FieldTurf

FieldTurf Tarkett, a division of Tarkett Inc., is a Peachtree City, GA-based company that manufactures and installs artificial turf playing surfaces identified by the FieldTurf trademark [ [http://www.thecitizen.com/~citizen0/node/32221 PTC getting HQ of sports turf company] ] .

Product

FieldTurf is an artificial turf composed of monofilament polyethylene blend fibres tufted into a polypropylene backing with a mixture of silica sand and cryogenic rubber infill. FieldTurf was first patented in 1982.

Notable installations

"See List of FieldTurf installations for more installations."

In 1999 Memorial Stadium at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska (the first college-only football stadium to use FieldTurf in 1999), plus these other facilities at the school:
* Ed Weir Track infield
* Hawks Championship Indoor Center - Nebraska Cornhuskers training facility
* Cook Pavilion - Nebraska Cornhuskers training facility and university campus recreation facility
* Vine Street Fields - University Campus Recreation intramural fields

In 1999, the Metropolitan Oval, a soccer complex in New York City, was one of the first to install FieldTurf in the U.S.

In March 2000, FieldTurf replaced the original AstroTurf field at Tropicana Field, making the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball the first professional sports team to play on the FieldTurf surface.

In 2000, FieldTurf was installed in the University of Washington's Husky Stadium, replacing the AstroTurf surface, originally installed in 1968. Husky Stadium was used as the Seattle Seahawks home field from 2000-2001, following the demolition of the Kingdome in March 2000. This would be the first FieldTurf used in the NFL.

In 2005, Saprissa Stadium in San José, Costa Rica became the first stadium to host a FIFA World Cup qualifying match on FieldTurf.

In 2007, the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada had almost 50% of its games played on FieldTurf [ [http://www.erdc.co.uk/news_article.php?article=214 FieldTurf at FIFA U20 2007 FieldTurf at FIFA] ] .

As of 2007, seven of the eight Canadian Football League teams have installed either FieldTurf or a similar surface.

The University of Saskatchewan installed it in 2006 when they hosted the Vanier Cup.

Currently all but three National Football League venues have either FieldTurf or natural grass surfaces.

Super Bowl XL, featuring the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers, was the first time that the Super Bowl has been played on FieldTurf. The Ford Field installation differs slightly from the standard installation as the recycled rubber used is made from Firestone tires. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Ford Field, Detroit Lions
work =
publisher =Sportsvenue Technology
date =2002-08-24
url =http://www.sportsvenue-technology.com/projects/ford_field/
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-01-28 ]

Criticism

In September 2006, several top Canadian soccer players appealed to the Canadian Soccer Association to install a natural grass surface at BMO Field in Toronto. [cite news|url= http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/v4/sub/MarketingPage?user_URL=http://www.theglobeandmail.com%2Fservlet%2Fstory%2FRTGAM.20060927.soccer-turf28%2FBNStory%2FSports%2Fhome&ord=1161707942696&brand=theglobeandmail&force_login=true|title=Don't use artificial grass in Toronto FC stadium: players|work=globeandmail.com|accessdate=2007-02-12] The Association has, however, decided to install FieldTurf despite the players' request.

In addition, following David Beckham's move to Major League Soccer in 2007, in which he arrived carrying an ankle injury, [cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/6937950.stm|title=Beckham hopes to play against DC|work=BBC News|accessdate=2007-08-09 ] he voiced his opinion that the league should convert to grass for all pitches, specifically singling out the FieldTurf brand [cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/sports/soccer/2007-08-09-728654547_x.htm|title=Beckham apologizes for turf remarks|work=USA Today|accessdate=2007-10-06 ] [cite news|url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2007/08/beckham_speaks.html|title=Beckham Speaks|work=Washington Post|accessdate=2007-10-06] (which he later partially recanted [cite news|url=http://www.24.com/sport/?p=SportArticle&i=627335|title=Beckham sorry for grass gaffe|work=24 Sport|accessdate=2007-10-06] ).During a telephone interview on David Beckham's Soccer USA (UK version), former Aston Villa and current Red Bull New York striker Juan Pablo Ángel criticized the surface, saying, "I find it really hard to adjust to the [Giants Stadium] turf field... it takes me two or three days just to recover [after a match] ." [cite news|url=http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rw0x0QGvr5E|title=David Beckham's Soccer USA (UK version), Week 7|work=YouTube|accessdate=2007-10-06]

New England Revolution manager Steve Nicol is quoted as saying "there is no give in [FieldTurf] . Grass is still the best surface," [cite news|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=452763&root=mls&&cc=5901|title=Artificial turf not to Beckham's liking|work=ESPNsoccernet|accessdate=2007-10-06] in regards to professional soccer matches.

