Facing a choice Wednesday of whether to install natural grass or artificial turf on two community sports fields to be built at El Corazon Park, the Oceanside City Council punted.
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The council voted unanimously to have contractors submit estimates for both surfaces, so that a decision can be made later this year. Residents have strong feelings about the health and environmental factors of the fields for the long-awaited park.
“We can have them bid two options, both artificial and natural turf … then decide down the road,” said City Manager Jonathan Borrego, after the council listened to residents’ remarks on the issue.
“That’s what we would suggest at this point to keep the project moving forward,” Borrego said.
The council can choose one of the two options as soon as October, he said. Plans for the park also include a BMX bike course, a children’s play area, a dog park, picnic areas and pickleball and tennis courts.
Oceanside’s popular youth sports programs create a high demand for playing fields. Many of the teams play their games in neighboring cities such as Carlsbad and Vista because there’s no room at the parks at home.
The City Council also is considering whether to designate the new fields at Calavera as the permanent homes of the Oceanside Pop Warner Football and Thunder Rugby programs, possible with storage space for team gear.
Heavy use creates a lot of wear and tear on athletic fields. Artificial turf holds up better and needs less down time for maintenance and recovery, especially during the rainy season. However, it has numerous drawbacks. The unforgiving plastic surface causes more injuries than grass. It gets hot in the sun, releases fumes and microplastics, and eventually ends up in a landfill.
“I am concerned about (players) breathing in plastic fumes” from the overheated turf, said Councilmember Eric Joyce, whose concerns echo those of many Oceanside parents.
“Artificial turf is not a sustainable alternative to natural grass,” said resident Hayley White, in a letter asking the council to ban all plastic turf.
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“It is a petroleum-based product that sheds microplastics and can contain toxic chemicals,” White said. “Its extreme surface temperatures — potentially reaching 160–180°F or higher — create an especially concerning environment for children and athletes who play on these fields.
“There are also significant environmental costs throughout its lifecycle,” she said. “Manufacturing plastic turf and its underlayment produces greenhouse gases, particulate matter, VOCs, and other hazardous air pollutants. Unlike natural grass, which can sequester carbon, plastic turf contributes to environmental pollution from production through disposal and can remain in the environment for centuries.”
Mike Klein, a Little League coach, was among the few proponents of artificial turf. He said the plastic surface saves money on water and maintenance, and it avoids the use of fertilizers, herbicides and other chemicals that can leach into the soil when used to grow grass, which is not a native species and thus not natural for the area.
“If you care about the environment, let’s do (artificial) turf,” Klein said.
El Corazon Park covers 465 acres at the northeast corner of El Camino Real and Oceanside Boulevard. The property was once part of a larger area used for many years as an open-pit sand mine before the city acquired it in 1994.
Because of the sand mining, much of the property has been reworked and some of it remains unstable. The shifting soils may cause problems that city officials said could be solved or simplified by using artificial turf.
“If we proceed with natural grass we will have a difficult time,” said Manuel Gonzalez, the city’s parks and recreation director.
The two sports fields will be in a 17-acre site set aside to be the first of nine community parks proposed for El Corazon.
A specific plan adopted by the City Council in 2003 for El Corazon also designated areas for commercial and residential development, with the idea that they would provide revenue for the city to build and maintain the parks.
The area known as Park Site 1 is at the eastern end of El Corazon, just north of the 22-field SoCal Sports soccer complex that opened in 2014 and the Frontwave indoor sports arena completed in 2024.
