TRADITION MEETS INNOVATION

It’s been fifty plus years since the 1966 installation of AstroTurf at the Houston Astrodome.

Fifty years of history, as true champions return to glory. On the sports field or inside the plant that creates it, talent, determination and perseverance deliver results.

Every real success story starts with big dreams and ambition – and ends with talent and perseverance. But continuity and longevity are dependent upon one thing – the ability to adapt and improve as time marches on.

Baseball is as American as, well, baseball. Along with hot dogs, ballparks and being America’s pastime - baseball is so much more than a game to us. It’s a passion. And there is a lot of history.

Many years of R&D are behind the making of AstroTurf’s Diamond Series, today’s premier baseball surface.

AstroTurf’s RootZone® technology was the answer to providing a fast and natural ball bounce. A full range of fibers, fiber heights, infills and pads were tested to deliver optimum performance. Today, Diamond Series handles ball bounce exactly like a natural grass field in every area of performance - outfield, infield and base paths. And this can be custom tailored to any coach or facility specifications for speed or bounce. 

Baseball is so much more than a game to us. It’s a passion.

SPORTGROUPSportGroup is today’s true global sports surfacing giant, with manufacturing facilities around the world. Active in over 70 countries, SportGroup has installed more than 13,000 artificial turf fields and 16,000 running tracks. SportGroup was created by selective acquisitions of the leading turf, track, indoor and outdoor sports surface manufacturers.

This amalgamation of innovation and technology also includes the manufacturers and marketers of key raw materials used in all aspects of the sports surfacing industry.

AstroTurf is now in the enviable position of enjoying a completely vertical and fully integrated environment, where all of its ideas can be brought to life in a market hungry for innovation.

Welcome to the next generation. The second half of the AstroTurf century.

ASTROTURF®

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

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It’s all about performance

AstroTurf powered by SportGroup

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TRADITIONMEETS INNOVATION

Meet Matthew Boggs, truly one of the most passionate baseball professionals you’ll ever get to know and one of the key people behind the success of the Diamond Series. 

From a family of ballplayers, Matthew was one of the premier leadoff hitters in all of college baseball and an ACC Honor Roll student four straight years. From Georgia Tech he went on to a highly respected career as assistant coach, first at Tulane and then at Duke, where he fielded Duke’s first ACC Tournament team.

In his struggle to meet the criteria that the ardent baseball purists set before him, Matthew left no base unturned. He studied how the ball interacts with the surface. Firing blasts of baseballs from every angle into every part of the infield, base paths and outfield, he measured the trajectory and speed of the ball from every path and under every condition. He spent years studying the results that the best natural fields produced and went about a long and arduous process to replicate it. 

Armed with a degree in Textile and Fiber Engineering from Georgia Tech, Matthew spent thousands of hours researching how to deliver a natural bounce that replicates grass and clay - and how clay reacts with metal cleats. How runners dig, takeoff, hold up and slide – into every base and under every scenario. 

In the end, it was the magical combination of multiple plies of nylon and polyurethane fibers that Matthew perfected to replicate clay performance. It was not really a miracle, since his methodology combined with hard work, was the only way to get there. But it was a miraculous discovery. And it made all the difference. The steel-like durability of nylon allowed the turf to survive the beating of metal cleats and harsh contact. While the combination of fibers provided realistic sliding distances. 

Coaches and professionals who originally thought it would be impossible to duplicate the grass and clay surfaces of a natural baseball field, were astounded by the results. Thanks to Matthew’s dedication and commitment, today the AstroTurf Diamond Series is as well known among baseball’s elite as it is by major colleges, high schools and municipalities across the country. 

Aside from the latest technology behind the success of Diamond Series, there are also some very special people that were at the very heart of its invention. 

PROPRIETARY FIBERS AND ROOTZONE TECHNOLOGY, SO TURF PLAYS LIKE REAL CLAY

Our proprietary “i-fiber”, the hallmark of the RootZone Diamond-i turf system, is specifically designed to lay over quickly and thereby replicate clay. AstroTurf is the only manufacturer to incorporate nylon, providing realistic sliding distances and enhanced durability in these high wear areas of the baseball diamond. Our RootZone technology encapsulates the infill, and as a result drastically reduces the “infill kick-out” and divots seen on other synthetic fields. That makes for more natural hops. 

 A FULL RANGE OF FIBERS AND PILE HEIGHTS

To cater to the coach’s preferred speed of play, the Diamond Series offers two sets of pile heights.  Depending on the system chosen, clay turf systems are 3/8” – 1/2” shorter than  synthetic infield grass systems in order to replicate the differences found on a natural turf field. As a result, our RootZone Diamond-i products play like real clay, and our RootZone Diamond Blend products play like real grass.

