Real or fake? In Boca Raton, the question of what kind of green should be installed at public playing fields has been a two-year epic — that just received another chapter.
A $20,000 study, commissioned by the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District, has found that annual costs are lower for natural grass. But because the artificial turf is never unavailable for use like the real stuff, when the costs of both are averaged over the number of hours the fields are open, the artificial turf is cheaper by the hour.
The findings of the study are detailed in a recently released 57-page report. It will be used for further discussion that officials hope will break the logjam between the city and the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District as the two partners determine what materials future public playing fields in the city should be made of.
Art Koski, executive director of the Greater Raton Beach & Park District, which levies a tax to pay for some of Boca’s recreational facilities, said he doesn’t think the study provides “a definitive answer one way or another” for whether fake or real grass is better.
“The intent is to try to provide the facilities that meet the demand of the public at the lowest and most reasonable cost,” Koski said.
Koski said that the engineering firm consultants, Motre Company, in West Palm Beach, and Stantec, in Boca Raton, were instructed to produce a neutral report that distills the pros and cons of both sides.
In addition to analyzing the current condition of the fields, the study evaluated both fake and real grass for health concerns, what footwear works best on the fields, the risk of injuries and maintenance and purchase costs.
Among the findings:
* Demand for the Boca’s playing fields outstrips the supply. The report finds 68,643 games were played on the fields during the 2013-14 year and that usage was about three times more than what a grass specialist recommended.
Since anecdotes about the potential health hazards of artificial turf have emerged, no conclusive studies on the topic have followed, so it’s difficult to prove or debunk them.
Injuries are a risk on both artificial and natural fields. Some studies show more abrasions occur on artificial turf, but natural fields with bare spots and divots also present a risk, the report says.
Standard, molded cleats are the best footwear on both kinds of surfaces.Turf has evolved so that specialized shoes are no longer needed, as they were when turf was first introduced.
More playing fields at the Spanish River Athletic Complex have been on the drawing boards for the past two years. Both the city and the Beach & Park District have agreed those fields will be natural grass.
But before the city of Boca Raton signs off on the Spanish River fields, the city wants the Beach & Park District to agree that new fields at Patch Reef Park should be artificial.
The Beach & Park District, has been reluctant to agree to that proposal, however. It asked for the detailed analysis before making a decision.
City officials said they haven’t had time to analyze the report’s findings.
The Beach & Park District commissioners have scheduled a discussion of the report’s findings at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday at the district’s headquarters, 300 S. Military Trail. Public comment will follow at the same time and place on Feb. 2.
Even as the report has no clear conclusion, though, there are strong opinions on both sides. The largest user of the fields, the Soccer Association of Boca Raton, has asked the city not to schedule play on the city’s only field of artificial turf, Sand Pine Park.
But Don Clinton, a lacrosse coach, recently asked the City Council to require that the Beach & Park District install artificial turf.
He cited a Beach & Park District report from April 2014 that found the hours of play on existing fields is triple what it should be for the grass to re-grow adequately after intensive use.
“We asked for them to expand the number of hours that fields can be utilized — they obviously can’t build enough new parks to accommodate the needs,” he said. “And it’s not slowing down. It’s speeding up.”
But Marlynda Comiskey, a registrar with the soccer association, said that her daughters prefer the natural turf to the artificial one they’ve played on at Boca Raton High School.
“The artificial … it’s hotter to play on in the middle of the day,” she said, recalling what her daughters told her. “And when you fall, it’s like falling on concrete. You get road rash.”
Ageggis@sun-sentinel.com, 561-243-6624
