HOUCK: THIS ISN'T YOUR FATHER'S ARTIFICIAL TURF

When Southeast Missouri State University officials first announced plans to install an artificial surface at Houck Stadium, there were quite a number of groans. These expressions of dismay along with a number of Speak Out calls came from readers who, shall we say, belong to the Astroturf generation.

Astroturf was a brand name for an artificial surface that was adopted by stadiums across the land, both professional and intercollegiate. The nearly fluorescent green surface was hailed as the answer to soggy, muddy and often unplayable fields. This particular surface was installed over asphalt.

Almost immediately, there were complaints about this new artificial turf. Baseball and football players complained of injuries. Players slipped around on the new stuff when it was wet. Seams in the fake surface often split during games, causing delays while officials tried to make the field playable.

Astroturf was so popular in its heyday that stadium owners and colleges found ways to pay for costly installation of the new surface. When the problems started, these same stadium officials had to live with it, unable to afford the conversion back to real grass.

Little by little, though many Astroturf stadiums eventually went back to the real thing, glad to have mud and costly irrigation bills again.

So it is understandable that Southeast's plans to replace the grass at Houck might cause a public outcry.

But the company that makes the surface to be installed at Houck, FieldTurf, claims it has overcome those Astroturf nightmares. For one thing, the field is prepared in such a way that it is more natural. No asphalt overlay. Instead there are layers of soil, stone, silica and rubber. And FieldTurf's artificial grass looks like -- well, it looks like grass.

More than that, the FieldTurf folks say their surface can take about as much rain as you've ever seen during a Southeast Missouri gully washer.

The university sees plenty of advantages to the new surface, including $20,000-a-year maintenance savings. And the new turf comes with hearty endorsements from sports officials who already have FieldTurf in place.

Maybe one of the best things about the new surface is the possibility that Central High School will be able to play football on Friday nights, like all the other schools. Currently, Central plays on Thursdays when Southeast has a home game the same week in order to allow time for maintenance of the grass surface.

For some doubters, though, the proof will come after the new turf has been field tested. Here's hoping they are suitably convinced.