Artificial Lawn & Grass in Arizona 480-586-0655

What is your feeling on Artificial Turf? Do you think that it is an increasing thing you see everywhere? Or do you think that it is a fad, something that just seems to be talked about but not really implemented anywhere?

Do a quick search on Google for the words Synthetic Grass, or Artificial Turf. The first three posts are:
Loyola to add Synthetic Grass to Messmer Stadium, Synthetic Turf coming to Watsessing Park, and “A Lawn Unto Itself: Chelsea Flower Show to Allow Fake Grass for the First time in 148 year history”. They were all updated recently and all are very positive. If you continue through the pages you will see that the majority of all news links and posts are positive, and demonstrate that more and more people, organizations, schools, and sports teams are for the most part, adding and installing synthetic grass.

There are naysayers everywhere. There are also personal preferences, and a myriad of reasons why people choose the things they do. However, if the news and blogs are any indication, maybe the majority of people are right. This isn’t just a fad, and more and more people are seeing the overall benefits. Not needing to spend your life tending to grass seems to be a very popular opinion. There’s something to be said about having your free time to yourself, and always having a gorgeous lawn or stadium to look at.

What do you think?

This past week saw a flurry of news concerning the Chicago Bears’ weighing their decision to either keep their stadium’s traditional grass or move forward and put artificial turf in place. In the beginning of the week it looked as they were going to look towards a bright future with turf, but in a surprising turn of events, they opted for hard to manage & to maintain, grass.

But, why?

Well, the Bears have claimed that they are citing personal injury case studies that demonstrate too many mistakes happen on synthetic grass and they are keeping the players in mind.

Is this really the case? Hundreds, if not thousands, of fields, parks, and stadiums across the country have recently come to use artificial turf and they ran the same case studies in all likelihood. In fact Most recently the Baltimore Ravens have started work on replacing grass with artificial turf, so if it is good enough for Baltimore, why isn’t it good enough for the Bears?

Many are claiming it is sticking to the “good, ol’ fashioned, traditional American way of playing football.” Could that be just an excuse to not to deal with a transition? It is costly for a professional football team to overhaul a stadium, train people how to take care of it over time, give extra practice time to teams to get used to the new feel. Do the transition costs outweigh the long term benefits of low maintenance costs, year round usage (especially in an area like Chicago and their awful winters), and a chance for re-branding? Apparently they do.

So, at least for now, the Chicago Bears are sticking to their roots and not moving towards the future for laying down artificial turf. Will they be left behind when more teams & stadiums like the Ravens start looking to the future?

As with any argument relating to synthetic grass or artificial turf, people wonder about the advantages and disadvantages of using it in the sports world. Not everyone has access to it and knows how to run or play on it and knowing what to expect is a very big part of any sports competition. When it comes to playing important competitions there can be grave consequences if a team is inadequately prepared and cannot live up to their expectations. The 2010 World Cup is no exception to this worry, and in some cases since it is the largest sporting event in the world, maybe it even has higher importance.

As an example of a team that was not prepared, in the Euro 2008 qualifier, the mighty England soccer team had difficulty playing against Russia on an artificial turf and they lost 2-1. Many did not expect this outcome and many believe that it was the turf that changed the final.

As we all know, weather can change how often a field of grass can be used. If it’s dry maybe only once a week could the field be played on. If it’s particularly rainy the grass needs more maintenance because of the fast growing grass. Africa’s erratic rainy and dry seasons severely affect the quality of the fields. Sometimes the grass can be too high for players, or too sparse. In the 2010 World Cup FIFA is laying Artificial Turf on the its 53 members’ fields in Africa except in South Africa.

Many wonder if this will hurt the game of many countries who have not had the luxury of playing and practicing on turf before. The benefit of this move by FIFA is the scheduling and the lack of problems that can arise with a bad field. The only way that this can be evened, is if the teams that normally do not play on turf get extra playing time.

This move by FIFA is probably one of the most beneficial and will help to even the playing field for this world competition.

As the years go on, artificial turf gets talked about more and more. Whether it is a discussion about the positives or negatives behind implementing synthetic grass, it is nonetheless an active discourse happening all over the country. The overwhelming use of turf cannot be ignored as it continues to grow in more and more communities, neighborhoods, parks, and school yards.

Schools in particular are warming to turf for more and more projects. Some schools claim it even boosts morale, because the children have more opportunity to play, and practice sports throughout the year. Schools, who usually have a heard time sticking to budgets can now put money previously used for field maintenance to better uses in the classroom. One school in the article linked above, stated that they are even going to sell their riding lawn mower as a fundraiser because it hasn’t been touched since the turfs were installed.

Covering the asphalt used in some playgrounds and areas also lead to a higher standard of safety as well. There are less cuts and scrapes and overall injuries. Occasionally on turf you will see a minor “turf burn” style scratch, but as the technology improves the rubber blades become softer and more natural this will also be a thing of the past.

Has your school looked into the trend that’s sweeping America? It should.

New York is commonly referred to as the concrete jungle. Basketball courts, asphalt playgrounds, and hundreds of miles of sidewalk are the images one recalls when someone thinks about New York City. All of its greenery is supposedly kept up in that gigantic, rectangular, famous Central Park, right? Wrong.

