CANTON, Ga. — When the calendar turns fall in the football-obsessed South, all six high schools in one Georgia school district will be playing on new synthetic turf fields from the industry leader in innovation, AstroTurf.
The Cherokee County School District chose AstroTurf® and Sports Turf Company, Inc., a Certified AstroTurf Distributor, to complete the renovations. The board made their decision after extensive research showed AstroTurf’s synthetic turf provided exceptional annual cost of ownership, met rigorous demands for player safety, would significantly reduce maintenance demands, and would be durable to hold up longer for use by football, soccer and lacrosse programs.
Fields at the school district’s six high schools — Cherokee, Creekview, Etowah, River Ridge, Sequoyah and Woodstock — are all included in the project. In total, 535,166 square feet of synthetic turf will be installed before football season kicks off this fall.
The field at Etowah is a replacement field, while the other five are conversions of existing natural grass fields and include demolition, new construction and surfacing of existing track events within the boundaries of the fields.
“Through this installation, the Cherokee County School District will avoid significant annual maintenance costs and will increase safety for players, while also evening the playing field for our student athletes in competitive divisions,” district spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby said.
Covering all six fields is AstroTurf RootZone 3D3 Blend Decade, a performance turf system that combines slit film and monofilament fibers for optimum durability and visual appeal. It is highlighted by AstroTurf’s patented RootZone sub-layer, a texturized fiber that stabilizes infill and improves shock absorbency.
The RootZone 3D3 Blended Fiber system is 60 ounces of fiber and has a 10-year warranty backed by an annual AstroTurf maintenance plan. The Trionic fibers blend PE and nylon into an ultra-durable fiber that wears up to 50 percent better. This turf system will provide exceptional force reduction to reduce incidence of concussions and cleat interaction that better replicates well-maintained natural grass playing fields to reduce incidence of injuries to lower extremities.
While football games will first be played on the fields, they are all multi-purpose and will host lacrosse and soccer contests.
With six high schools in the district, creating a consistent look while allowing each school to express its unique character, was vital. While the process of designing and approving graphics packages may have been a bit more challenging with so many different stakeholders all having input, the results are spectacular looking fields that will stand out every bit as much as their performance.
- White, 6-foot borders around the fields.
- Colored end zones, colored team areas and colored field borders.
- In some cases, complex center field logos and end zone letters that, themselves include logos and borders.
- Cherokee will be one of the first school systems in Georgia to adopt Unified Lacrosse Markings on their turf fields.
- Subtle gray and Vegas gold soccer and lacrosse marking packages.
These fields raise the bar for performance, safety, playability, and durability of synthetic turf fields in Georgia, and do so at a price point that demonstrates how serious Cherokee County School District officials are about fiscal responsibility.
Sports Turf Company, Inc. is leading the charge on this multi-field project handling everything from start to finish with the school district. Their twenty-six year history as a leader in athletic facility construction and renovation really stood out in Cherokee County’s decision making. Sports Turf Company counts four Certified Field Builders and two Certified Track Builders on staff. This certification by American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) means Sports Turf Company is among the most highly qualified specialty sports contractors in the Southeast U.S., expertise that was perfectly suited for the demands of the Cherokee schools projects.
About AstroTurf®
For athletes and sport enthusiasts, AstroTurf® has redefined the way the game is played. The brand offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies. 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 AstroTurf’s website at www.astroturf.com.