Work is nearing completion on Coronado’s rebuilt lawn bowling greens. The project, six years in the making, cost $475,000 but is expected to save money through reduced water and maintenance costs. CORONADO — Call it a sign of the times — Coronado lawn bowling is going green. Crews are installing a new environmentally friendly artificial turf to its long-dormant lawn bowling green and hope to have the job completed by the end of the week. They anticipate having the field ready for play by the end of the month. Not only will the new green save water, but maintenance costs for the site near the city library are expected to fall dramatically. Coronado notwithstanding, the United States is behind the times when it comes to playing the sport on synthetic turf. U.S. lawn bowling officials say there are fewer than a half-dozen artificial lawn bowling greens in California and only a smattering around the country. However, they are growing in popularity, spurred by economic, environmental and practical reasons. “This is a very old and very traditional sport, and it’s changing very slowly,” said Athol Foden, marketing chairman for the U.S. Lawn Bowls Association. “But maintenance costs are so high with real grass, with cutting, weeding, watering, it’s cheaper to put in artificial turf.” Foden said Australia leads the way as the “powerhouse in the sport,” with hundreds of artificial greens. New Zealand and Canada also have hundreds of synthetic greens, but they also have hundreds of thousands of players, Coronado lawn bowler Bill Hiscock said. Read the entire Union Tribune story here.
