Arkansas Razorbacks Demonstrate Switching Back to Natural Grass is Cost-Effective

Photo credit: Whole Hog Sports

​EXAMPLE: Arkansas Razorbacks 

The Razorbacks switched back to grass in 2019 after 10 years playing on synthetic.

Two things to note -

1. The Razorbacks synthetic turf already showed signs of wear in 2008 - the same year it was installed - because they were actually using it the way it was often promised it could be - and learned that this was an exaggerated claim. They severely limited use in 2013 by putting daily practices onto grass fields, turning the common industry narrative around in favor of the durability of grass.*​
2. Changing back to grass 10 years later was cheaper at $963,000 than the original Synturf installation cost at $1.1 million. Adjusted for inflation the difference between synthetic turf and grass is even more - and renovating with new synthetic turf would have cost about as much as going back to grass.

July 21, 2019 by Matt Jones - Whole Hog Sports

FAYETTEVILLE — Natural grass will return to the field at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium within a few weeks.

The University of Arkansas football team will play home games on a natural surface this fall for the first time since 2008 — the team’s first season under then-head coach Bobby Petrino, who had artificial turf installed in 2009 at a cost of $1.1 million.

*Petrino said the synthetic surface was needed to withstand the wear and tear of his practices. Petrino preferred to have most of his practices inside the stadium, and the grass field showed some signs of overuse by the end of 2008.

Ten years after Petrino lobbied for a new field in his first season, another new Arkansas head coach, Chad Morris, said he preferred natural grass, citing his experience coaching Texas high school teams.

The change could not be made in time for Morris’ inaugural season because construction to the stadium’s north side wasn’t completed until August. With a crane sitting inside the stadium, the turf was peeled back roughly 40 yards most of last year, then laid back down shortly before the 2018 season opener against Eastern Illinois.

Arkansas began tearing out the turf field in April and expects to have real grass in the stadium by early August.

The estimated cost to switch the field back to grass is $963,000.

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You only have to go back to grass once. This costs not much more than a synthetic field replacement and less than a new synthetic field, which unlike grass needs repeated costly removal, disposal and replacement every 8-10 years on average.

Summary and notes by Safe Healthy Playing Fields, Inc.