It seems that artificial turf just can't be held back these days! The benefits for sports fields, for instance, are too great to be ignored or suppressed. It is quickly becoming the standard sports surface material for the most popular sports like soccer and football, but it is also gaining traction for other sports, too. One of them is field hockey. In fact, artificial turf will be installed on a field hockey field that will be played on during the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.

The company producing the artificial turf says that the turf will be durable, very low maintenance, and supply a uniform surface across the entire field, with no ruts or shifting areas, and without requiring intervals between games for maintenance and repairs. This would have been unheard of with natural grass.

After the Olympic Games end, the artificial turf surface will continue to yield benefits to the local community, too. It will allure out of town visitors playing on the field in tournaments, who will in turn spend money at local hotels and merchants, boosting the economy. Furthermore, it will encourage physical activity among the populace, and increase camaraderie among people who visit to cheer on their favorite teams as spectators.