New field brings opportunities, saves AF money

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Zachary Kee
  • 35th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan --  In light of the budget concerns going on in the Air Force, Misawa leadership looked at infrastructure to see where they could save money.

With the grand opening of the new turf field on Sept. 8, 2012 at the Edgren High School football game, the base community debuted a venue to play intramural sports and a variety of new activities without maintenance getting in the way.

The overall purpose of the field being built is to give the base community a new facility and save the Air Force money in the long run.

"The people of the base are going to be directly affected by the new field because the field was built specifically to offer the base community a top-of-the-line multi-sports field and save the Air Force money," said Staff Sgt. Muriel Diaz, 35th Force Support Squadron sports director.

The base switch to an artificial turf field was driven by maintenance on grass fields getting in the way of games and costing the Air Force money on repairs.

"With all the maintenance done with grass fields you also have to mow, fertilize and water them," said Diaz. "With the new artificial turf field you don't have to worry about maintenance, which saves the Air Force money."

Artificial turf fields will offer a level playing surface, which helps prevent injuries from happening, while grass fields wear down and make the playing surface uneven, increasing the chance for injuries and the cost of maintenance.

"Rain in the spring and fall brings on a big problem whenever games are played on a grass field," said Diaz. "If a game is not cancelled, playing one game on a muddy field can ruin a field for the rest of the season and lead to high maintenance costs."

Turf fields don't have this problem and are more durable than grass fields, Diaz added.

The opportunities the field can offer are being shown right away with the first intramural sport, flag football, being played on the new field in October.

The Fitness Center is looking to move all outdoor intramural sports to the artificial turf field. The only sport needing a little more work than others is intramural soccer. The Fitness Center is in the process of acquiring soccer goals to be installed before next soccer season.

"I think the new field will serve its purpose and contribute to the overall fitness program of the Air Force, as well as promoting unit cohesiveness on base," said Diaz.