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Another victory for natural grass! As a professional turf manager, it is satisfying to see professional athletes recognize the benefit of natural grass. With grass, the surface is cooler since turfgrass transpires all day to reduce canopy temperatures and cool itself off. Artificial turf can reach 150 degrees or more on a hot sunny day and capable of causing burns. In addition, turf toe (sprain of ligaments in the base of the big toe), hip, knee and ankle injuries as well as other career ending disabilities occur more frequently on artificial turf.
I read an article recently on the Rooney family, owners of the Steelers franchise, in Pittsburgh. If you ever watch a Steelers game after mid October, one could argue its the worst field in all of football. The turf won't recover because by mid October, turf isn't actively growing in PA and the field gets an obscene amount of traffic. Since he owned the team, he wanted the stadium to be a community asset. This means high school football games are held there, University of Pittsburgh games, band competitions and NFL games as well as other events. With that schedule, natural grass won't work but the Rooney's refuse to use artificial turf out of respect for those athletes who use the field and their safety. Good stuff!
