What is Synthetic Grass?

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Yes, most people have heard about it and what it’s all about, and as many sports fans at one time initially disliked synthetic grass, they eventually came round to giving it the thumbs up as they came to see its benefits.

The bad old days of rain stopping play, or games being cancelled due to rainy conditions, or even a pitch being so beaten up by a previous game’s wet weather, that games were moved to another ground, are now a thing of the past.

And for those out there who have never encountered it or heard of it, let’s get you up to date.

  • What is known as synthetic grass is an artificial surface which has been expertly designed to resemble natural grass.
  • And even though it has that natural look to it, it is made from purely synthetic materials, and you will find it being used in many places such as school playground surfaces.
  • It also tends to be a lot more durable than natural grass.

History of Synthetic Grass

Customarily, the use of synthetic grass has been in various sports arenas where it has been difficult to maintain, and in particular indoor arenas.

The very first well-known usage of it was on the sports ground of the Astrodome in Houston, Texas, USA, in 1965, and that’s where it came to be known worldwide as AstroTurf.

  • Artificial grass has, since that time become increasingly more popular at being used as on people’s home lawns as well.

Use in Sports up to the Present

Since way back in the 1970s, synthetic grass composites initially took off at both indoor and outdoor stadiums. However, in spite of its conveniences, many sports people and spectators still had a liking for natural grass.

This was mostly due to the older original synthetic materials did not react in a similar way to natural grass, and also because its hardness back at the time created more injuries to players.

  • A number of stadiums back in the day eventually choose to remove their synthetic grass after the poor approval ratings from both fans and players.

Nowadays More Popular Than Ever

However, with an upgraded and advanced quality of surface, most of those that originally removed have gone back to using it once again. Those who had originally kept their artificial have now replaced it with the newer and much better modern material, which has encouraged many others to have it installed also.

 Seeing its Use in Many Places

It’s also now viewed as a much safer alternative to natural grass when sports are played in cold weather conditions. And these days, the huge advances in the development of synthetic grass, have made it a much more wished for alternative, and not only in the world of sports grounds and schools.

And with another great advantage being a huge reduction in maintenance and upkeep requirements also, it can only be a certain winner wherever it is used!