New analysis finds some counties lose more than an estimated 70 grass-field play days annually due to precipitation

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Better Play Initiative (BPI) today released a first-of-its-kind report examining how precipitation affects outdoor grass-field availability across 12 western Washington counties.

Using 2025 precipitation data from 312 NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network weather stations, the report estimates the number of annual play days lost to rain-related field closures. The analysis focuses on natural grass fields, which are vulnerable to saturation, surface damage, unsafe footing, and extended recovery periods after heavy rain.

"Right now, communities are flying blind," said Scott Gerber, Director of the Better Play Initiative. "Decision makers and community members everywhere deserve transparency on how often their fields are closed due to inclement weather. At the Better Play Initiative, we believe that providing outdoor spaces where all people can participate is essential. With this new research paper, we seek to provide important data and recommendations for communities in western Washington."

The report finds that Pacific, Grays Harbor, Mason, and Lewis counties experience the most severe weather-driven play loss, each averaging more than 70 estimated lost play days per year. That amounts to losing more than two full months of outdoor field availability, creating significant disruption for athletic and recreational programming, tournaments, and community activity.

Grays Harbor County provides the clearest illustration of the compounding effect of heavy rain on grass fields. Despite recording fewer rainy days than many other counties in the dataset, it nearly matches Pacific County in estimated lost play days. The report attributes this to the high frequency of one-inch and greater precipitation events.

Jefferson County shows the opposite pattern. Its 133 rainy days per year is the third-highest in the dataset, but it records only 10.4 days at or above the 0.5-inch threshold and just 3.6 days at or above one inch, resulting in the lowest estimated annual play-day loss in the report, at 18 days.

King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Thurston counties are home to the largest share of organized recreational sports participants. Each county loses an estimated 32 to 45 play days annually. At typical field utilization rates, this represents thousands of hours of lost programming per county each year.

The white paper recommends that counties and parks and recreation departments:

• Publish annual field-usage and closure reports;
• Track how often fields are fully or partially closed because of weather;
• Align sports calendars with seasonal rainfall patterns;
• Expand summer programming where weather risk is lowest;
• Invest in drainage improvements in counties with high-intensity rain events; and
• Consider artificial turf at high-demand, high-precipitation locations.

"Quantifying the impact of rain is the first step toward better planning," Gerber said. "When communities understand how often fields are unavailable, they can make smarter decisions about scheduling, infrastructure, equity, and long-term investment."

The report makes the case that annual transparency around field closures would help elected officials, parks departments, schools, leagues, parents, and community members make better-informed choices about recreation infrastructure and access.

About the Better Play Initiative
The Better Play Initiative is a nationwide public education campaign focused on helping communities make informed decisions about safe, reliable, and durable play surfaces for parks, playgrounds, playing fields, and other outdoor spaces. The Initiative provides resources on recycled rubber surfaces, crumb rubber, and other recycled rubber products, while supporting broader conversations about access, durability, safety, and year-round play. Additional information can be found by visiting BetterPlayToday on LinkedIn and X.

Contact: Harrison Hamm, Harrison@vrge.us

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SOURCE Better Play Initiative