Real Grass?

[HawkeyeFever]

I went to Duane Banks Field last summer for the first time because my son was fortunate enough to play a 12U game there. I was impressed by the stadium and the experience as a whole, but I wondered why the field was not real grass and dirt.

Is this something that is cost prohibitive in terms of maintenance or something else? Do cold winters play a part? How many of the other B1G fields have this same set up?

Please inform me and thanks in advance. I am guessing that most would prefer grass and dirt over carpet, so there must be good reasons as to why they don't have it.

 

[Fryowa]

I went to Duane Banks Field last summer for the first time because my son was fortunate enough to play a 12U game there. I was impressed by the stadium and the experience as a whole, but I wondered why the field was not real grass and dirt.

Is this something that is cost prohibitive in terms of maintenance or something else? Do cold winters play a part? How many of the other B1G fields have this same set up?

Please inform me and thanks in advance. I am guessing that most would prefer grass and dirt over carpet, so there must be good reasons as to why they don't have it.

The biggest reasons are cost and consistency. It's a big investment up front (if there's such a thing as a big investment for a P5 school), but the long-run cost of no water, mowing, fertilizing, pesticide, herbicide, etc. far outweighs the maintenance that artificial turf takes. That's why you see even smaller high schools going to Field Turf on football fields now. At first glance you think, "How does that little school have so much money," but in reality it's a cheaper option over 15-20 years.

In the upper midwest, you also don't have to worry about late, harsh winters trying to get the grass going again.

Penn State, Nebraska and Purdue are the only Big Ten schools that still have natural grass.

I'm ok with artificial grass, but I'm not 100% sold on the artificial infields. Not because of safety, etc., but because I am somewhat of a traditionalist and I feel that base paths, batter's boxes, etc. should be dirt. However, I've umpired some games on artificial infields, and I have to say that it was MUCH more comfortable to stand on carpet when behind the plate. It's also a lot easier keeping your plate shoes clean.

 

[HawkeyeFever]

Thank you for your complete, informative response.

It all makes sense, but I guess I am still more of a traditionalist and would much rather see natural surfaces.

The boys all had a great time at the game, but certain adjustments had to be made, like adjusting to the bounce of the ball off of the turf, sliding on a non-dirt surface, and cutting off balls that were hit to the outfield and rolling on the smooth, carpet-like surface.

It did end up helping my son in that regard. He hit a line drive over the second baseman's head, which normally would have been a double at best. Instead, it split the right and center fielders and rolled all the way to the wall. Inside the park HR! Good memory.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Real grass is really going away sec to the reasons mentioned above. In addition, Midwest teams can get on the field much faster in spring with the prescription turf then waiting for the grass field and turf to dry. Also, recruiting plays into it.