Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Synthetic Turf Field Fails Early, Despite Only Half the Expected Usage; Replacement to Cost over $450,000

Mercer Island, Washington: The high school's 7-year old artificial turf field wears out early, failing tests for resiliency. Adding 16,000 lbs of rubber pellets fail to solve the problem. Replacement will cost upward of $450,000, even with a 20% discount because the field is still under warranty.
A 2007 report shows that MIHS sports filled up 62 percent of the actual time that Islander Stadium was used, totaling 1,161 hours. In comparison, community club sports made up 20 percent of the field’s availability, for a total of 701 hours of use in 2007.
A 2004 study predicted that non-district sports clubs would use nearly five times that amount at 3,262 hours.
“The 3,000 hours don’t exist,” said School Board member John DeVleming during an Aug. 13 board meeting. “The estimate of revenue the city is expecting is not based on real numbers.” http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/east_king/mir/news/53600417.html