Warren Township Kicks Off 2011 With Mondoturf
Sep. 1, 2011 - When the Warren Township High School Blue Devils
kick off their 2011 football season Friday against New Trier High
School, a state-of-the-art field will be underfoot: a Mondoturf 3Nx thermo-bonded artificial turf
system.
The Mondoturf
field - which replaced a natural grass field - is the latest in a
series of enhancements to WTHS' multipurpose stadium. During the
past five years, the school has expanded the venue's seating
capacity, added new lights, and installed a new scoreboard.
As the final improvement, school officials also wanted to upgrade
the field from natural grass to a highly durable playing surface so
that the stadium would be better equipped to handle the large
number of events it hosts throughout the year. With a surface that
can withstand heavy use - even in inclement weather - the stadium
now will be home to WTHS football, boys and girls lacrosse, boys
and girls soccer, physical education classes and band practices, as
well as a community lacrosse club and youth football practices and
games.
"Previously, the field was limited to football and boys lacrosse,
and we didn't practice on it very much because we didn't want to
tear up the field," said Mark Pos, Warren Township High School's
athletic director. "Throw in the fact that our band uses the field
a couple times a week, and during football season, the grass field
would get pretty beaten up, especially if it rained before band
rehearsal. Now, none of that is going to matter."
WTHS administrators chose Mondo from among the leading artificial
turf suppliers based on visits to other nearby sports venues where
they could evaluate the fields first-hand, as well as the Blue
Devil's experience on rival high schools' fields. "From everyone we
spoke with, Mondo stood out as being a quality product - we knew we
would be extremely comfortable going with Mondo," Pos said.
The Mondoturf
field's groundbreaking 3Nx fiber has proven core characteristics
that allow it to perfectly mimic the responses of natural grass,
and to do so with outstanding resilience and durability while
offering superior player comfort.
Thermo-bonded, Mondo's newest artificial turf backing, provides a
dimensionally stable tufted turf without needing a polyurethane
secondary backing. A dual primary backing holds the turf fibers in
place more securely than traditional primary backings, so the field
can be handled as necessary with virtually no fiber loss.
Comprising two campuses approximately 4.5 miles apart, Warren
Township High School serves more than 4,000 students and is one of
the largest high schools in Illinois. The campuses are located
about 40 miles northwest of downtown Chicago. A member of the
Illinois High School Association, the school fields 13 boys teams
and 14 girls teams and competes in the North Suburban
Conference.