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re: Why does Texas play on Astroturf?
Posted on 6/7/26 at 1:32 pm to Cimarron
Posted on 6/7/26 at 1:32 pm to Cimarron
quote:I haven't heard anybody give this as a reason, but it is probably the one that makes the most sense.
Austin has water restrictions. I think they can only water 1 day per week.
The demand for water in Austin and Central Texas is already a huge issue, beginning with the influx of locusts (people) and the urban sprawl that goes with it.
Jacob's Well south of Austin has been closed for most of the last 3 years because of over pumping from groundwater and the perpetual drought that has plagued central Texas. This is happening all over central Texas.
Similarly, Barton Springs and the upstream watershed is probably the most protected real estate in Texas. The main spring discharges ~ 30,000,000 gal/day of water, with the pool temperature ranging from 68-70 °F. Barton Springs is the reason Stephen F. Austin choose this area as the State Capitol of Texas.
The demand and drain on water resources, and how those resources are used gets more important every day.
Even though Barton Springs has very little to do with UT watering their grass, those issues are related.
And it will never be about money.
1
Posted on 6/7/26 at 1:43 pm to Ptins944
I would buy this if Texas hadn't used turf for decades.
Whatever the excuses are it doesn't change the fact that Texas should be able to play on a natural grass field.
They have the money and the climate but for whatever reason lack the desire to play on natural grass.
Whatever the excuses are it doesn't change the fact that Texas should be able to play on a natural grass field.
They have the money and the climate but for whatever reason lack the desire to play on natural grass.
Posted on 6/7/26 at 1:55 pm to NickPapageorgio
quote:
They have the money
I heard the opposite. I heard they can't afford it.
Same for LSU always wanting to wear white at home. The white jerseys are cheaper !
Posted on 6/7/26 at 2:03 pm to PharmacistReb
We have a winning record vs Ole Miss in Austin, Oxford and Omaha. Does it really matter to you whether we beat your arse on grass or turf?
Posted on 6/7/26 at 2:18 pm to PharmacistReb
I remember going to the A&M series there in 1986. A&M was a good team and leading the conference IIRC, but Texas just had this aura about them. Only a couple years removed from CWS win in ‘83. I was expecting to be awed by the experience.
Clearly, our team was. We got swept, but still finished tied for 1st with them and we won the tourney.
What I remember, though, is watching the warmups and seeing Texas players bouncing the balls off the surface like basketballs. Just passing the time, effectively dribbling the balls off the carpet.
My point: They understood their surface better than visitors. It might have sucked, but they knew how and where it sucked.
Clearly, our team was. We got swept, but still finished tied for 1st with them and we won the tourney.
What I remember, though, is watching the warmups and seeing Texas players bouncing the balls off the surface like basketballs. Just passing the time, effectively dribbling the balls off the carpet.
My point: They understood their surface better than visitors. It might have sucked, but they knew how and where it sucked.
This post was edited on 6/7/26 at 2:19 pm
Posted on 6/7/26 at 2:33 pm to Ag Zwin
When they gave up the ridiculous home field advantage of having a cliff in play, having springy astroturf was the next best thing. Now, with so much field turf around, it’s not an advantage, and probably is a little bit of a negative on the recruiting trail (why play on tha same surface most high schools use rather than a natural surface like the big leagues would be the pitch).
They went from Astroturf to grass for a while at the football stadium, so it can be done. If I recall correctly, wasn’t Baum Walker built with Astroturf (and the accompanying concrete base) when it was first built (old George Cole Field had the nastiest Astroturf you ever saw)? Now, they have a beautiful grass field with no turf whatsoever (a real rarity). If Arkansas can do it, at their latitude, every SEC school can do it. Texas and Georgia having fake grass is just sad.
They went from Astroturf to grass for a while at the football stadium, so it can be done. If I recall correctly, wasn’t Baum Walker built with Astroturf (and the accompanying concrete base) when it was first built (old George Cole Field had the nastiest Astroturf you ever saw)? Now, they have a beautiful grass field with no turf whatsoever (a real rarity). If Arkansas can do it, at their latitude, every SEC school can do it. Texas and Georgia having fake grass is just sad.
Posted on 6/7/26 at 2:50 pm to Cimarron
quote:
Austin has water restrictions. I think they can only water 1 day per week.
The guy with the formula for water graduated
Posted on 6/7/26 at 3:09 pm to Datsmoneydude
quote:
Ugliest park in all of America
Idk Kansas and WV is pretty ugly too
Posted on 6/7/26 at 6:42 pm to twk
quote:It isn't Astroturf.
When they gave up the ridiculous home field advantage of having a cliff in play, having springy astroturf was the next best thing. Now, with so much field turf around, it’s not an advantage, and probably is a little bit of a negative on the recruiting trail (why play on tha same surface most high schools use rather than a natural surface like the big leagues would be the pitch).
They went from Astroturf to grass for a while at the football stadium, so it can be done. If I recall correctly, wasn’t Baum Walker built with Astroturf (and the accompanying concrete base) when it was first built (old George Cole Field had the nastiest Astroturf you ever saw)? Now, they have a beautiful grass field with no turf whatsoever (a real rarity). If Arkansas can do it, at their latitude, every SEC school can do it. Texas and Georgia having fake grass is just sad.
Well, about the only flat dirt had the UT Campus on it when Clark Field was built. So they shaved off a place between the limestone hills.
Playing on a flat field w/ no transitions, divots, or mud puddles facilitates clean fielding, a must if you want to play in the bigs.
When DF was built, they hosted the HS State Playoffs, which put too much pressure on a natural grass field. Now, they are played at Dell Diamond.
In my other posts, I showed Google Earth photos of some fields. The Turf fields look like baseball fields all the time, which means they can be used all the time. For the grass fields, the majority of the pictures show turf undergoing maintenance, which means they can't be used. Texas doesn't have the luxury of vacant space to use as a practice field.
Posted on 6/7/26 at 6:49 pm to PharmacistReb
quote:
McConaughey can’t contribute a few extra bucks to help grass grow in Austin?
He spends his money growin different grass in Austin
Posted on 6/8/26 at 6:00 pm to Bubbles Up
quote:
Cop out. Y’all could have natural surfaces on your football and baseball fields if you weren’t lazy.
I agree. It's a cop out.
Posted on 6/8/26 at 7:02 pm to All Gas No Brakes
quote:
I guess this is the troll we get since the team is performing well
Nah...
Trolling would involve your ugly sun-faded orange colors.
Texas is just the Tennessee of Trans-Mississippi.
Posted on 6/8/26 at 8:24 pm to Ptins944
quote:
Playing on a flat field w/ no transitions, divots, or mud puddles facilitates clean fielding, a must if you want to play in the bigs.
Texas has always been a little off....
Wasn't it Houston that used to have that rising mound in center field?
Who in their right mind does crap like that ?
Posted on 6/8/26 at 8:26 pm to TX Tea
quote:
Does Tx play on turf? No way…I hadn’t heard that on the rant before.
I also hear Foley Field has a short right field line
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