CONCORD, CA. — AstroTurf, the leading synthetic turf company, has teamed up with a tradition-rich high school to make history in California. De La Salle High School, an all-boys school founded in 1965, chose AstroTurf for its new 75,000-square-foot athletic field.
What makes this project so noteworthy is it’s AstroTurf’s first installation of SuperNatural EPDM infill and the 3D360 Blend turf system featuring Trionic Fiber in the state of California. The Spartans selected AstroTurf because of their high-quality products and local references in Northern California. After speaking with the company’s clients, De La Salle High School went with AstroTurf because of its track record of successful projects and history of unparalleled service.
“De La Salle is excited to partner with AstroTurf,” said Leo Lopoz, Vice President of Athletics at De La Salle High School. “Throughout the selection process, AstroTurf has exceeded expectations and demonstrated tremendous professionalism. From the beginning, AstroTurf and Valley Precision Grading answered all of our questions and needs. After discussion with many other schools at different levels, it became apparent that AstroTurf checked all of the boxes that we were looking at. We look forward to the next phase of our stadium field surface and couldn’t be happier with our selection of AstroTurf!”
The De La Salle High School project is using the Melos SuperNatural EPDM Infill, which is blended EPDM rubber with 20 percent organic compound woven throughout the rubber materials. Melos brings legendary quality standards and an innovative approach to blend natural fibers into EPDM, creating additional cooling benefits. Advantages of this super-durable system include hemp which wicks water to help further reduce surface temperatures (which is crucial in the hot California sun), no water required for the product integrity and the bulk density reduces the quantity needed. Also, to provide a level of environmental friendliness, renewable raw materials are included.
The turf itself is in a class of its own. AstroTurf’s Trionic Fiber is a super-fiber that reinforces player-friendly polyethylene fibers with ultra-durable nylon polymers in a feat of chemical engineering never achieved before in the turf industry. The 3D3 designation means the field also has AstroTurf’s patented RootZone, a sub-layer of crimped fibers that stabilizes the infill and increases shock absorbency. The turf has a 60-ounce face weight, meaning it has very dense stitching. All of these factors combine to make a synthetic turf that is stronger, safer, better and more resilient.
AstroTurf is pushing field performance and safety to a new standard for the athletes of California, and De La Salle High School is well-known for its success on the athletic fields. The high school has produced numerous athletes who have played in MLB, NBA, NFL, professional soccer leagues and the Olympics.
The Spartans football program holds the national winning streak record with 151 straight victories from 1992 to 2004. The streak shattered the previous record of 72 consecutive wins. The football program won the California Open Division State Championships six times between 2009 and 2015, while playing in the Open Division state title game every year since the division was founded in 2008.
The football team will not be the only accomplished De La Salle team benefitting from this new field. The Soccer and Lacrosse teams, as well as the Rugby club, will be competing on it. The Soccer team hopes to build on their 26 league championships and 13 North Coast Championships while the Lacrosse team looks to add to their 7 league championships and 5 NCS championships. The Rugby Club is over 70 athletes strong and will also be very active on the new surface.
About AstroTurf®
For athletes and sport enthusiasts, AstroTurf® has redefined the way the game is played. The brand offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies. A growing number of high schools, colleges, professional sports teams and municipalities continue to select AstroTurf-branded products for their premium quality, technical superiority, and safety. To learn more, visit AstroTurf’s website at www.astroturf.com.