By Larry Kelly
Thomas J. Amanti, principal of Montville High School, stood on the last row of the bleachers next to the press box and smiled as he peered out to the middle of the football field.
“I love the big ‘M,’” Amanti said, referring to the 10-yard-wide, orange “M” on the 50-yard line on the Indians’ 1-year-old FieldTurf artificial athletic playing surface. “I told the contractors I wanted an ‘M’ the size of Michigan’s ‘M’ in Michigan Stadium.”
Michigan Stadium is known in college football circles as “The Big House,” a 109,000-seat facility that held the distinction of largest stadium in America for many years. Montville’s newly refurbished athletic complex is not as grandiose, but in terms of local high school football stadiums, it’s being hailed as state of the art.
The Montville School Building Committee recommended in 2002 the installation of FieldTurf as the playing surface and centerpiece of the athletic field and track project, a $1 million portion of the overall $10.5 million town school renovation budget. Construction of a maintenance building, ticket/concession stand, and public facilities building also was included in the project.
The FieldTurf surface, an artificial turf composed of fibers found in tires, keyed the decision. The product is used in several NFL stadiums, including the New England Patriots’ Gillette Stadium, and several Division I college programs, first at the University of Nebraska in 1999.
Montville played 18 football games, 18 soccer games, including state tournament quarterfinal and semifinal games, as well as daily physical education classes in 2007 in the first year of the new complex. Reviews have been nearly 100-percent positive, according to Montville Athletic Director Walt Sherwin.
“I think it’s the best facility in the state,” Sherwin said. “The building committee looked at the technology and asked what would be the best available surface for kids to play on other than grass. I give a lot of credit to the building committee’s forward thinking plus thanks to the Montville community for supporting the project. I have not had one negative comment since we opened.”
The FieldTurf surface features a green color of the plushest grass in the peak grass season of May. Montville opted to go the artificial turf route because maintaining grass fields proved too costly, as high as $200,000 a year.
“The soccer teams would practice on grass fields, the baseball and softball fields,” Sherwin said. “There was grass on the fields for two weeks, then because of the constant playing, the field would turn into what we would call ‘Astro Dirt.’”
Watering fields became a costly expenditure, because of inadequate sprinkling systems. By the time of the spring seasons, skinned fields for baseball and softball gave Montville venues the reputation of a dustbowl.
The new football facility does not resemble Montville’s old stadium. The main aluminum bleachers are on the opposite side directly in back of the school. There are also smaller visiting bleachers on the field’s opposite side away from the school. A tunnel below the middle of the bleachers offers a dramatic entrance for the team just a few feet from Montville’s locker room door. New, improved lights illuminate the field much more than MHS’ old lights.
“The lighting is tremendous now,” Sherwin said. “The old lights were not high enough number one, plus, number two the poles were just out of bounds near the field of play. We had to put pads on them. The new stadium is safer, plus it’s much friendlier for spectators.”
Some critics, outside the school, say FieldTurf is not safer. In 2007, a Connecticut nonprofit organization Environmental and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) released a report about the safety of recycled tire-crumb rubber in artificial turf. To summarize, EHHI claims when FieldTurf was heated to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, four components of the crumb rubber volatilized into vapor gas and released toxins and carcinogens. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has since earmarked $200,000 for an independent study of the safety of FieldTurf components.
Amanti all but dismissed the fears of FieldTurf safety.
“The building committee compiled a lot of research before making this decision,” he said. “The reports, at best, are unfounded. I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s a beautiful complex that the students appreciate and the town appreciates. The complex, and the school, has received a wonderful face-lift.”
Sherwin added, “Some worry [about] if it gets too hot, but we don’t play in the super hot days of summer.”
Sherwin and Montville football coach Tanner Grove agree that the turf appears extremely safe. Lou Bauza, an Eastern Connecticut Board of Approved Officials referee, calls the field the best in the ECC. “It’s easier on your joints when you run,” he said.
“The crushed pellets serve as a shock absorber,” Sherwin said. “Knock on wood, major injuries that are standard to turf fields, like concussions or knee injuries or turf toe, were next to nothing. This surface is a major upgrade from older turf fields when carpet was placed over sand, which turned to concrete. This is the safest field around. Other than a monsoon, this field can be playable in any weather.”
Grove, who led the Indians to a 7-3 record last year, loves the turf and the complex.
“To have a field that most NFL franchises and many Division I college teams play on, it’s a great, great advantage,” Grove said. “The days of old Astro Turf, where players’ feet get grabbed by the turf monster and cause injuries, are not in play here. Everyone in Montville can be proud of this facility. I think any time you have something special, people take more pride in it. I’ve seen a steady increase in excitement for Montville football, bigger crowds, more enthusiasm.”
Montville boasted an excellent freshman class last season, including 250-pound running back Nick Girard, who is now a sophomore and potential Eastern Connecticut Conference standout. Traditionally a football town, Montville could prosper even more with the new complex.
“Montville football is now state-of-the-art,” Grove said. “I think the field has encouraged more kids to come out for football. When we had Tyl Middle School eighth-graders watch our spring football practices, I could see them chomping at the bit wanting to run around the big ‘M.’”
Sherwin is quick to add the field, which has a 15-year lifespan, will benefit more than football players. He said the public will be able to use the track once Montville’s total school renovation is complete, around November.
“The field is used for boys’ and girls’ soccer, band practice, football, and PE classes,” Sherwin said. “I have to be like an air traffic controller in terms of scheduling. This field allows us to potentially add lacrosse in the spring, and I expect the track to be used in the not too distant future for an ECC Championship. I never have to call someone to paint the yard lines; there’s also minimal maintenance other than sweeping and regrooming. If it rains hard, the field is ready to play in one hour.
“The great thing is the usage doesn’t hurt the field a bit,” Sherwin added. “It never gets tired.”