Some people are calling foul on artificial sports fields. AstroTurf became a household name when it was installed at the Houston Astrodome in 1966. While early turfs had a reputation for being hard, fields developed after the 1990s are made with layers of sand and rubber instead of concrete, said Shira Miller, a spokeswoman for the Synthetic Turf Council, an Atlanta-based nonprofit trade group.

Yet across New Jersey, dozens of schools and towns that have or are installing synthetic fields are being met with opposition.

Advocates of the fields say they are preferable because they can be used by multiple teams, while environmentalists and residents fear the recycled rubber tires and chemicals used could cause health problems and hurt the ecosystem.

A proposal in Evesham Township, Burlington County, that would have spent $3.1 million on artificial fields at Memorial Park and Cherokee Regional High drew protests in February and March on the basis of environmental and open-space issues, sparking a petition with more than 2,500 signatures and a lawsuit over funding.

The Township Council rescinded the proposal for the high school, but it still seeks to use open-space tax funds to build in Memorial Park. Blogger Karen Borden, a mother of two, part-time nurse and protest organizer expressed concerned that chemicals in the fields could lead to children's respiratory problems and improper drainage could lead to water contamination.

"People didn't believe asbestos was a problem. People didn't think lead paint was a problem. And those things don't come to light until years later," she said. "I believe precaution is necessary."

But Evesham Township Mayor Randy Brown, a national and college football consultant, disagreed with Borden, saying artificial fields are safe and provide better footing than grass, which can have holes, mud and ruts. Brown said the township's demand for sports is high and the recreation fields are overused.

Half of professional football teams and hundreds of colleges use synthetic turf, Brown said, "You're paying millions of dollars in athletic scholarships. You don't want an athlete to get hurt from stepping on a field."

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