Gary O'Connor, current Birmingham City and Scotland striker, has recently spoken out against the FieldTurf surface at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia, which hosted the England-Russia Euro 2008 qualifier on 17 October 2007. After a short summer term at Lokomotiv Moscow, O'Connor described playing on the FieldTurf surface as "a nightmare" and a "misfortune". [cite news|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=472427&cc=5901|title=O'connor warns England over plastic pitch|work=ESPNsoccernet|accessdate=2007-10-14] He noted the effects of the artificial surface during the run of play, saying, "The ball skids off the surface, so it becomes extremely hard to read where it is going to go."

In 2007, a Connecticut non-profit organization Environmental and Human Health Inc. (EHHI), released a report about the safety of recycled tire crumb rubber in artificial turf. [cite paper
author = Dr. David R. Brown
title = Artificial Turf: Exposures To Ground-Up Rubber Tires: Athletic Fields, Playgrounds, Gardening Mulch
publisher = Environment & Human Health, Inc.
date = 2007
url =http://www.ehhi.org/reports/turf/turf_report07.pdf
format = pdf
accessdate = 2007-10-26] EHHI funded a study by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, a state agency, which independently reported [Citation
last1 = Mattina | first1 = MaryJane Incorvia
last2 = Isleyen | first2 = M.
last3 = Berger| first3 = W.
last4 = Ozdemir| first4 = S.
title = Examination of Crumb Rubber Produced from Recycled Tires
id = AC006
publisher = The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
date = 8/2007
url = http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/publications/fact_sheets/examinationofcrumbrubberac005.pdf
format = pdf
accessdate = 2007-10-26] that under laboratory conditions when the crumb rubber infill was heated to convert|60|C|F|0, four components of crumb rubber volatilize into the vapor phase (outgas) in contact with the crumbs: benzothiazole (an irritant), butylated hydroxyanisole (a carcinogen and toxicant), n-hexadecane (an irritant) and 4-(t-octyl) phenol (corrosive to mucus membranes, a suspected endocrine disruptor [Citation
title = Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the implementation of the Community Strategy for Endocrine Disrupters - a range of substances suspected of interfering with the hormone systems of humans and wildlife
author = Commission of the European Communities
id = COM(2001) 262 final
format = pdf
year = 2001
url = http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/com/2001/com2001_0262en01.pdf
accessdate = 2007-10-27 ] ). FieldTurf, ALIAPUR (a French consortium founded by tire makers Bridgestone, Continental, Dunlop Goodyear, Kléber, Michelin and Pirelli) [cite web
title = Qui est Aliapur?
url =http://www.aliapur.fr/modules/movie/scenes/home/index.php?fuseAction=page&rubric=societe&article=societeSituation
accessdate = 2007-10-26 ] , and ADEME (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency) released their own joint report concluding that there was no cause for concern to human health by inhalation of volatile organic compounds and aldehydes released by recycled tire crumb rubber surfaces. [Citation
author = Dr. Robert Moretto
title = Environmental and health assessment of the use of elastomer granulates (virgin and from used tyres) as filling in third-generation artificial turf
version =
publisher = ADME / ALIAPUR / FieldTurf Tarkett
date = 2007
url = http://www.aliapur.fr/media/files/etudes_documents/Environmental_Study_Report_EN.pdf
format = pdf
accessdate = 2007-10-26]

The safety of the rubber granules in artificial turf has been defended in other studies, such as the INTRON rubber study. [ [http://www.ntda.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=268&Itemid=128 INTRON rubber study ] ] .

ee also

*Artificial turf
*Astroturf
*List of FieldTurf installations

References

External links

* [http://www.fieldturf.com Official FieldTurf web site]
* [http://uncutvideo.aol.com/videos/d0df2e8ca6d959654ad2176bf18aca03 Beckham addressing]
* [http://www.fieldturf.es Spanish FieldTurf web site]