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The debate over whether to install turf over grass fields has become a referendum on sports, health, the environment and the use of scarce public resources.
By Ken Belson and Hiroko Tabuchi
Across the country, cities and towns are replacing grass fields with synthetic turf, a change that is driven by youth sports teams eager for more year-round playing spaces and the multibillion-dollar turf industry working to convince communities that plastic fields are better than natural ones.
Many local officials, at the urging of families involved in youth sports, say turf fields can easily be played on after it rains and don’t need to be mowed or reseeded.
