Synthetic turf field condemned

Tyler Francke for canbynowpod.com reports that the Canby (OR) High School turf field has been condemned for the upcoming spring season, after the Canby School District’s insurer inspected the field this week and determined it is not usable for athletic competition. It was bad news for sports and clubs that had planned to use the field this spring, and who are now seeking alternate locations for their activities.

The field is, literally, coming apart at the seams. The way Canby’s field was constructed, the portions that are a different color — such as the white lines and numbers and the Cougars logo in the center — are actually different pieces of turf that are all sewn together. That’s a lot of seams, and some of them have not held up to the wear and tear over the years. The fear is that the seams could trip or snag or otherwise injure a player as they run down the field.

An inspection the district requested from Pacific Sports Turf in Tualatin confirmed this assessment last month. The review found, among other things, that the seams at the midfield Cougars logo had “worn to the point that they can no longer hold the rubber under the field in place” and that some of the lines and additional inlays are “worn to the point of no repair.” The report concluded that the field is unplayable.

The field is a source of great community pride, having been built in 2010 through a local, grassroots (pun intended) effort that raised more the more than $950,000 needed to realize the dream of a then-cutting edge artificial field for Canby athletics. The fundraising was so successful that the initial project was financed without a dime of district money.

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