Dear current and past friends of Watertown, as well as future families of all athletes!
Phases 2 and 3 of the Victory field track, which includes turf in the oval, along with new tennis and basketball courts, are up for final consideration. Almost 20 years ago, I stood in front of the community along with Councilor Vinny Piccirilli and the full Council of Watertown expressing the importance and benefits of a field turf facility encompassing the football and baseball areas.
The design and implementation of Phase 1 of the Victory Field complex has been nothing short of spectacular for our athletes, our physical education department, and for the recreational activities of the entire community. In addition, since the installation of the field turf in Phase 1, the technology and safety of the turf installed at that time have improved considerably. This was documented and implemented two years ago with the resurfacing of the field. The new technology meets the highest standards of safety for all participants.
Sadly, phases 2 and 3 of the project ran into unforeseen economic issues, a pandemic, as well as an aggressive false narrative on safety that dominated the conversation, creating delays for 15 plus years.
On Wednesday November 6th the city held a community meeting on the project, its first since 2018. Surprisingly, discussion at this meeting didn’t include the installation of field turf currently found on the football/baseball fields and left the critically important phase 3 off the table altogether. This part of the project includes locker rooms and a new field house for all athletes. There were roughly 40 residents in attendance. What stood out to me was the high number of student athletes in attendance, along with the Superintendent of Schools, the Chair of the School Committee, the Chair of Athletics, the High School Principal and the WHS Athletic Director. Many spoke, and each expressed the importance of Phase 2’s installation of field turf in the oval, as well as the continued need for equity for all students, the unfortunate existence of inappropriately late practice times, and the fact that our grass fields are often closed due to normal New England weather wear and tear. Because of my former involvement in Phase 1, I am supporting the professional staff of the Watertown Public Schools and asking Councilor Piccirilli and the full City Council to take a vote to reconsider field turf in the oval.
The average family with children, busy schedules, and prior commitments usually finds it difficult to attend late night meetings to express their support about the need and importance to complete both phases of this project. That all changed Wednesday night! The time is now for the community to understand there are more voices than a small group of vocal residents that have the time to push their will and agenda.
Please email Councilor Piccirilli and the full Council expressing your support for field turf and completion of phases 2 and 3 in unison. Reach out the Council as a whole at citycouncilors@watertown-ma.gov.
JD Donohue
Standish Rd
What is the cost break down (initial investment and operating cost) of Turf versus natural grass? There is genuine concern around athlete safety. There are reasons so many more young athletes tear their ACLs and there are studies indicating that turf is a primary reason (more traction and less give than natural grass). https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/en/about/newsroom/articles/turf-vs-grass-fields-sports-injury-prevention
Is “field turf” another name for plastic grass?–you should be clear when writing about it and the effect it has on the environment and enjoyment. The narrative of the community standing firmly against plastic grass instead of real, green, living turf cannot be exaggerated. It is true that more accidents are noted on artificial plastic grass and professional sports teams are moving away from it. The details are hugely important: nothing lives on plastic grass; temperatures in the summer season are way hotter than natural living grass; it is impenetrable so no worms turn over any soil, any vomit or spit sits on top until picked up by another player, or possibly hosed off if near an edge; it is not recyclable at all and goes directly to landfill; the infill may have been improved from ground up tires, but it is still made of toxic waste in small pieces that get carried home on uniforms and shoes; the list goes on. Why don’t we spend as much on underlayment for real living grass so there is good drainage? The green inside the oval is a joy for families who spoke last time to keep the oval for human recreation and not sports all the time. We have too many plastic turf fields already, from Simmons on the river (!) to Victory’s football field. Give us an environmentally safe and beautiful green oval for families to enjoy.
Hear! Hear! Plastic grass is an environmental nightmare and a health hazard too.
Humankind is wallowing in the ever growing plastics disposal problem that threatens both our health and the health of the planet we live on. Convenience should not outweigh these vital concerns.
Thank you Barbara. Well said and my thoughts exactly.
If nothing can live on it or under it what are we considering important here?
A game or the planet and life?
I am all for outdoor sports but not at the expense of the planet and the simple enjoyment of life with real grass.
There are volumes written on the dangerous affects of plastic aka turf. It has been taken up to the landfill in many communities. Please don’t go in that direction. It is not the best long term solution.
Didn’t we just spend a lot of time discussing natural grass v. plastic grass (turf) not that long ago? Why not first consider this topic by asking: what is different about all the negative things that we learned about plastic grass (turf) since that in-depth evaluation? How has our understanding of plastic grass changed to demonstrate that it is now a better option for the environment, athletes health & community? Seems like the burden should be on proponents of plastic grass/turf to present new information about how & why it’s a better option than we concluded it was (not) only a few years ago, that would save us all a lot of time. Still firmly against more turf fields.