Pros and Cons of a Turf Field

Staff Reporter Alex Realey

Our Mooresville neighbors recently got a turf field, and with Monrovia updating their football facilities people begin to wonder if turf is in Monrovia’s future plans. But is a field that would cost over a million dollars really worth it?

Pros

-Pesticide free

-Artificial grass doesn’t need pesticides or fertilizer.

-Players are less likely to be injured

-Turf won’t be muddy, it is smooth, and lacks holes that often cause player injuries.

Low maintenance

-Turf costs less to maintain yearly than a grass field.

Cons

-Turf still needs to be watered

-Turf can get extremely hot and must be cooled down before players can safely play on it

-Once turf, always turf.

-The base of turf kills all grass underneath so a school can never go back to a grass field, turf fields also need to be replaced about every eight years.

-Runoff

-Runoff from turf fields after heavy rain can include lead, which could get into people’s drinking water.