Turf Grass vs Grass:
The Katy ISD football fields have been Astroturfed since Rhodes Stadium was constructed. The ploy by the administration is that this surface is what we "need." They also indicated in 1992 that the surface that was redone in 1993 would last from "10 to 12 years"--a statement made by a Mr. Lamb from a company trying to sell us Astroturf. The surface did not last even 9 years. It wore out before then.
I have done much research over the years, always talked to the people who sold the different varieties of Astroturf and the knock-offs at the school board conventions, read everything I could on the subject, and I am convinced that grass is the preferable surface for our football fields because it's economical, but more importantly because it is safer.
It is also of note that the argument always appears that grass is not good for the band or the other groups that use the surface. My opinion about that is that these are FOOTBALL fields which are for the sole purpose of playing football. At the time, (1992) I was the only board member who had sons who played football. Both of them were quarterbacks. I'm not sure there have been any other board members who had sons who played football in Katy ISD. I knew what Astroturf did and does to knees, legs, elbows and shoulders as well as heads. The point is that as school board members and parents we should be concerned about the safety of the football players, not whether or not the band gets their uniforms dirty if they have to play on grass! Build another field for bands to use. Why can't they use the many fields that are at every high school? Who decided that FOOTBALL fields have to be multipurpose? No one is suggesting that we play soccer on the baseball fields!
The following articles run the gamut of news articles, magazine articles from "Sports Illustrated," and opinion pieces (mine and others) on the subject of Astroturf. Be sure you look at #2 which has photos of the Astroturf that existed from 1993 to 2002. Because the initially ordered Astroturf was not available in time, they put down a cheap substitute.
1. My Beliefs About the Use of Turf Grass for Football Stadiums
2. The Two Choices for Underlayment of the Astroturf
3. Issue of Using Astroturf Comes Up Again in 2012
4. Research Shows Natural Grass Safer for Athletes Than Astroturf
5. Astroturf Fields Cause Itching
7. Instant News Katy Article About the Astroturfed Fields
8. Inside Katy Article About the Astroturfed Fields
9. Houston Chronicle Articles About the Astroturfed Fields
10. Letters from 2002 Regarding Astroturfed Fields
11. Grass is Greener on New KISD Fields by Nick Georgandis
12. Superintendent Hayes' Proposal for Turf on December 14, 1992
13. Houston Area School Districts with Artificial Turf Stadiums in 1992
14. Cost to Remove Astroturf Surface and Replace with Grass
15. Cost Per Year to Maintain a Grass Football Field at Rhodes Stadium
16. Consulting Engineer's Estimate of Time to Complete Resurfacing Project
17. How to Get the One You Want
18. Proposed Recommendation to the Board in 1993
19. School Sports Fields to Gain Softer Turf