Turf wars not taking place on most area athletic fields

Frank Kuzma is a baseball guy. So much so that he and hundreds of other Minnetonka School District residents spent years raising more than $3 million for the state-of-the-art Veterans Field, which opened last spring. One of its most attractive features: its $2.2 million multi-use synthetic turf.

Kuzma said he's in no hurry to condemn it based on a few reports of high lead levels in older synthetic fields on the East Coast. However, another metro-area school tested lead levels on its field as a precaution and is awaiting those results.

"When an article [about lead] comes out, everyone gets concerned, but we've looked into this," said Kuzma, president of the Minnetonka Diamond Club baseball boosters.

Concerns about children swallowing or inhaling lead from dust or synthetic turf fibers prompted the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate possible health hazards after high levels of lead closed two New Jersey fields last week.

At issue is pigment containing lead chromate that reportedly was used in some turf to make the grass green and hold its color under sun exposure. How widely the compound was used remains unknown.

A growing contingent of Minnesota schools has switched from grass to turf fields in recent years, recognizing it as a need rather than a luxury. They contend turf adds hundreds of hours of additional use to the fields each year, and saves money on maintenance and watering.

State health officials decided against random testing because they haven't heard of any concerns.

"We don't plan to do anything at this point," said Doug Schultz, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Health's environmental health division. "Children under 6 and pregnant women are the populations we're the most worried about [for lead poisoning]."

Spring Lake Park, Minnetonka and Wayzata school districts use FieldTurf. The Montreal-based company's website on Monday said its polyethylene fibers don't contain the lead found in the two fields with "old-style, carpet-like" nylon fibers that were tested in New Jersey.

Holy Angels tests its turf

Academy of Holy Angels, a private Catholic school in Richfield, installed an older Astro Turf brand surface in 1996 but renovated its facilities about four years ago. It is believed to be the first high school in Minnesota to switch from grass to turf fields.

Holy Angels replaced the older, carpet-like surface with a newer "second- or third- generation" AstroTurf brand field, said Greg Trebil, general manager of the school's StarDome.

Trebil said the school heard about the concerns in New Jersey last week and decided to test its surface. "We've sent off a sample of our turf [Monday] and expect to get the results within 10 days," he said.

At the Dome, in Wayzata

Steve Maki, the Metropolitan Sports Commission director of facilities and engineering, said it installed a newer FieldTurf brand surface at the Metrodome about four years ago. Maki said the sports commission has no plans to test the surface, which is used for high school tournament games.

"The article I saw about the fields out East was an older AstroTurf Field," he said.

In 2000, Wayzata School District became one of the first public schools in Minnesota with synthetic turf. Since then, 16 other metro-area schools, including Eden Prairie, Minnetonka and Spring Lake Park, have installed artificial turf, and six more plan to add it by this fall.

School board members in the Richfield School District recently deadlocked on the issue due to cost concerns. Farmington School District officials and residents have discussed installing it at a new high school opening in 2009.

Districts typically pay between $600,000 and $750,000 to install synthetic turf, depending on the square footage, and it typically lasts about 10 years. It's a tough sell to cash-strapped schools as they plead with the state and local residents for additional classroom funds.

Industry experts, however, contend that artificial turf is worth the cost for many organizations, in part because it's come a long way since the 1960s, when it was derided as "carpet laid over concrete."

Shira Miller, a spokeswoman for the industry's Synthetic Turf Council, said newer fields attempt to mimic natural grass. They're typically built over surfaces filled with sand or rubber -- sometimes from recycled tires -- and other materials designed to cushion falls and minimize injuries.

More playing time

Spring Lake Park High, which installed turf in 2006, found the synthetic fields came in handy for its baseball and softball teams last month, when soggy weather forced other metro-area teams indoors. Veterans Field in Minnetonka can be converted into football practice fields during the fall.

Shortly before the Minnetonka Skippers stepped onto their turf at Veterans Field to face the Robbinsdale Armstrong Falcons earlier this week, district spokeswoman Janet Swiecichowski said it's not uncommon for the same field to be used for Little League or junior varsity practices the same day as a game.

"You used to have a varsity football field that you only used on Friday night because it would get ruined," Swiecichowski said. "But now [these fields] can be used continuously year-round."

Patrice Relerford • 612-673-4395