Photo Credit: Courtesy of Sports Turf Company
Editor’s Note: This column, “LBWA” (Leadership By Wandering Around), is based on the premise that, in order to find out what’s going on in the field, a parks and rec leader has to leave his or her desk and “wander around” the area of operations, talk to people, ask questions, and kick around ideas with the individuals in the thick of delivering services to the public. So the author will bring up issues and ask the leaders among the readership to share their knowledge and experiences.
Whenever somebody starts to talk about natural turf, multi-use sports fields for parks and recreation use, I start to get a multi-level headache.
Why, you ask? Well, because the topic is layered with competing pros and cons that will make your head spin after a while. Before we embark on an exploratory discussion about the good, the bad, and the ugly of a multi-use field, let’s first define what all of this means for parks and recreation officials.