AstroTurf Statement Regarding AP Story

An article published on Dec. 18 by the Dallas bureau of the Associated Press has again raised questions about the safety of synthetic turf. The story focuses on nylon turf fibers, and mirrors an identical scenario that played out in New Jersey over the spring and summer which prompted an inquiry by the U. S. Consumer Products Safety Commission. On July 31, the CPSC concluded that based on materials testing and forensic toxicology, synthetic turf – including the nylon variety in question – poses no risk to human health under any reasonable circumstance. Yesterday’s article did not mention the CPSC report. All AstroTurf system fibers, including nylon RootZone® fibers, have been tested and evaluated for safety and pose no risk to the health of children or adults.


Every day throughout the U.S., children and youth, as well as collegiate and professional athletes, play football, soccer, field hockey, lacrosse and other sports on artificial turf. Parents, coaches and kids alike deserve to be fully informed about the research and science behind the safety of the materials used in these fields to avoid causing undue alarm among the many families whose children use them with regularity.

Please watch the video from our press conference on this issue in New York earlier this year

Attached below are links to the:

• CPSC statement


• CPSC report


• Statement from the Synthetic Turf Council


• Contents of the AstroTurf press conference held in May, 2008

GSV/AstroTurf statement regarding California Proposition 65

AstroTurf has taken a leadership role on the issue of lead compliance and user safety in California, just as it has over the past several months after similar concerns were raised in New Jersey. The safety of the synthetic sports turf products produced by AstroTurf is the company's foremost concern. AstroTurf has demonstrated its industry leadership by proactively developing new products that are below the most stringent standards for lead in consumer products. The Ironbound Stadium field in Newark, where questions about the material composition of the turf originated, has been replaced by a new, lead compliant AstroTurf product. On July 30, the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission confirmed that AstroTurf products are safe for children, a position taken by AstroTurf and supported by overwhelming scientific evidence.

California has some of the strictest compliance standards in the U.S., and AstroTurf has worked hard to earn the confidence of the Attorney General's office and the California Center for Environmental Health. AstroTurf is committed to working with the Attorney General's office and the CEH on the issue of compliance. The lawsuit filed by the State is a procedural step toward resolving the issue. AstroTurf appreciates the acknowledgement of its good faith efforts by the CEH and looks forward to providing the citizens of California with safe, high quality synthetic sports fields for many years to come.

GSV and AstroTurf featured in INC Magazine

Jon Pritchett's Dream of Reviving AstroTurf Became a PR Nightmare
Should he go all out to save the brand?

By: Andrew Park
Published September 2008


In the fall of 2007, New Jersey state health officials made a troubling discovery: A playing field at a Newark park contained extremely high levels of lead. They assumed the contamination was coming from the abandoned scrap-metal yard next door. But the problem turned out to be deep in the fibers of the artificial turf covering the field. When the news broke the following spring, it set off a nationwide scare, and for tiny GeneralSports Venue, a public-relations nightmare.

The company, a five-year-old artificial-turf supplier with 42 employees, wasn't at fault. But the brand name it had just adopted was. GeneralSports had acquired an exclusive license on the name AstroTurf -- the same one used by the now-defunct company that had manufactured the Newark field almost a decade earlier -- and had spent millions of dollars to resurrect it. But now that familiar name was at the center of fears about the safety of playing fields, and GSV's big investment was suddenly at risk. "I'm a parent, and if you think about children, turf, and lead, it's pretty scary," says Jon Pritchett, the company's co-founder and CEO. "Not a whole lot more needs to be said."

Just how much more to say was, in fact, the critical question. On the one hand, it's rarely advisable for a company to keep quiet in a crisis. But no one was claiming that GSV was responsible for products made long ago by another company. So, anything it said risked drawing even more negative attention. Yet the AstroTurf name, which to many is synonymous with all brands of artificial turf, was being invoked in every story about the lead scare, often erroneously. Could GSV really stay silent while AstroTurf was trashed?

The granddaddy of fake grass was invented by Monsanto and was a household name from the moment it was rolled out in the Houston Astrodome, in 1966. The brilliant-green carpet became the surface of choice for America's new climate-controlled domed stadiums. But by the 1990s, AstroTurf started to fade. Athletes complained of injuries suffered on the abrasive, unforgiving nylon, and a softer polyethylene turf marketed by rival brand FieldTurf became the industry standard. AstroTurf changed hands twice, and in 2004, its owner filed for bankruptcy.

At the time, GSV was a bit player in the artificial-turf business. The company was formed when Pritchett, a sports marketing executive who worked in the University of South Carolina's athletic department while getting his M.B.A., hooked up with Michigan sports and entertainment entrepreneur Andy Appleby. With a business plan based on consolidating a fragmented but growing market, they raised $3 million from investors, including a New Jersey telecom executive named Michael Dennis.

But the company's brand struggled to gain traction against FieldTurf. In 2006, sensing that AstroTurf's worldwide name recognition could vault it into contention, GSV negotiated a license lasting 50 years with the brand's owner, Textile Management Associates, which continued to handle manufacturing.

