Artificial turf pitches are not perfect, but good for getting kids outside

At a recent council meeting, there was a citizen discussion about redeveloping the high school athletic field, which was presented as a simple question of “turf or grass.” As a city resident and coach of a city soccer team, I would like to note that unfortunately the question is not that simple.

The main problem is that we don’t have enough space for natural grass fields to support the load of use. I wasn’t a fan of playing on artificial turf fields in other cities when my kids started playing soccer last April. The snow-plowed fields were hard, cold surfaces. In the summer, they turned into blazing, hot surfaces. But the artificial turf fields meant the kids could play outside. The grass can be cleared after the snow falls and the kids could play under floodlights into the evening hours because the fields can withstand heavy use. Artificial turf fields are absolutely not perfect and I’m not advocating that we put artificial turf on everything. But even a few lighted artificial turf fields at the high school would go a long way to alleviate the challenges teams across the city face with access to playing fields.

I would say that while choosing limited grass space means more artificial green space, it also means more use of the fields, more hours of play, and ultimately more kids and time outdoors. In an ideal world, I would also like to see natural grass fields that, with appropriate use, will thrive and support all the teams trying to play. But in a world of limited space and increasing use, I would gladly trade a few natural grass fields for artificial turf and lighting at the high school if it means more kids can safely play sports more hours a day and months a year.

Rich Crowley
South Portland

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