Johnson Hagood Stadium (Charleston, S.C.) – home field for The Citadel’s football program – becomes the first Division I Athletics program in the United States to install the T°Cool evaporative cooling technology to its new synthetic turf field.
During the warm weather months, synthetic turf fields across the country can get hot, as temperatures consistently exceed 140 degrees, and often reach the 160-degree level. T°Cool is a proven solution to cool down synthetic turf surface temperatures by 30 to 50 degrees, without compromising the performance benefits.
According to Penn State’s Center for Sports Surface Research and Brigham Young University “Synthetic Surface Heat Studies,” playing on fields where the temperature is higher than 122 degrees is not considered safe. By following those safety standards, unless a synthetic turf field is treated by a cooling agent, the field would be unavailable for activity on many days. With the installation of T°Cool, The Citadel is a pioneer in the battle against excessive heat, joining 10 high schools and a municipality across the Carolinas who are also installing (or will be installing) T°Cool during spring/summer 2020, to help make their fields cooler, safer and more playable.
Today, approximately 80% of synthetic turf fields nationwide use black crumb rubber infill, because of its benefits of fiber support, cushioning and consistency for performance. T°Cool is an eco-friendly solution that cools synthetic turf surfaces by coating the black crumb rubber infill as well as sand. Once treated, the T°Cool solution continuously activates through rain, dew, humidity and/or watering the field, thus reducing the field temperature and bringing the overall field temperature closer to that of natural grass.
As an added benefit, T°Cool’s evaporative cooling solution for synthetic turf fields also encapsulates (95%+) of the infill. This encapsulation reduces the coefficient of friction, thus diminishing both the number and severity of turf burns.
“The installation of T°Cool at The Citadel’s football stadium reinforces that evaporative cooling technology is gaining traction,” said Chris Tetrault, inventor of T°Cool. “Having a Division I program recognize the benefits of a cooling solution on their new synthetic turf fields adds tremendous credibility, as we continue to educate municipalities and school districts across the nation on the benefits of evaporative cooling for synthetic turf fields. With installations planned this spring and summer, a dozen locations across the Carolinas are leading the trend to ensure synthetic turf fields are cooler, safer and more playable for millions of daily participants.”
“The safety of participants that use our facilities is a priority at The Citadel,” said Robby Bennett, assistant athletic director for facilities for The Citadel. “We look forward to TCool’s cooling effect on our stadium’s artificial surface to help maximize player safety in Charleston’s extreme heat.”