Pritchett quickly set about bringing AstroTurf back, starting with an announcement in December 2006 at the ESPN Zone restaurant in New York City's Times Square. GSV rebranded its existing product line and hired a national sales force. An ad campaign emphasized the storied brand's place in sports history and its new, cushier, player-friendly surface. Pritchett even hired football great Archie Manning, father of NFL stars Peyton and Eli, to be AstroTurf's brand ambassador. By the end of 2007, sales were up 67 percent, to $25 million, and were projected to hit $40 million in 2008. With 10 percent of the market, up from less than 2 percent in 2006, AstroTurf now trailed only FieldTurf.

Then, during a March 12 staff conference call, Pritchett was notified about the lead discovery in Newark. GSV believed its current products were safe, but it couldn't vouch for AstroTurf installed by others years earlier. GSV began gathering information from industry experts as well as its own suppliers, trying to understand the depth of the problem.

But AstroTurf's troubles grew. On April 14, the New Jersey state health department announced it had tested 12 more artificial-turf fields for lead and found two with levels eight to 10 times what it considered safe. As in Newark, both were nylon fields, and both were AstroTurf. The state's top epidemiologists called for a federal investigation into the safety of artificial turf.

Media across the country picked up the story of New Jersey's toxic turf, with television footage showing workers wearing protective green suits as they tore up the field in Newark. Elsewhere, fields were padlocked, events were canceled, and school board hearings were held. "Our thinking was this could last long enough that it could do a lot of damage," says Pritchett.

GSV spent the next seven days in near-constant deliberations. At the table were Pritchett's management team and legal counsel, AstroTurf's manufacturer, and GSV's PR firm. Initially GSV had let the Synthetic Turf Council, the industry's trade association, respond publicly. But Pritchett knew that the council couldn't be expected to offer a vigorous defense of a single member's brand. For that, the company would have to step out on its own.

Yet doing so risked heightening the unwanted scrutiny on AstroTurf and making the brand an even bigger lightning rod. GSV wasn't responsible and could be forgiven for keeping quiet, it was pointed out. And though some GSV executives wanted to come out swinging, Michael Dennis argued for taking the high road. "We all took it personally," says sales and marketing manager Philip Primato. "We had put so much into building this brand back that we were not going to let something like this stop us."

The Decision Pritchett opted for going on the offensive. GSV spent the next 10 days planning a major press conference for May 5, at which four company-retained scientists would present their findings. The venue, the New York Public Library for Science, Industry and Business, was chosen to reinforce the scientists' message. The team worked hard to distill the data to a form the public could easily absorb. No one disputed the source of the lead: the pigment that gives artificial turf its green-grass color and that the industry has been trying to eliminate. But GSV's panel argued that, even in older turf, the lead compound was encapsulated before being extruded into the fibers. So it would be impossible for lead to leach from an AstroTurf-covered field. Even if those fibers were somehow ingested, the amount of lead they contained was much too small to be dangerous. A 100-pound child would have to eat 23 pounds of AstroTurf before it would pose a health hazard, they said.

The press conference attracted reporters from more than two dozen media outlets, including USA Today. That night, sitting with Pritchett on the patio of Dennis's home in Chester, New Jersey, Primato pulled up the newspaper's website on his laptop. The front page of the sports section featured a story about the press conference and a photo showing the 23 pounds of AstroTurf GSV had dumped in front of the podium for effect. For at least a moment, the company had seized control of the spotlight.

In the following days, press reports were less alarmist. Pritchett says he believes GSV's willingness to confront the issue head on defused the PR fallout. And when the final results from the state's tests on the three fields with high lead levels came out, in early June, the findings seemed to support GSV's position, showing an even smaller threat of lead exposure than GSV's estimates.

GSV was even chosen to replace the field in Newark that had started it all, after Dennis lobbied for the contract. "Our reputation was on the line," says Dennis, now the company's majority shareholder. "I was not going to let it be replaced with a competitive product." Still, the fight isn't over. In June, the Centers for Disease Control issued a health advisory, urging caution before letting children play on artificial turf. Earlier, the Consumer Product Safety Commission began a separate investigation.

Pritchett maintains that by taking the initiative in the lead scare, GSV positioned itself as more than just the caretaker of an aging brand. "It tested us," he says. "I wouldn't want to do it again, but I do think it helped us."

INC Magazine Website

Video from New York City Press Conference

Opening lead-free Newark ballfield

by Christopher Dela Cruz/The Star-Ledger

The rain poured down on the newly renovated Ironbound Athletic Field in Newark, but that didn't stop swarms of soaked kids from kicking soccer balls and throwing footballs. They had waited long enough.

Moments before the rain, an excited Cory Booker, mayor of Newark, addressed local sports clubs announcing the reopening of the complex in the Ironbound that was closed for rehabilitation after lead was discovered at the site a year ago.

"It may be raining in a few minutes, but the sun is shining in Newark, New Jersey," said Booker, to a crowd of about 100 roaring children athletes and rejuvenated parents. "This is truly a field of dreams."