In 1998 Chelsea Park became the first park in Manhattan to be done over in Artificial Turf. On the west side of the island, this big sports complex is now a host to city-wide soccer teams, and active New Yorkers.

The problem with grass is that it constantly needs to be maintained, this is why New York generally defaults to asphalt, because it only needs the occasional patch work and crack fills for when it breaks down. Also, in order for grass to regrow, the fields need to be temporarily closed. When you look at New York’s long winter, and then ask them to close their fields even longer, this shortens precious outdoors time.

In 2001 Mayor Bloomberg vowed that his administration would seek out asphalt fields/courts and replace then with synthetic turf, and now New York is the largest buyer of synthetic turf nationwide.

Shouldn’t other cities follow suit?

There is a heated debate happening in San Francisco right now regarding the covering of a soccer field with Artificial Turf. One side of the coin states that by covering a soccer field with synthetic grass it is hurting the environment & the path of certain migratory birds who frequent the area. The flip side of that coin states that by covering the field with grass they are saving millions of gallons of water, and allowing the field to be used all year instead of waiting for it to re-grow.

There are as many arguments for and against using turf. Many wonder if the chemicals used to treat it could cause harm to the environment or if the amount of heat that radiates off of the grass could contribute to global warming. Others say that because it requires very little maintenance, materials, & tools over a longer period of time, the overwhelming benefits outweigh the possible negatives.

Most don’t take an official stance on either side, but since more and more fields are being put in place, the evidence speaks for itself.

When you were a kid, maybe you played baseball, or soccer, or football. The field you held your competitions or games on could have been made of either real or synthetic grass, but most likely the fields you practiced on were composed of real grass. Odds are on a warm summer day, when the fields are being cut by lawnmowers, and tended to by groundskeepers, the smell of fresh cut grass is the only memory you have of that time.

However, what if you could keep a piece of that turf on a shelf to see, to hold, to touch? Imagine, looking up at any moment in the middle of winter and seeing that turf sitting there all of the memories that could come rushing back.

That is exactly what the Dallas Cowboys have just done. According to ESPN.com today, Texas Stadium is now offering various pieces to be sold off as keepsakes from the Cowboys and the stadium. The most interesting are the two Artificial Turf momentos – one, an etched-glass display case with a bit of turf inside of it, and the other a set of Dallas Cowboys coasters, with a circle in the center full of turf.

I suppose this could be done with real grass too, but over time it would brown and not be anywhere near as fun. The legend of the artificial turf of Texas Stadium will live on forever in the memories of its fans.

We’ve talked about how artificial grass can help sports teams who live in climates not conducive to outdoor sports before, and now it is a home field advantage for the Colonels baseball team. In the past, the Colonels would have to cancel practices due to inclement weather conditions and spend time trying to protect the field by rolling up tarps. With the new installation of synthetic turf, the Colonels can now practice in the rain. While synthetic turf can be used for both indoor or outdoor sports fields, outdoor fields can still react well to rain and weather because synthetic grass can perform well in various climates and conditions. In fact, it is made to perform well and designed to be durable.

With more practice time in than the Colonels ever had previously, the installation of synthetic grass seems like a practical choice. No more lost time, no more landscaping issues, and an improved place to practice that teams in more favorable climates take for granted.

Although the project cost $260,000 in renovations, the upkeep and maintenance cost savings is enough to use synthetic turf as a solution to their growing problem. As long as teams or businesses can raise their funding and budget towards a synthetic turf project and upheaval, the money saving benefits will be a great reward that you’ll be able to notice. The upfront costs are well worth the lifetime of savings, as well as value.

Recently, Paradise Greens installed new synthetic turf to a Chandler, Arizona company, Kids Incorporated. Paradise LUXE synthetic grass and Poly Green Foam was used for the playground makeover and installed a total of 3,700 square feet. In order to meet the needs of IPEMA certification for the fall zones, one inch and two inch Poly Green Foam was also installed in the play areas.

Paradise Greens is happy to do business with Arizona’s local companies. We are the leading synthetic turf provider and take pride in the work and service that we do. If you’re in the area, check out Kids Incorporated and their new synthetic turf!

2211 South Stearman Drive,
Chandler, AZ 85286

California is proving to be a leader and trendsetter in artificial and synthetic turf implementation. On February 10, 2010, the assembly bill 1793 passed which would provide more opportunities for synthetic turf business. With California being the largest US market for synthetic turf, it comes as no surprise, but is an exciting step for the synthetic turf industry.

“This bill would provide that a provision of any of the governing
documents of a common interest development would be void
and unenforceable if it prohibits, or includes conditions that
have the effect of prohibiting, the use of artificial turf or any
other synthetic surface that resembles grass.”

The legislation is a victory for the synthetic turf industry. With the proper installation from reputable synthetic grass companies, such as Paradise Greens, synthetic grass can be an aesthetic landscape with flexibility and ease of care. Switching to synthetic grass lowers pollution by not having to use air pollutant chemicals, reduces water usage, erosion and manages watershed.

In 2009, an estimated 20 million square feet of synthetic grass was installed in the state of California alone. An average of 45 gallons of water per year is used to maintain natural grass in California, with as high as 55 gallons or as low as 35, depending on the climate. Given these figures, the state of California saved 900 million gallons of water, in estimate for last year alone. What is a victory in one state can spread to the rest of the nation, as buzz about synthetic grass from the trendsetting state takes off.