Arkansas installs new turf.

[sacker12]

Man, this must be some kind of record. This is the third article that has been posted today about a team switching to artificial turf. I stumbled upon this article about Arkansas installing artificial turf at Razorback Stadium.

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Honestly, I wish they stuck with the typeface that had been in the endzones the past few seasons, but I guess this one will do.

[Joshawaggie]

Man, this must be some kind of record. This is the third article that has been posted today about a team switching to artificial turf. I stumbled upon this article about Arkansas installing artificial turf at Razorback Stadium.

Article

Pictures

Honestly, I wish they stuck with the typeface that had been in the endzones the past few seasons, but I guess this one will do.

If I really wanted to be annoying I'd start a new thread about Northern Iowa putting in some new crap too. I won't though.

[dfwabel]

The sad part is that Arkansas has a Horticulture major with a concentration in turfgrass science

[sacker12]

The sad part is that Arkansas has a Horticulture major with a concentration in turfgrass science

I agree. I wasn't highly impressed with their playing field when I was last there in '07 (McFadden and Nutt's last season).

Thinking about it, I'm not too surprised about Arkansas switching to turf. 1) Petrino had the stuff at Louisville, and 2) he is a major stickler for how the playing fields feel.

[ONUV]

should have stayed with grass but i guess petrino carries a lot of weight.

[BRice16]

Field turf is the devil. Football was meant to be played on grass, no matter how dead that grass may be.

[SmoothieX]

^ Agreed! Plus that rubber tire they use for infill sticks to you like mad.

[pcgd]

Field turf is the devil.

Completely disagree, it saves untold injuries at smaller schools where multiple sports are played on one field and by the end of the year, the field is a danger to the athletes.

I'll agree, a larger school that takes careful care of the main field every single day its not needed, but Field Turf is great for high schools and smaller colleges that can't afford to have full time groundskeepers or a football stadium, men's soccer, and women's soccer fields.

[Pacificoduck]

Field turf is the devil.

Completely disagree, it saves untold injuries at smaller schools where multiple sports are played on one field and by the end of the year, the field is a danger to the athletes.

I'll agree, a larger school that takes careful care of the main field every single day its not needed, but Field Turf is great for high schools and smaller colleges that can't afford to have full time groundskeepers or a football stadium, men's soccer, and women's soccer fields.

very true

[sacker12]

^ Agreed! Plus that rubber tire they use for infill sticks to you like mad.

I could not agree more. Plus, they are a pain to get out of your shoes.

[SmoothieX]

^ Agreed! Plus that rubber tire they use for infill sticks to you like mad.

I could not agree more. Plus, they are a pain to get out of your shoes.

It's worse when its rainy. There's a small state college around the block that lets the public use the track/field when not in use by the school. When the weather is not so nice, the rec league soccer guys come off covered in it.

Field turf is the devil.

Completely disagree, it saves untold injuries at smaller schools where multiple sports are played on one field and by the end of the year, the field is a danger to the athletes.

I'll agree, a larger school that takes careful care of the main field every single day its not needed, but Field Turf is great for high schools and smaller colleges that can't afford to have full time groundskeepers or a football stadium, men's soccer, and women's soccer fields.

very true

I'll agree with that one too. The school I reference above is sub D-III and the field is used for football, soccer, field hockey, track meets, etc. Given how rainy its been in the northeast here this summer, combined long stretches of cold weather we get later in the year, it wouldn't stand up.

It's when rich, big time schools and NFL teams use it that it seems like a cop out.

[The_Admiral]

should have stayed with grass but i guess petrino carries a lot of weight.

Don't worry, they'll put the grass back in as soon as Petrino bolts for a better gig, which could be as soon as August!

[sacker12]

^ Agreed! Plus that rubber tire they use for infill sticks to you like mad.

I could not agree more. Plus, they are a pain to get out of your shoes.

It's worse when its rainy. There's a small state college around the block that lets the public use the track/field when not in use by the school. When the weather is not so nice, the rec league soccer guys come off covered in it.

Field turf is the devil.

Completely disagree, it saves untold injuries at smaller schools where multiple sports are played on one field and by the end of the year, the field is a danger to the athletes.

I'll agree, a larger school that takes careful care of the main field every single day its not needed, but Field Turf is great for high schools and smaller colleges that can't afford to have full time groundskeepers or a football stadium, men's soccer, and women's soccer fields.

very true

I'll agree with that one too. The school I reference above is sub D-III and the field is used for football, soccer, field hockey, track meets, etc. Given how rainy its been in the northeast here this summer, combined long stretches of cold weather we get later in the year, it wouldn't stand up.

It's when rich, big time schools and NFL teams use it that it seems like a cop out.

Not exactly. A lot of times, NFL and big time college teams use FieldTurf and similar surfaces as a status symbol. They like looking like they are using the very best equipment out there, including using FieldTurf.

But, yes, it does make sense when high schools and smaller colleges need synthetic turf for fields that are used practically year round. A perfect example would be my high school alma mater's stadium. In the fall, it was not only used for the high school games, but also for JV, freshman, and jr. high football games. On Saturdays, it would be used by the youth leagues (up to 6-8 games a day). It was also used by the high school, JV, frosh, and Jr. High boy's and girl's soccer teams. Throw in the occasional semi-pro football team and new private school football team, and you have a field that was essentially a dirt pit almost year-round. Needless to say, synthetic turf (ProGrass to be exact) was installed about three years ago. The same surface was installed at Troy's baseball field last year (2008).

[Jaybird]

The sad part is that Arkansas has a Horticulture major with a concentration in turfgrass science

I agree. I wasn't highly impressed with their playing field when I was last there in '07 (McFadden and Nutt's last season).

Thinking about it, I'm not too surprised about Arkansas switching to turf. 1) Petrino had the stuff at Louisville, and 2) he is a major stickler for how the playing fields feel.

3. I feel that weather issues also were a factor, since Arkansas is located in the Ozark Mountains.

[arkansasdolfan]

The sad part is that Arkansas has a Horticulture major with a concentration in turfgrass science

I agree. I wasn't highly impressed with their playing field when I was last there in '07 (McFadden and Nutt's last season).

Thinking about it, I'm not too surprised about Arkansas switching to turf. 1) Petrino had the stuff at Louisville, and 2) he is a major stickler for how the playing fields feel.

3. I feel that weather issues also were a factor, since Arkansas is located in the Ozark Mountains.

Technically, Fayetteville is in the Boston Mountains; however, I don't think weather could have played a big part in this decision. There has not been a rainy game in Fayetteville since 2002. Also, since the Hogs still play two games a year in Little Rock, the last game on-campus is always played by the first to second weekend in November where it is rarely cold.

Personally I liked our dead-ish field, call me crazy. lol.