Credit//Artificial Turf express// https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
In the Manchester area there are a lot artificial grass pitches also known as Astro Turf, but you can’t just simply go on to the pitches and play football. There is a cost that comes with this, for example the Astro Turf football pitch at Manchester Academy is £82 to hire it on a weekend, this might only be for a couple of hours too. The pricing is extortionate.
The weather in the UK and more specifically Manchester, is normally rainy and bleak, this means that many grass pitches don’t get looked after because it simply can’t withstand the conditions, whereas you can easily have an Astro Turf pitch available to play on all year round.
credit//Flickr//https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/
Astro Turf is made out of artificial blades of grass and is made to be an ‘all weather pitch’, the surface is able to soak up the rain due to these small bits of rubber that are in between the blades of artificial grass, the rubber soaks up the wet conditions and it allows the pitch to not be waterlogged.
Most grass pitches across Manchester are located in local parks, where the council will cut these pitches once a month and except from that the pitches don’t get much care, meaning junior and adult matches suffer because most of their season is disrupted due to cancellations of matches because the pitch is unplayable.
Having Astro Turf pitches free in Manchester could also be a negative thing as well. The grass pitches at local parks get trashed with litter scattered all over them, so allowing any member of public to go onto these Astro Turf pitches could end up with the same outcome, with all the pitches not being respected and that would leave both the grass and Astro turf unplayable because of the mess created.
having these Astro Turf pitches free would allow a more people to live a more healthy life style. Even for 5 a side match during the week, each team is expected to pay so they can use the facilities, and some people chose not to take part in these events because they simply can’t get the extra money to pay, which puts them off.
Having the facilities free would allow more people to get up and active and allow themselves to do some exercise without any added cost. There is a real cry for people not just in Manchester but around the UK to get more active and try to get healthy, and free Astro Turf pitches is an ideal way for people to get out and get fit.
Looking at everything, having Astro Turf pitches free, does have its pros and cons with different opinions from different people, obviously the standard of the pitch on Astro Turf is far superior to the usual grass pitches that you see your local side playing on. But will these leisure businesses take any consideration of the price that they charge for Astro Turf pitch hire?