Alamo Heights High School is currently undergoing a major transformation thanks to a large bond package passed in May of 2017. All the renovations will take years to complete, but this season the Mules football team will get to enjoy the first of many upgrades coming to Alamo Heights: a brand new, state-of-the-art turf at Harry B. Orem Stadium.
Over the summer, Hellas Construction installed a Matrix Turf with Helix technology, a new Ecotherm infill and a Cushdrain pad at Orem Stadium. After nine years with Hellas synthetic turf, Alamo Heights began searching for a way to make the field cooler while also protecting players from injuries, and their search led them to Hellas.
“We visited six different fields, looking at different options with several different companies,” AHISD Athletic Director Jennifer Roland said. “The Georgetown ISD field built by Hellas really stood out.”
Coaches and district officials went out to Georgetown to get a feel for the Matrix Helix turf. The Cushdrain pad, an elastic layer placed over the foundation of an artificial turf system that increases shock absorption and provides extra protection, was what the school liked the most. Matrix Helix is the same turf the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and Miami Dolphins of the National Football League use, and now it’s the turf the Alamo Heights Mules use.
“I feel that this new turf is unbelievably soft,” Alamo Heights Starting Quarterback Reed Andersen said. “It is very exciting, and we are very fortunate to have such a state-of-the-art field. I can’t wait to score a lot of points on it.”
Along with the new turf, Alamo Heights chose Hellas’ new Ecotherm infill over the traditional black crumb rubber that fields throughout the country use. Turfs filled with black crumb rubber are known for having scorching temperatures, but the unique shape of the Ecotherm infill along with the distribution process allows the infill to reduce field temperatures by up to 20 degrees cooler than black crumb rubber. Plus, no irrigation is required with the Ecotherm infill, and it is 100% recyclable.
“We have seen the bottom of shoes melt on some turf fields,” Alamo Heights Defensive Coordinator Josh Smith said. “As coaches, we can feel a noticeable difference. The old turf would get so hot that it was unbearable to touch with a bare hand. The new turf is much cooler to touch on a hot day.”
The Helix feature for Matrix Turf has shape memory technology that allows the turf to bounce back after use, making it stable and safe for all players. And It’s not just the new technology that makes Hellas’ turf premier; the installation is crucial to ensuring the field performs to its full potential. Construction begins with building a draining system out of draining stones that establish the foundation of the turf through precise laser-grading. From here, Hellas crews use exclusive seaming and installation techniques with the latest equipment that result in rapid completion of the turf.
“The turf should in fact help prevent injuries,” Smith said. “The new turf provides a more giving playing surface that is less likely to wear out in the near future. Also, the new turf has a pad underneath that the old turf did not have, providing a more cushioned surface.”
On Friday, August 31st, as the Mules host the New Braunfels Unicorns in their first game of the year, bright lights will once again flash over Orem Stadium and blue and gold will fill the stands. It’ll be a typical Friday night in the fall, except when the Mules run out from under their inflatable helmet while the fight song rings in the air, they’ll be taking the field on the same turf as professional players.
“The message is simple: Alamo Heights has invested and continues to invest in each of you,” Smith said. “Let’s show our gratitude through our performance on the field and our leadership off of it. We also tell them: our new turf is undefeated, so let’s keep it that way!”