Once Upon A "Sod" Time

[T bone]

1 hour ago, SoCal Deek said:

Believe it or not, artificial turf is becoming more popular for baseball and softball. It was resisted for years by the traditional baseball crowd who consider field maintenance to be somewhat of a religious right of passage. But as time goes by we’ve installed quite few artificial infields as well as batting circles, etc. It’s been a slow change but we are seeing it. 

 

 

Yeah I coached my sons travel team for 8 years and I always liked going into tournaments where they had at least 1 or 2 turf fields available.  Like I said with the amount of snow we get in the winter & the rain in April it is a losing proposition most years to get games in on grass that time of year.  

 

Every high school in WNY should have turf fields for baseball and softball.  

 

Edited September 1 by T bone

[DasNootz]

5 minutes ago, T bone said:

 

 

Yeah I coached my sons travel team for 8 years and I always liked going into tournaments where they had at least 1 or 2 turf fields available.  Like I said with the amount of snow we get in the winter & the rain in April it is a losing proposition most years to get games in on grass that time of year.  

 

Every high school in WNY should have turf fields for baseball and softball.  

 

I'd go a step further... move baseball and softball to fall sports for NYS school sports and make football a spring sport where the weather won't impact the ability to play as much.

Edited September 1 by DasNootz

[SoCal Deek]

2 minutes ago, DasNootz said:

I'd go a step further... move baseball and softball to fall sports for NYS school sports and make football a spring sport where the weather won't impact the ability to play as much.

Now you’re messing with the earth’s rotation! 

[T bone]

8 minutes ago, DasNootz said:

I'd go a step further... move baseball and softball to fall sports for NYS school sports and make football a spring sport where the weather won't impact the ability to play as much.

 

 

It is an excellent idea but it will never happen in NYS.  The COVID year my son was a junior and the high school baseball season got pushed back.   It didn't start to the middle of May and went thru most of June.   The weather was perfect, I don't think they had one rain out.   Football started in the early spring that year and it went off great also.   Fall is absolutely perfect around here weather wise to play baseball/softball.

[SoCal Deek]

Just now, T bone said:

 

 

It is an excellent idea but it will never happen in NYS.  The COVID year my son was a junior and the high school baseball season got pushed back.   It didn't start to the middle of May and went thru most of June.   The weather was perfect, I don't think they had one rain out.   Football started in the early spring that year and it went off great also.   Fall is absolutely perfect around here weather wise to play baseball/softball.

How about playing in the southern hemisphere? 😁

[rusty shackleford]

16 hours ago, Bob Lamb said:

I was lucky enough to be a freshman at UB and was able to attend the last game at the Rockpile. 21-21 tie against the Lions.

The next season opened the Orchard Park stadium. The traffic was horrendous as no prior, proper, planning had occurred. Buses of all types were stalled on the I-90 with passengers running to the bushes to answer nature’s call.

What about sod? Everything had been laid out quickly and haphazardly. After the game – fans seeking to leave ran all over the slopes and dislodged the sod.  Fun time sledding! I still know the owner of Lakeside Sod (Clarence Center) and he said they replaced everything over the next few days.  He was also not invited to supply the 2026 grass field which is already getting replaced.

 

Didn't the NFL go to artifical turf because players complained?

 

https://keystonesportsconstruction.com/why-the-nfl-is-using-artificial-turf/

 

My local high school is putting in artificial crap 

NFL Greed has grown out of control – my last season ticket (100 level - 1998) cost $67. I will only see the new stadium from overhead by blimp.

I was driving into my office this morning and had 930 WBEN on and they had the owner and management team from Lakeside Sod on, getting their perspective on the grass situation. It was a pretty interesting conversation. The high level takeaway was their opinion on the current problem is an anomaly and the sod not taking root like it is was not expected. 

 

They also said what they are putting in now is going to but cut as thick as possible, which may not give the roots as much permanent hold as you would want, it will be in good playing shape for the first few games. They expected them to give it core aeration and backfill that with a sand mix to make it real stable for week 2.   

[4th&long]

3 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

And they were usually azz. Bare spots and hard as rock. At least they were in WNY.

I can’t imagine the crying if the bills field looked like our old high school grass fields. The drama would be thru the roof.

[Stranded in Boston]

21 hours ago, Bob Lamb said:

I was lucky enough to be a freshman at UB and was able to attend the last game at the Rockpile. 21-21 tie against the Lions.

 

Ah, the '72 home finale! A sloppy weather game, but it felt like a huge upset, even though a tie -- Dennis Shaw dishing out the candy, and Bob Chandler making (still) one of my all-time favorite TD catches in that game, spectacularly high-pointing a ball over two Lions DBs. Most folks probably remember Bobby as a "hands guy", but he was a fantastic athlete too.  

[Buff the Cat]

8 hours ago, Augie said:

 

My son’s best friend got a concussion in his first high school game on artificial turf. Sure, it looks cool, but it’s as hard as the parking lot. 

When I played football for UB we would practice on the old artificial turf field if our next opponent used turf. When it was warm out, the turf field was awesome; soft, cushiony, and you felt faster. When it was cold, well then, it felt like concrete and nobody was happy. To be fair, playing tackle football since age 5 on grass was really good if the field was maintained and not overused, otherwise grass could be way worse. So, each have their drawbacks for sure.

[Steptide]

A bit off topic (maybe) but im honestly surprised in 2026 that artificial turf hasent been created that is almost as good as the real thing. I mean, it seems to me that padding could be done under artificial turf that mimics real turf. I mean, at least something comparable to real turf 🤷 

[SoCal Deek]

Just now, Steptide said:

A bit off topic (maybe) but im honestly surprised in 2026 that artificial turf hasent been created that is almost as good as the real thing. I mean, it seems to me that padding could be done under artificial turf that mimics real turf. I mean, at least something comparable to real turf 🤷 

It already is. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the shock coefficient between natural grass and modern, infilled, artificial turf is virtually identical. 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

4 hours ago, 4th&long said:

I can’t imagine the crying if the bills field looked like our old high school grass fields. The drama would be thru the roof.

A true hallmark of the Buffalo Public High Schools championship Harvard Cup was the Thanksgiving Day game.  By halftime most years, All High Stadium had been turned into a mud bowl, and you had a hard time telling which teams were which.

[Guffalo]

On 8/31/2026 at 6:39 PM, Bob Lamb said:

 

NFL Greed has grown out of control – my last season ticket (100 level - 1998) cost $67. I will only see the new stadium from overhead by blimp.

Wow, I knew you were doing well, but now you have your own blimp? Color me impressed !

[Figster]

On 8/31/2026 at 9:11 PM, SoCal Deek said:

Couple of things….

 

First, I was also at that last game against the Lions. My memory is that it was cold and dreary. 

 

Second, many high schools have artificial turf. The major reason is playability. Unlike an NFL stadium, your local high school hosts games and practices for multiple sports for both boys and girls teams. Natural grass takes a pounding with that type of use. 

Grass taking a pounding from Josh and his mighty herd of Buffalo?

 

 Modified to be more football player/cleat friendly.   https://rutguard.com/collections/grass-protection-mesh-products#:~:text=Grass Protection Mesh (GPM) is a flexible ground,for temporary and permanent use in high-traffic areas.  🤷‍♂️

 

Or let's go air hockey with flexible rubber air jets every square inch for air cushioning/ grass stabilization.

Edited Thursday at 04:44 PM by Figster

[DaVinci]

Laying new sod 90 degrees from original