Las Vegas rolls out first artificial turf at park

Sito Negron

Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2003 | 10:59 a.m.

Work crews are busy rolling out the city of Las Vegas' newest soccer yards at Ed Fountain Park, one unique part of a $6.1 million renovation project that includes laying artificial turf instead of grass on two fields.

The project, expected to be finished in February, is a first for the city. The county has an artificial turf infield at the Desert Breeze Park ballfield near Spring Mountain and Durango, and plans to outfit 16 other fields in a similar fashion in the next year.

The city plans to use the two fields at Ed Fountain Park as a test, with more to follow if it's successful. The test of success, said Clair Lewis, the city's project manager at Ed Fountain, is "what type of reaction we get from the user, then what type of reaction we get from maintenance -- if it saves water, fertilizer, manpower."

Artificial turf is used locally on a few fields already, notably at Sam Boyd Stadium, where kids playing in U.S. Youth Soccer-Nevada "rubbed their elbows and arms very hard on the turf. There were no turf burns, no strawberries," said Ken O'Connell, the league's field allocation chairman.

He said he looks forward to the fields at Ed Fountain, and elsewhere in the city and county.

"We have very beautiful fields to play games on, but few to practice on," O'Connell said. "It will open up a whole new arena for kids to practice."

And, he added, "these things are designed to last for a long time. You can play 24-7."

Turf must continually be maintained, and rested. City officials noted that one attractive aspect of artificial turf is the ability to continually use the fields

"I don't see any limit with this on how much we can play on it," said Larry Haugsness, director of Field Operations for the city of Las Vegas.

The product comes with an eight-year warranty and is meant to have a lifetime of 10 to 12 years, said Greg Norfleet, president of West Coast operations for Forever Green Athletic Fields Inc., which sold the field material to the city for about $500,000.

He described the material in detail, discussing the stitch pattern that places one row of straight fibers -- the green blades of "grass" -- next to a row of looped fibers, which makes the turf stand up. The fibers are sewn onto a thin sheet of rubber, and the artificial turf is rolled up like car-sized green cigars.

Work crews Tuesday were rolling out the artificial turf on the field base, which is flattened and compacted like a road bed. The field slopes at a 1 degree angle, so the water runs off.

Larry Oswald, Clark County Parks manager, said the turf at Desert Breeze Park has held up well, but it has its limitations.

For example, turf cannot replace grass for sitting and picnicking, and does not lend itself to tree-shaded relaxation. He also said the artificial turf is in controlled areas surrounded by fences, which reduces the risk of vandalism.

Oswald said the county plans to spend about $5 million in the next year on cutting water at county parks, including replacing grass with turf on 16 athletic fields covering 14.5 acres, which could come on line starting in spring. He said there are clear water savings, although it has not been specifically measured yet because only the baseball infield at Desert Breeze has been replaced, and the water use for the entire park is not broken down by such small sections.

Tracy Bowers, spokeswoman for the Southern Nevada Water Authority, said in the case of Ed Fountain Park, the artificial fields will save an estimated 21.8 million gallons of water a year, based on a formula that calculates use per square foot.

The 18-acre Ed Fountain Park was built in 1970, and named after the former city council member who served the area. Besides the artificial turf, other renovations include three grass soccer fields, basketball courts, a BMX track, restrooms, additional parking and landscaping.