natural grass football fields

[Max Power]

I'm a traditionalist so I prefer natural grass, but I can't blame teams/schools for putting in Field Turf, or whatever the hot fake stuff is these days. It plays better and by the end of the year it looks better in a lot of places.

When there was grass at Indiana it would look absolutely horrible by the end of the season. All torn up and dead. On the other hand, Northwestern's field usually looks pretty good all year. I assume there's more rain/snow in Evanston than Bloomington, though it's probably colder too. I don't know... I guess I don't understand plants.

[gashousegang]

The reason IU went to the astroplay is that they have to practice at Memorial Stadium later in the year since the practice fields do not have lights. Former Coach DiNardo wanted the turf so he practiced at the stadium each day, wearing out the grass. At the end of the season while Larry Johnson was running all over the IU defense, he was running on painted dirt. That's why IU has turf, at least according to my former roommate who was a team manager.

[cableguy]

Is Boise State the only home field with "color" turf? I was just wondering if anyone knew of any other color artificial turf fields?

[Max Power]

The reason IU went to the astroplay is that they have to practice at Memorial Stadium later in the year since the practice fields do not have lights. Former Coach DiNardo wanted the turf so he practiced at the stadium each day, wearing out the grass. At the end of the season while Larry Johnson was running all over the IU defense, he was running on painted dirt. That's why IU has turf, at least according to my former roommate who was a team manager.

Thanks for the info. Sounds legit to me. Though you'd think it would be cheaper to just install lights on the practice fields?

I remember that Penn State game well... last game I attended at Memorial Stadium before I graduated. They haven't really given me much reason to come back.

[jrh31584]

Is Boise State the only home field with "color" turf? I was just wondering if anyone knew of any other color artificial turf fields?

Yes, and no other NCAA team is allowed to have it.

[drlev]

Ravens / M&T Bank Stadium began with a natural grass surface, but announced and planned switching to NexTurf before the 2003 season. The 2003 NCAA lacrosse championships drove the final nail in the coffin of natural grass at the stadium. By the time the lax games were over, there was little grass remaining on what had become a field of mud. In the final, balls which would have bounced off of the grass were getting embedded in the mud, especially in front of the goals!

[Ben Zing]

well the Patriots made the change. shucks.

and seeing the highlights from the Eagles/Titans on Sunday makes me wonder if Lincoln Financial is next.

Say it ain't so.

[Luigi74]

The main problem in recent years for teams with real grass is that they used a sand based system with the thinking that it would hold up in the rain but it just plain sucked all of the time which caused teams to switch to fake stuff or back to the old dirt system. Another problem is that they keep the real grass so short it tears up easy they need to keep it long and only let people on it on gamedays.

[DenverJ]

well the Patriots made the change. shucks.

and seeing the highlights from the Eagles/Titans on Sunday makes me wonder if Lincoln Financial is next.

Say it ain't so.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing...

The turf at INVESCO Fieldat Mile High has held up quite well since it opened in 2001 despite the Colorado Rapids soccer team using it too. (the Rapids will move into a soccer only stadium next year)

[slapshot]

I have read that Invesco's turf is a blend of natural grass grown around Fieldturf for extra stability. It's predominantly natural grass, so you don't notice it on TV. I think this is another reason the turf there always looks great. The grass is stronger so it holds up more over the course of the season.

Times are different now. Stadiums are more multi-purpose during the same seasons. Field-destroying sports like soccer and football overlap each other, so there's not much time for grass to heal itself, especially in the colder climates. It's too cost-prohibitive to replace all the sod after a few games, and with the amount of money teams pay for their players, no one wants to lose players due to injuries caused by dangerous playing surfaces.

Yes, I would rather see a game played on natural grass. But I would also let the game ve decided by the players and not the elements themselves. A turf field levels the playing field across the board, so the talent of the players decides the games.

[Discrim]

heh, as long as we're talkin about grass vs. fieldturf, anyone remember a college game some years back? I remember it was at NC State, though I forget who was the road team...anyways, I remember turning on espn classic one day and catching part of this game, and they were playing on dead grass seriously, all the grass, aside from the painted portions, had kicked the bucket, hence they played on a wheat-colored field.

[doctorpeligro]

In a few years, only a handful of teams will not be playing on FieldTurf. In addition to its cost and ease of maintenance, FieldTurf is also appealing because it is generally a safer surface for players.

I don't hear people criticizing Michigan Stadium or Camp Randall Stadium because they employ FieldTurf. A great football stadium is a great football stadium, regardless of whether it has a grass or FieldTurf playing surface.

[dfwabel]

FYI, the November issue of "Athletic Business" has an article on D-1A schools and the growth in synthetic turf for football. It was their third survey in the past 13 years on this subject. Ohio State had to resod once this season, and Michigan had lagre issues with their grass, especially between the hashmarks. Colorado St. used the factor that there were five years of drought conditions. According to the story, of the 65 BCS conference teams, 40 have natrual grass fields.

[CFSize24]

Ohio State had to resod once this season, and Michigan had lagre issues with their grass, especially between the hashmarks.

Actually Ohio State resodded twice this season. The last being between the Minnesota and Michigan games. Judging by how many people I saw carrying large chunks of the turf around and outside the stadium following the Michigan game I would guess that it will either be resodded again or replaced with FieldTurf (I hope not).

[doctorpeligro]

Ohio State had to resod once this season, and Michigan had lagre issues with their grass, especially between the hashmarks.

Actually Ohio State resodded twice this season. The last being between the Minnesota and Michigan games. Judging by how many people I saw carrying large chunks of the turf around and outside the stadium following the Michigan game I would guess that it will either be resodded again or replaced with FieldTurf (I hope not).

I thought I read somewhere that Ohio State had already decided to switch to FieldTurf for next year. Did anyone else read the same thing?

[Ben Zing]

there is an overhead picture in SPortls Illustrated this week (Ohio St cover; Cover Two article) of Jets vs Bears at Giants Stadium, and it looks like there is variation in the color of the synthetic turf, PLUS areas where brown is visible.

Almost like they are trying to make it look even more like grass.

[njmeadowlanders]

Our annual Turkey Bowl was quite the mud-fest this morning, thats for sure...

...most of the game was spent running through cold puddles and slipping uncontrollably...

Fun stuff though...I'll play on an uneven grass field anyday

[sacker12]

Is Boise State the only home field with "color" turf? I was just wondering if anyone knew of any other color artificial turf fields?

Yes, and no other NCAA team is allowed to have it.

Actually, Boise is "grandfathered" under this rule. But, when it does come time for them to get a new turf surface, they will have to go with green turf instead of blue.

[Discrim]

Is Boise State the only home field with "color" turf? I was just wondering if anyone knew of any other color artificial turf fields?

Yes, and no other NCAA team is allowed to have it.

Actually, Boise is "grandfathered" under this rule. But, when it does come time for them to get a new turf surface, they will have to go with green turf instead of blue.

I thought they got some fieldturf (or the like) a couple years ago...and that'd count as a new surface, am I right?

[therebelas]

And its partly why the SEC is so great. Only 1 team (i think), with turf. The games always look good.

And the only reason Ole Miss has the fake stuff is b/c our grass got some kind of rare virus during the 2002 season where it was dying before the first cold ever came. We brought in a few experts and they all recommended that, if price is a consideration (which it is), to go with the fake stuff.