 A TRULY CUSTOMIZED APPROACH

Each area of the baseball field has a different infill recipe to support the natural playability. At installation, we start with baseline infill ratios of (usually) sand and rubber. These ratios have been developed over the course of the last 8 years as we installed 80% of the Division I synthetic baseball fields. The truth, though, is that no two baseball fields are the same. We tune the infill rates of our Diamond Series fields to provide just the right amount of speed and ball bounce. 

 INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE BENEFITS

The most abused areas on synthetic sports fields are pitching mounds and batters’ boxes. To combat that wear, AstroTurf offers the Extra Resilience Area (ERA) turf system, which affords about eight times as much wear resistance as normal turf. And when it does come time to replace the batters’ and catchers’ boxes, it’s a pretty easy process. Installed with a Velcro system, you can peel them up and replace them with one of the eight replacement sets that come with every field.

INFIELD AND OUTFIELD GRASS

◆ ROOTZONE DIAMOND BLEND OPS ◆ ROOTZONE DIAMOND BLEND RBI

CLAY AREAS ◆ ROOTZONE DIAMOND-i OPS ◆ ROOTZONE DIAMOND-i RBI

PITCHER’S MOUND, BATTERS’ AND CATCHERS’ BOXES

◆ EXTRA RESILIENCE AREA (ERA) TURF

WARNING TRACK ◆ ROOTZONE DIAMOND-i OPS ◆ ROOTZONE DIAMOND-i RBI

ASTROTURF®S GEM

PRODUCT LINEUP

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BASEBALL VELCRO PANELSAll baseball fields are sold with eight preassembled, Velcro-adhered sets of batters’ and catchers’ boxes for easy, DIY replacement of these high wear areas.

The Diamond Series is a family of products tailored to mimic the performance of each area of the baseball field.

Outfield, infield, base paths, pitcher’s mound, batters’ boxes and warning tracks are each surfaced with unique AstroTurf products designed specifically to replicate natural field playability.

It’s all about

the bounce.

AstroTurf® Diamond Series baseball fields play and look so natural, yet provide the easy maintenance and exceptional durability we’ve become famous for over many years. Since our first collegiate stadium installation at Wichita State in the summer of 2009, we have installed more NCAA Division I baseball fields than all other turf manufacturers – combined!

Some of our Division I Installations include:

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HOMEFIELDADVANTAGE

Vanderbilt University - Nashville, TN

Kansas State University - Manhattan, KS

Virginia Tech University - Blacksburg, VA

Long Island University Brooklyn - Brooklyn, NY

The Ohio State University - Columbus, OH

Washington State University - Pullman, WA

Wake Forest University - Winston-Salem, NC

Indiana University - Bloomington, IN

Wichita State University - Wichita, KS

University of Delaware - Newark, DE

Duke University - Durham, NC

Tulane University - New Orleans, LA

American Athletic Conference:Tulane UniversityWichita State University

Atlantic 10 Conference:St. Joseph’s UniversityUniversity of Richmond

Atlantic Coast Conference:Boston CollegeDuke University Virginia TechWake Forest UniversityClemson University Practice Field

Big 10 Conference: Indiana UniversityNorthwestern UniversityThe Ohio State UniversityUniversity of IowaUniversity of Michigan

Big 12 Conference: Kansas State UniversityUniversity of KansasUniversity of OklahomaWest Virginia University

Big East Conference:St. John’s University

Big South Conference:Campbell UniversityLiberty University

Colonial Athletic Association:James Madison UniversityUniversity of Delaware

Conference USA:Western Kentucky University

Mid-American Conference:Ball State UniversityEastern Michigan University

Missouri Valley Conference:Dallas Baptist UniversitySouthern Illinois University

Northeast Conference:Long Island University-Brooklyn

Ohio Valley Conference:Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

Pac-12 Conference:Washington State University

Southeastern Conference:University of KentuckyVanderbilt UniversityUniversity of Missouri

Southland Conference:Abilene Christian UniversityNorthwestern State UniversitySam Houston State UniversitySoutheastern Louisiana

Sun Belt Conference:Troy UniversityUniversity of Louisiana at Lafayette

The Summit League:Oral Roberts University

West Coast Conference:University of PortlandUniversity of San Francisco

Western Athletic Conference:Seattle University

OUR SUCCESSSPEAKS FOR ITSELF

But nobody speaks louder than the coaches who have selected AstroTurf for their baseball programs. Listen to what these experts have to say about baseball on Diamond Series.

