This report from CBS17 (WNCN) in Raleigh:
Proponents
of natural grass are sounding the alarm after UNC-Chapel Hill announced it
would install artificial turf in Kenan Memorial Stadium.
Turfgrass
Producers International and the North Carolina Sod Producers Association sent a
letter to high-ranking UNC officials warning of higher injury rates connected
to playing on artificial turf.
The UNC
Board of Governors, UNC Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham, UNC Campus
Health Executive Director Ken Pittman and Agriculture Commissioner Steve
Troxler were among the officials who received the letter.
The
decision to move to artificial turf at Kenan was announced in late March as new
head coach Mack Brown wanted the switch.
In a
statement, UNC said the move was the “best option for our football
team” and for Kenan Stadium as it is used by other varsity programs.
UNC says
the synthetic grass installed in Kenan will use the RootZone system that is
said to have better shock absorbency and improve safety.
Cunningham
added that after building and updating multiple facilities in recent years, the
department has learned a great deal about what works best in various venues and
how the latest synthetic surfaces perform under heavy use.
“In
addition, research has shown RootZone to reduce torque transmitted to lower
extremities,” UNC’s statement read.
The natural grass groups point to a recently released study published by the American Journal of Sports Medicine that points to an increase in injuries on artificial turf.
Click here to read the letter
The
decision to move to artificial turf at Kenan was announced in late March as new
head coach Mack Brown wanted the switch.
In a
statement, UNC said the move was the “best option for our football
team” and for Kenan Stadium as it is used by other varsity programs.
UNC says
the synthetic grass installed in Kenan will use the RootZone system, which is
said to have better shock absorbency and improve safety.
Cunningham
added that after building and updating multiple facilities in recent years, the
department has learned a great deal about what works best in various venues and
how the latest synthetic surfaces perform under heavy use.
“In
addition, research has shown RootZone to reduce torque transmitted to lower
extremities,” UNC’s statement read.
The natural
grass groups point to a recently released study published by the American Journal of Sports Medicine that
points to an increase in injuries on artificial turf.
Click here
to read the study
The study
looked at nearly 214,000 distinct plays during the 2012-16 NFL seasons.
The study
says there was a 56 percent higher knee/ankle/foot injury rate on artificial
turf resulting in any playing time loss.
When it
comes to higher ankle injuries, the study says there was a 68 percent increase
on synthetic turf resulting in time lost and a 103 percent increase in players
sitting out at least eight days.
The
peer-reviewed study also says 1 in 5 concussions are from head-to-turf impacts.
The critical fall height for concussions is less than half the critical fall
height on natural grass.
“It
sets a precedent by one of North Carolina’s leading educational institutions
who has chosen to replace a locally-grown, successful, NC agricultural product
with an out-of-state plastic product that is not only more expensive, but less
safe for NC kids and athletes,” the letter reads.
The natural
grass proponents say North Carolina sod producers will lose out to out-of-state
synthetic field companies.
Keaton
Vandermark, who helped pen the letter, said only Cunningham has responded who
said the decision to switch “was not an easy one, and was made only after
considering numerous factors.”
Cunningham
said the decision to install synthetic turf was not Brown’s alone but was the
best option for the teams and groups who use the stadium.
The
athletic director also said a factor in the move was the “health and
well-being of our students.”
The letter
to the UNC officials was also signed by Casey Reynolds, executive director of
Turfgrass Producers International, and Linda Bradley, vice president of NCSPA.
