Sportexe

Spanaway, Washington is a burgeoning suburb - with no city government and no real community center. So residents rally around Bethel School District high school football games, traveling from the surrounding area to tailgate and support the local athletes.

Unfortunately, the District's teams have been playing on mud in recent years, given rainy weather conditions and high field usage. Thus, when Superintendent Tom Seigel came to Bethel three years ago, he began seeking funding for a surface that could handle Washington 's rainy weather and take plenty of daily use.

Money, however, was a challenge as population growth has required the District to invest in new schools. "We had to be very creative with the funding process for the field," said Seigel. The district sought - and obtained - money for the new surface from the county and state, as well as, private donors.

With dollars secured, Sportexe® OmniGrass® was one of the systems the District researched. "We visited University of California, Berkeley (MomentumT turf), and De La Salle High School (OmniGrass® turf) last year," said Dan Heltsley, Athletic Director for the District. (Both schools have brands of Sportexe® infill turf.) "We heard nothing but good things about their fields."

After choosing the Sportexe® OmniGrass® brand for their Art Crate Stadium, Heltsley said he's still hearing nothing but good things: "The kids, the community - everyone thinks it's great. The kids find it a much more natural playing surface - and we've heard no complaints about it being too hard or too soft."

A new technology turf system, OmniGrass® has a 100% rubber infill that helps provide its unsurpassed shock absorption qualities. And with thicker than average, soft grassy blades, the system provides firmness, traction, and ball play like that of optimum natural grass - minus the maintenance.

Designed specifically to address a wide range of uses and weather conditions, OmniGrass®' four-layered backing, special glued seams, and other quality-driven characteristics ensure its longevity season after season.

"This is a wonderful surface," said Seigel, who noted how well it is engineered to drain (an important consideration in rainy western Washington ). "We just had four inches of rain and there's not a puddle on it.

"Obviously, the turf is a quality product; it was installed by a quality crew. And it will be well used." Seigel added that, naturally, the coaching staff has been very receptive to the safety attributes of the surface, and parents as well, he said, "They just walk in and smile when they see it!"

While the new field has received plenty of kudos in its first season of use, another aspect of the Sportexe® turf system has also been commended: the actual installation process. "Quality control was very good - the crew was great to work with," said Jim Hansen, Bethel School District 's Director of Construction and Planning.

He added that problems inevitably surface on construction jobs. "It's how they're addressed that's critical. Sportexe didn't hesitate to work through any potential problems."

Now that the turf is in, Hansen is still impressed. "Based on the turf systems I've seen, I believe ours is the best - it's one of the best looking and one of the best laid."