The city celebrated the $2.2 million renovation Saturday, holding a parade from Peter Francisco Park outside Penn Station down Ferry Street to the field.

The new field has an additional soccer field, a baseball field, a new basketball court, concession stands and benches. Now, Little League players can also use the field, which has the requisite 90-foot base paths for the 13-and-older set.

The field also has a new synthetic turf with a drainage system that can be used even on rainy days like Saturday. Officials said the city plans to put up new batting cages, more concession stands and bathroom facilities.

Teams in the area will meet and discuss schedules for the fall, officials said.

The Ironbound Athletic Field, known as the "B" field, was shut by Newark officials in October after testing by the Environmental Protection Agency revealed lead in the field's dust. City officials later learned the lead came from the green synthetic turf installed 10 years ago.

"We've turned an obstacle into an opportunity," said Booker.

Abdul Ahmad, head coach of the local Pop Warner football team East Ward Stallions, said the reopened complex will provide a haven for city children.

"The gangs are taking over the streets," said Ahmad. "They don't have too many outlets. This definitely is a blessing."

Dora Fernandes, parent of an Ironbound Soccer Club Rebels player, said the renovations make the complex much safer for kids tackling and sliding in games.

"The turf itself is way better," said Fernandes. "It looks much nicer and cleaner."

And for many athletes like 10-year-old Ronaldo Lopez, a member of the Ironbound soccer team, the renovated facility provides a steady base for teams who have been jumping between various shoddy fields in the area.

"Now we have a new home," said Lopez. "I thought it looked awesome."

Ironbound on verge of scoring a revamped field for athletics

by Carmen Juri/The Star-Ledger

Standing on the Ironbound Athletic Field, Newark chief architect Robert Dooley said the discovery of lead at the site last fall was a blessing in disguise.

The detection led to a $2.2 million renovation at the St. Charles Avenue field that includes a new synthetic turf with a drainage system that can be used even on rainy days. That's just one perk.
The new field has an additional soccer field, a baseball field, play ground, a new basketball court, batting cages, restrooms, concessions stands and benches. Now, Little League players can also use the field, which has the requisite 90-foot base paths for the 13 and older set.

''The Ironbound will be doing pretty well," Dooley said.

The field officially reopens Saturday though construction is still ongoing on some areas, including the playground and concession stands. Local sports clubs will parade from Peter Francisco Park outside Penn Station down Ferry Street to the field, for the daylong reopening ceremonies that begin at 11 a.m.

The Ironbound Athletic Field, known as the B field, was shut by Newark officials in October after testing by the Environmental Protection Agency revealed lead in the field's dust. City officials later learned the lead came from the green synthetic turf that was in stalled 10 years ago.

The EPA was conducting a field investigation on the adjacent contaminated Tidewater Bailing property when lead in the field's dust and synthetic fibers were discovered. The field was later carefully removed, which included fencing in the area and keeping the dust down during the removal.

Dooley said the city has been meticulous in ensuring the safety of the new AstroTurf field by hiring two firms to test the field: Weston Solutions; and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute. The turf's lead content is 100 times lower than the standard acceptable amount, he said. The standard is 40 micrograms per square feet and the field's numbers are .01 to .5 micrograms, he said.

Workers took samples from the field during a four-week period after its June installation, Dooley said.

''It took us longer to do it, but we're very accountable the way we approached it," he said. "It's lower than a child's toy is allowed to be."

Dooley said the city has tried to brand all parks with the same style of fencing, gates, benches, trash receptacles, lighting and brick pillars, with only the colors altered to match the immediate neighborhood.

''There are common elements in all," said Dooley. "

Mayor Cory Booker said the field is a state-of-the-art recreational facility.

''This reopening is another step forward in our continuing efforts and historic plan to rebuild and transform the parks and recreation facilities in all of our neighborhoods throughout the city," Booker said.

In the Ironbound, where a large Brazilian and Portuguese population has made soccer the choice sport, the new field is a godsend. The Ironbound Soccer Club has 1,000 members, and some 300 kids play for the Den of Lions. Most teams double or triple up because of lack of practice space.
Joe Manso, coach for the Sport Club Portuguese soccer league said he is excited that there will be a site close to home for his adult division to practice. His teams have had to practice at out of the way locations like West Side Park.

''Ironbound (field) is walking distance from our club," Manso said. "Before, the field was very beat up, it's harder on the knees. They're putting in benches and bathrooms. I didn't have that for the last 15 years."

Unlike the case at county parks, where teams must pay about $1,600 a season for permits, city parks are free, he said.

''Now we'll have accessibility of scoreboards, bathrooms," said Mike Alban, president of the Ironbound Little League.

East Ward Councilman Augusto Amador said the anticipation in his neighborhood is palpable.

''When I met with all the clubs, you could sense the excitement in the room from all the directors," he said. "The community has a shortage of open space and areas of recreation. This will fill, to a certain ex tent, the needs of that community.

''We still need more facilities, but this helps a lot," he said.