Franklin County schools say it’s cheaper in the long run and allows for more use
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| Anthony Meyer of The Motz Group pulls turf into place at Thomas Worthington |
Original article can be found here.
Manicured, sweet-smelling grass might appear environmentally superior to the plastic blades and rubber pellets of artificial turf.
But schools are increasingly looking beyond nature’s field of dreams toward one that can endure rain-soaked football games and weeks of punishing heat and drought — all without water or fertilizer — while producing thousands of dollars in additional revenue.
Almost all school districts in Franklin County have at least one playing field made of artificial turf.
Thomas Worthington High School finished unrolling its first carpet of green last week. Bexley High School, the first central Ohio school to install the fake turf 10 years ago, will become the first to replace its field, by the end of October. And Westerville schools plan to complete installations at South and North high schools by the start of this football season.
The long-term benefits can outweigh the initial costs, school officials said. After Westerville Central High School’s field was carpeted last year, many more community organizations and youth athletic groups wanted to use it, bringing in more revenue, said Greg Viebranz, school spokesman.
In Bexley, “I think it’s one of the single-best improvements the district has ever made,” said Chris Essman, the school district’s treasurer, citing the “24/7” usability and lack of maintenance.
The installation cost can range from about $600,000 to more than $1 million, said Henry Zaborniak, an assistant commissioner of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. The fields last 10 to 15 years, but replacements are cheaper than the original installation because schools don’t have to rebuild the foundation and water-drainage system.
Maintaining a grass field, including mowing and watering, can cost as much as $25,000 a year, which is cheaper over a decade than putting in artificial turf, but grass limits the number of times a field can be used.
Westerville and some other districts used bonds and property taxes to pay for the artificial turf, but other schools rely almost entirely on private donations.
The $660,000 cost of Bexley’s first field was covered by private donations. Its replacement, at $316,000, will be paid for with rental revenue from the cellphone towers that were installed 10 years ago at its high-school stadium, Essman said.
Thomas Worthington’s new turf has been financed through fund drives, corporate and private donations and a brick-paver fundraiser. The largest individual contribution was more than $200,000.
However, raising money can be hurt by the perception that the costly fields are a luxury, said David Mordoh, the president of TWHS Cards Inc., Thomas Worthington’s sports boosters group.
“I think schools eventually will look at it and say this is a necessity. We can’t have the foot traffic without the artificial turf,” Mordoh said. “I think the common citizen doesn’t realize how much activity is going on on those fields.”
The benefits to athletes are subjective. Modern artificial fields are “spongier and more natural, like players like it,” Zaborniak said. But they’re also much hotter on warm days.
Chris Tilton, a former Worthington lacrosse player, has used both. He now is a consultant for capital-projects spending in Worthington.
“I just wish I’d seen it in 10 years ago. It’s a very fast-paced surface for lacrosse and soccer,” Tilton said.
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