Turf it?

September 30,  2012

High School Football is a big deal in Haddonfield. Most recently the team beat out Collingswood 36 to 7. Winning is good, but winning requires a lot of practice. And practicing can be challenging if your playing field is in bad condition.

Haddonfield’s sports fields are known as some of the worst in South Jersey.  The school has limited land. Fields are used daily by multiple programs. This overuse turns the grass to mud. There are many holes, which can lead to different injuries. Some argue that converting the field to artificial turf is the solution. Others remain unconvinced.

Haddonfield’s Athletic Director, Lefteris Banos, supports this decision. He says the Haddonfield sports fields have “become unsafe and are embarrassing.” In a recent presentation for the Haddonfield Board of Education, Mr. Banos showed that the cost for installing and maintaining the turf, over its lifetime, is not significantly different from the cost of repairing and maintaining a grass field.  Grass fields are more susceptible to deterioration when they’re wet. Currently, four or five activities are scheduled on these fields daily, contributing to the damage.

In an interview, Mr. Banos explained that a turf field will “improve the quality of play... and improve the safety of our athletes.” Having turf fields allow opportunities to rest the other grass fields and will help improve their condition over time.

When asked if he knew of any negative effects of turf fields, Mr. Banos expressed that he was “not aware of any potential dangers that a turf field could pose to the safety or well being to participants or the environment.”

A NJ Wire article explains that during the BOE meeting, residents expressed concerns regarding potential water pollution from “lead chromate” coming from the turf. However, representatives for Remington & Vernick Engineers, who have been contracted for the restoration of the field, explained that use of this type of turf was terminated years ago.

Even if the turf is a good idea, the school cannot afford the large initial cost. So a group of Haddonfield citizens, alumni and “Haddonfield Hall of Fame” members joined together to help raise funds for new turf fields. Calling itself the “Haddonfield Turf Field Committee”  the group met with the Borough and the BOE.  It was agreed that if the HTFC provided half of the funds, $500,000, the BOE and the Borough would come up with the rest.

 According to the HTFC’s brochure, privately funded studies were done on the safety, environmental impact, and durability of synthetic turf fields. These details can be found on their website. HTFC did not respond to requests for an interview.

Despite positive feedback, some residents remain concerned.  A long-time resident, with a child in the high school, asked, “Why weren’t we given a choice before they started fundraising? I’m upset that this was done without other people having a choice in the matter.” She also expressed concerns of the school band not being permitted to use the new field for practice. Mr. Banos responds that this is only a rumor and the band will have the same access as they currently do.

23-year resident, Rick Schwein says, “I first became aware of [this] when we received a very slick full-color campaign-type brochure in the mail... I’m mainly interested in finding out about the true costs of turf versus well-maintained grass. Environmental issues are something else I need to know more about. At this point I’m undecided about the issue. I definitely will oppose turf if it turns out to be a hugely expensive or damaging boondoggle.”