The Sydney Morning Herald has a story on Marrickville Council’s plan to replace the grass at Dulwich Hill’s Arlington Oval with artificial turf on page 5.
Something funny is afoot, and not everyone is laughing
Paul Bibby Urban Affairs Reporter
July 8, 2009
OVER nearly a century Arlington Oval at Dulwich Hill has hosted many sports events, including rugby league and the Empire Games in 1938. Now a most modern phenomenon is about to take to the field: synthetic grass.
The grand old ground will become the first council football field in Sydney to be resurfaced with synthetic grass, as the local council tries to deal with a chronic shortage of usable sporting fields in the region.
Made from hundreds of tonnes of shredded tyres covered by a synthetic green carpet, the turf provides an even, all-weather surface that can survive the daily stampede of football studs.
The move is a win for local sporting teams which have been forced to travel across the city to play and train to avoid turning Arlington into a quagmire.
But the plan has drawn criticism from some residents and councillors who say the artificial surface is overpriced, may leach toxins into the air and soil, and will diminish Arlington’s proud history…
