City Panel to Consider the Future of Artificial Turf Fields at Public Facilities

The Pasadena Recreation and Parks Commission will consider a staff recommendation Tuesday to maintain artificial turf at two heavily-used athletic fields, as the City faces a shortage of athletic facilities and increasing demand for playtime.

According to national standards, Pasadena should have 13 soccer fields for its population of 130,000 residents but currently has only one dedicated soccer field at Villa Parke, a City report said. The artificial turf fields at Robinson Park and Villa Parke help meet this demand by providing nearly 90 more days of annual availability than natural grass fields, according to City documents.

Parks staff estimates replacing the artificial turf with natural grass would cost approximately $1.1 million at Villa Parke (72,099 sq. ft.) and $2.2 million at Robinson Park (145,321 sq. ft.). Annual maintenance costs would increase significantly, from $12,651 for artificial turf to over $73,900 for natural grass fields of similar size. The synthetic fields currently in use, installed between 2009-2011 and replaced under warranty in 2018, save between 500,000 to 1 million gallons of water annually.

These fields currently are used by over 50 organizations, including Pasadena Unified School District, local youth groups, and fourteen specific user groups such as West Pasadena Little League and college athletic programs according to the report.

The facilities support over 2,500 youth in sports programs and approximately 1,000 adults in sports leagues. Despite the extended availability of artificial turf, City staff reports turning away 20-25 additional groups annually due to capacity limitations.

Natural grass fields require constant watering, mowing, fertilizing, and pest control while losing approximately 840 hours yearly to maintenance, rain delays, and renovation, the City report said. While artificial turf can be 30-40 degrees warmer than air temperature and requires periodic maintenance for grooming and infill replacement, it provides consistent year-round playability without closures for weather or field recovery.

The discussion comes after public requests to ban artificial turf on both residential properties and athletic fields during a May Municipal Services Committee meeting. While recent state legislation (Senate Bill 676) allows cities to prohibit synthetic grass on residential properties, it does not address athletic fields.

The commission will meet at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 3, at the City Yards Public Works Building Second Floor, 233 West Mountain Street.

The public can submit comments by email to shouser@cityofpasadena.net or in person during the meeting.