RootZone®, a dense sub-layer of texturized fibers which act as an infill stabilizer system to prevent migration and splash of the rubber granule infill.

In extensive testing, the Horseshoe® fiber performs most like natural grass from ball roll and 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, Wake Forest, Duke; and numerous high school football fields around the country.

“We are excited about the partnership with UVA-Wise,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf®. “Installing a championship-caliber field is a testimony to the commitment to the program. It’s also a game-changer when it comes to the pride young athletes, and the community at-large, take in the school.”

According to Sterling, the field will have a huge impact on the current student-athletes at the school, as well as influencing the decisions of potential Highland Cavaliers in the future.

The field at UVA-Wise will also allow the school to host, not only football games, but provide help in weather-related practice situations for the baseball and softball teams, and special events such as intramural championship games and other campus events.

Additionally, the field will play a large role in the community and will host little league games, as well as high school games, band camps, and summer camps.

Another impact the field will have is to make the Highland Cavaliers the envy of the Mid-South Conference, where the football team competes in the NAIA.

One Mid-South Conference school, Shorter University, started playing its home games last season on a new AstroTurf® field at Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia. That stadium also happens to be the host stadium for the NAIA National Championship game. So, while the Highland Cavaliers are looking forward to playing their home games this year on their own AstroTurf®, it’s probably a safe bet to say they would like to be in a position to play on the AstroTurf® in Rome, Georgia in December.

The team will get its chance for a march on Georgia when they kick off the 2011 season at home on their new AstroTurf® on September 3rd against Webber International.

About AstroTurf®
For many athletes and sport enthusiasts, the AstroTurf® brand has redefined the way the game is played. AstroTurf® offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport, and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies, leveraging a vertically integrated manufacturing system. A growing number of high schools, colleges, professional sports teams and municipalities select AstroTurf®-branded products for their premium quality, technical superiority, and safety. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com. You can also check out AstroTurf® on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/AstroTurf/124352067595110.

TEXAS A&M DEPARTMENT OF RECREATIONAL SPORTS ADDS ASTROTURF® FIELDS

(COLLEGE STATION, Texas) - Texas A&M University has enlisted the help of AstroTurf® to create more playing opportunities for the approximately 15,000 students who participate in intramural sports and sport clubs at the College Station school.

The Penberthy Rec Sports Complex is a 48-acre facility which plays host to the outdoor intramural and sport clubs programs for Aggie students. The complex was named for W.L. Penberthy, the father of intramural sports at Texas A&M.

Over 463,500 square feet of that facility is being converted to AstroTurf®. Construction is underway and all fields are scheduled for completion by August.

“We knew we needed to make a change to synthetic turf,” said Rick Hall, Senior Associate Director of Rec Sports. “We talked with several turf companies and educated ourselves throughout the process. AstroTurf® is the one that impressed us. We feel like we’re getting the best turf system at a very affordable price.”

Hall, along with other representatives from Texas A&M, visited Brenham High School’s Cub Stadium field and the eight AstroTurf® fields at West Texas A&M University during the process, and came away knowing that AstroTurf® was the right decision.

The fields will be constructed of AstroTurf® GameDay Grass™ Extreme. The new surface contains the all new Horseshoe™ fiber. Horseshoe™, is an Omega-shaped fiber which has better mechanical memory and remains upright longer, has a more grass-like ball roll, and offers the best aesthetics of any field. It is combined with the AstroTurf® XP fiber. XP is a slit-film product which offers better infill encapsulation, best resistance to wear, and great pile density. The product also features texturized RootZone®. RootZone® is a fiber which acts as a thatch layer, creating minimal rubber splash, uniform energy return, and better shock absorbency, while encapsulating the infill and reducing migration.

Burnside Services is handling all base and drainage work on the project, as well as all driveways and parking lots. Burnside is operated by Tommy, Dayle, and Jake Burnside, all of whom attended Texas A&M.

“This is, by far, the largest athletic field project we have worked on,” said Tommy Burnside. “This is about 11 acres of turf and we will be moving 50,000 yards of dirt.”

Two of the fields will be 150 yards X 100 yards and will primarily host intramural sports events such as flag football and soccer. Each field can accommodate two flag football fields or modified soccer fields. Each field will also be able to be converted to full-size fields for soccer, lacrosse, and ultimate.

“We have one of the largest intramural sports and sport clubs programs in the country,” said Hall. “Athletes use those fields from 6:00 p.m. until midnight, five days a week and we were wearing out our fields by the sheer volume of play.”

The weather didn’t help either. According to Hall, from September to the end of January in 2008, they had 7 inches of rain and 20 lost rain days. In the same period, from September 2009 until January 2010, they had nearly 20 inches of rain with 44 lost rain days. They needed an alternative.

“With AstroTurf® we are getting surfaces which are not affected by the weather,” said Hall. “Also, it allows us to implement some field rotation to help keep our natural grass fields in great shape. Rotation was a luxury we didn’t have before.”

Intramural sports, first brought to college campuses in 1913, continue to grow in both popularity and importance. According to the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA), 75% of students who attend school offering recreational sports programs and facilities, participate in or use them. That numbers equals approximately 5.3 million students.

A 2006 study published in Recreational Sports Journal said 31% of students reported that an intramural sports program was an important factor in attending the college, and over 37% said those same programs were important in deciding to stay at the school. 83% of students said they participate in recreation sports on a weekly basis, and 93% said they would like to.

“We have a lot of prospective students and parents who look at our indoor and outdoor rec sports facilities,” said Hall. “I have no doubt it influences their decisions. It is a key factor in the development of life skills and wellness. It also has some effect on the recruiting of faculty and staff members.”

The other two fields will be 150 yards X 85 yards and will host the university’s sport club programs such as lacrosse, soccer, ultimate, and rugby.

Sport clubs are also an important part of the collegiate recreational landscape. Over 80 sports are offered for sport clubs at colleges across the country and nearly 11,000 sport clubs are registered and active at NIRSA member institutions.

While the Texas A&M project is a large one by most standards, it is just part of a growing trend toward recreational sports development. In 2008, NIRSA estimated nearly $4 billion in recreational sports facility construction between 2008-2013. Those project estimates were for 96 new construction projects, 62 expansion projects, and 62 renovation projects, with an average project price of about $21 million and covering about 90,000 square feet.

The growth in projects such as this will make Texas A&M a showcase facility for others looking at similar projects. Hall said they will be hosting regional workshops for other schools later in the year and anticipates spending a lot of time showing the new AstroTurf® fields and touting the positive benefits of having them. He is also expecting calls from other high schools and municipalities which are exploring the benefits of synthetic turf.

The fields at Penberthy will also have an added environmental and economic impact. In 2010, BASF did a study comparing AstroTurf® fields to natural grass fields. In 11 environmental categories, AstroTurf® had a lower environmental footprint than natural grass. Factors contributing to this include reduced maintenance and mowing, which cause a variety of emissions. Other factors include elimination of fertilizers and pesticides, as well as the need for water. AstroTurf® fields also use soy-based polyols in the backing of products, reducing their dependence on foreign oil.

From an economic standpoint, over 20 years, AstroTurf® fields are 15% less expensive than natural grass fields, even when the cost of turf replacement is considered.

“We are proud to be a part of this enormous project at Texas A&M University,” said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf®. “Recreational and club sports are so important and these fields will allow Texas A&M to provide the very best surfaces available, while ensuring the growth of their programs over the years to come.”

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.