Wichita State University

“Having played on nearly every synthetic turf system available, the decision of GameDay Grass from AstroTurf was an easy one…AstroTurf® feels like grass, looks like grass, and even plays like grass… ”

Former Head Coach and Hall of Famer, Gene Stevenson

Duke University

“AstroTurf is the right decision for us at Duke because the surface allows for more practice time leading to increases in player development. Too often on a natural surface, coaches are worried that the surface is too wet, too frozen, or too fragile. We do not have that worry. We hit as many ground balls as we want; run as many agilities as we want; and scrimmage when it best fits our schedule. Our players reap the benefits.”

Head Coach, Chris Pollard

Oral Roberts University

“We couldn’t be more pleased with AstroTurf Diamond Series for our baseball field. Whitey (Doug White, Director of baseball operations for AstroTurf) is a baseball guy and understood our expectations. The follow up and service after the completion is second to none. We’re happy to be a part of the AstroTurf family.”

Head Coach, Ryan Folmar

Kansas State University

“This will give our program the ability to take advantage of outdoor practice time in virtually any weather condition, and it will be one of the best playing surfaces in the Big 12 for years to come.“

Head Coach, Brad Hill

Long Island University – Brooklyn

“Replacing our Field Turf surface with AstroTurf Game Day Turf was an absolute “Home Run” for us. We are an Urban campus with limited space that has 5 Teams using the field at any given time; with the AstroTurf system we are able to play on a field that looks and performs under all weather conditions as if we had our own field.”

Former Head Coach, Don Maines

University of Rochester

“When we first received the news about a new facility, I immediately wanted to go to a synthetic turf due to the part of the country we play in and the weather we have. We contacted all of the turf companies and chose AstroTurf because it is a baseball specific turf that plays truer and has the nuances of a natural surface. We have played on all the surfaces out there and there is no comparison to what AstroTurf offers a program. The staff is very knowledgeable on how the field should play and explaining it to all involved. They are baseball people! Our players love it and it is a game changer. If AstroTurf is not your choice, you are making a mistake.”

Head Coach, Joe Reina

Indiana University

“At Indiana University we’re blessed to have great support from our administration, a loyal Hoosier fan base and the Bloomington community. We have a first class facility in Bart Kaufman Stadium and a state-of-the-art playing surface in AstroTurf’s Diamond Series. This field allows us to get work done in live situations and not miss valuable practice time. We love the way it plays!”

Head Coach, Chris Lemonis

University of Delaware

“Our new facility has been outstanding for many reasons. With such a great playing surface we are able to utilize our practice time much better and we don’t have rainouts. It has been great for recruiting.”

Head Coach, Jim Sherman

Tulane University

“We are thrilled with the outcome of our new playing surface at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. From the playing field to the logos, the attention to detail is top notch. The colors are vibrant, the lines are crisp and the look and playability of the field is second-to-none in college baseball.”

Head Coach, Travis Jewett

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Vanderbilt University

“Moving to turf was not an easy decision for us and came with a great deal of research. We wanted a surface that would bring harmony to both the offensive and defensive components of the game. AstroTurf’s product allowed us the best opportunity to do this without compromising any aspect of our field.”

Head Coach, Tim Corbin

Southeastern Louisiana University

“This product is no doubt a 5 star in every facet. I was extremely skeptical moving to an artificial surface, but all that was put to ease with the quality of the product and customer service. Our program has played on many fields but none quite like this. The attention to detail, from the design to the install, made our surface one of the most unique in college baseball. The durability of the product is outstanding. Our batter’s box doesn’t look a day old after an entire season of games and practices. Recruiting and development of our players has increased tremendously due to the surface. I highly recommend this product to everyone in the game.”

Head Coach, Matt Riser

The Ohio State University

“The look and feel of grass, the encapsulation of the infill, and the speed and play provided by the fiber weight made this the best product for us. I noticed that when I talked to coaches who played on AstroTurf®, they talked about why they liked the brand. Coaches who had other types of fields just talked about the field and not the company.”

Head Coach, Greg Beals

Wake Forest University

“This is far and away the closest thing to real grass and gives the truest bounce. This field is going to give us a competitive advantage and help us to win more games. AstroTurf® is the best product on the market and for us it was a no-brainer.“

Head Coach, Tom Walter

TRADITION MEETS INNOVATION

AstroTurf Corporation. 2680 Abutment Rd, Dalton, GA 30721 (800) 723-TURF

help@astroturf.com www.astroturf.com @AstroTurfUSA

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