In preparation for the 2021 baseball season, Skokie Park District’s Laramie Park, in Skokie, Ill., is the first synthetic turf baseball field in the U.S. to install T°Cool, an evaporative cooling technology that is proven to reduce synthetic turf surface temperatures by 30 to 50 degrees.
During warm-weather months, synthetic turf temperatures can get hot, consistently exceeding 150°, making the fields uncomfortable and often unplayable. T°Cool is a solution that makes fields cooler, safer and more playable, without compromising the performance benefits.
The extreme heat on synthetic turf fields is primarily driven by the sun and composition of the synthetic turf fibers. The only proven method for reducing heat is by treating the infill or sand with a cooling solution, and T°Cool is a proven synthetic turf cooling solution that cools the entire turf system for sustained periods of time. Once installed, 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.
The Laramie Park baseball complex announcement comes on the heels of Chicagoland experiencing several successful T°Cool installations on the landscape side of the business, highlighted by playgrounds, dog parks and residential homes across the region, including the popular playground at Laramie Park (next to the baseball field), which is already equipped with T°Cool’s pre-treated sand.
The baseball field project, which was installed by Rolling Meadows-based Perfect Turf LLC, the largest supplier in the region, follows a new trend in 2020, as sports facilities are adopting T°Cool technology to combat the oppressive heat on synthetic turf surfaces. In fact, the Citadel, the acclaimed Military academy in South Carolina, was the first Division I Athletics program in the U.S. to install T°Cool on its new synthetic turf football field while several high schools and municipal complexes in Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas are among the proactive adopters of the cooling technology. Moreover, T°Cool technology, which has been installed in 35 states this year, recently announced its first international installation, as five fields on the island of Saint Lucia, including Soufriere-Mini Stadium – the host venue for International soccer matches recently installed the cooling solution.
“The Skokie Park District is led by proactive visionaries, and it’s refreshing to see the leadership recognize and embrace the importance of integrating a cooling solution to the new synthetic turf baseball field at Laramie Park,” said Jacob Tetrault, Managing Director, T°Cool. “We continue to get more inquiries on T°Cool as community leaders become more educated on the potential heat issues with synthetic turf.”
“The Skokie Park District has been more than happy with the performance of the T-Cool treated infill, especially in light of the high amount of use the field has already experienced once it opened in mid-summer,” said Corrie Guynn, CPRP, Superintendent of Parks, Skokie Park District.