Sacramento City Unified in its selection of AstroTurf

Source: AstroTurf

Sacramento, CA, September 18, 2014– One of Northern California’s largest school districts is in the process of renovating its athletic infrastructure, and they’re getting started with two brand new fields from AstroTurf®, the pioneers of the synthetic turf industry. Sacramento City Unified School District’s Rosemont High School formally dedicated its new athletic field in May, while Kennedy High School debuted its new artificial turf September 5th. Sacramento-based Valley Precision Grading, a Certified AstroTurf Distributor, handled both installations. 

The facility upgrade at Rosemont High was completed in late February and also includes a new running track. Natural grass was removed and replaced with an artificial playing surface featuring AstroTurf’s 3DH product. The field combines AstroTurf’s exclusive monofilament Horseshoe™ fibers with AstroTurf’s patented RootZone® technology. The horseshoe-shaped “blades of grass” give the field its natural appearance while providing structure and resiliency to the turf. The RootZone is a sub layer of texturized fibers which hold the sand and rubber infill in place, preventing splash and migration while maintaining consistent infill disbursement. AstroTurf’s 3D product line can be found at several prominent NCAA Division I colleges and universities throughout the country.

“The new athletic fields at Rosemont and Kennedy high schools are wonderful additions to the schools and the communities they serve,” said Gabe Ross, spokesman for SCUSD. “The  AstroTurf 3D turf system was selected after a thorough process by district and site staffs because of the design and quality of the product." 

The new athletic field at Kennedy High School is part of a larger project that includes new facilities for concessions and restrooms, as well as additional bleachers. It features AstroTurf’s 3DXtreme synthetic turf system. Similar to the 3DH product installed at Rosemont, the 3DXtreme playing surface varies only in that it contains a blend of the aforementioned Horseshoe fibers and slit film XP fibers for durability. The project was completed in time for Kennedy Football’s home opener against Galt High School on September 5th.

Both the Kennedy and Rosemont fields will be used primarily for football and soccer, and both will showcase AstroTurf’s AstroFlect™ technology, a chemical enhancement that helps cool down surface temperatures on the field. The chemistry behind AstroFlect lowers fiber “emissivity”, which allows the fibers of the surface to reflect infrared light and dissipate heat into the atmosphere instead of being absorbed by the turf. The result is a reduction in surface temperature when compared to typical artificial turf. Sacramento does experience fairly high temperatures during certain times of the year, so the district felt that AstroFlect was an important factor in selecting AstroTurf surfaces for both fields. Although once an optional component, AstroFlect’s value has grown such that it now comes standard on all HorseShoe and XP fibers.

“The drought conditions in Northern California were certainly a consideration,” added the spokesperson. “Installing athletic fields that don’t need water will save the district - and the community - millions of gallons of water, which benefits the entire state. We are grateful to voters who supported Bond Measures Q and R in 2012 for making this investment possible." 

Estimates show that natural grass football fields can consume up to 50,000 gallons of water a week. With the project at Kennedy High School now completed, the tally comes to three high schools out of six in the district with artificial turf football fields. That translates to literally millions of gallons of water conserved by the district each year due to synthetic turf conversion. Both the Rosemont and Kennedy projects were paid for with Measure R Bond funds, which were approved by Sacramento voters in 2012.

About AstroTurf

For athletes and sport enthusiasts, AstroTurf has redefined the way the game is played. The company offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies, leveraging the industry’s first vertically integrated manufacturing system. A growing number of high schools, colleges, professional sports teams and municipalities continue to select AstroTurf-branded products for their premium quality, technical superiority, and safety.  To learn more, visit www.astroturf.com.