FieldTurf of dreams

For those who prefer to keep their NFL news on the field, you can’t get much closer than this: In the next two weeks, Seattle and Detroit will become the first two NFL teams to open new stadiums that feature FieldTurf playing surfaces.

Same old sod story? Hardly. Seahawks Stadium and Ford Field are the league’s first new stadiums in more than 30 years to install non-Astroturf artificial surfaces. In Seattle, FieldTurf actually isn’t all that new. The Seahawks have played on the blend of woven synthetic “grass,” fine sand and ground up recycled rubber for the past two years at the University of Washington, while their new stadium was under construction.

“I’m a tremendous believer now,” Seattle head coach Mike Holmgren says of the cushy and yet consistent FieldTurf, which many teams and players believe represents a significant step toward reducing artificial turf-related injuries. “It’s about as much like grass as you can have a synthetic surface be. I really think the right decision was made. This is great for everyone. Players love it, and I think this surface will offer a better product on the field for fans.”

The Seahawks and Lions aren’t the NFL’s only pioneers when it comes to FieldTurf. Eleven different teams have installed it at their practice facility: Cleveland, Detroit, Green Bay, Houston, Kansas City, New England, New York Jets, Oakland, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Seattle. This season’s Pro Bowl in Honolulu will be played on FieldTurf, as well. Aloha Stadium plans to install it after the University of Hawaii’s season finale. Super Bowl XL in Detroit in 2006 is scheduled to be the NFL’s first championship game played on the surface.

Those who have played on it say FieldTurf is much more forgiving than AstroTurf, and yet more consistent than a natural grass field. “It’s better than natural grass,” says Kansas City head coach Dick Vermeil.

Says Seahawks linebacker Chad Brown: “This is an unbelievable turf, probably the best in the league. I love it. I’m not as physically exhausted and sore like you would be from a typical game on other hard surfaces.”

The surface plays the same in wet or dry weather, and it doesn’t suffer the wear and tear of a well-used grass field. Thus, it makes economic sense for stadiums and facilities that have more than just 10-12 football games a year on their schedules. Seahawks Stadium was initially slated for a grass field, but public approval for the stadium’s construction was tied to the hosting of events beyond NFL football. Meaning the field’s durability was an issue.

“It gets back to usage,” notes John Gilman, a former Montreal Alouettes quarterback and assistant coach who is the CEO of FieldTurf. “Those fields that have very limited use can probably keep the grass growing. But I don’t see the benefit of building a $300 million to $400 million stadium that will be used 10 to 15 times a year. If you have enough events to keep the stadium going and make it worthwhile -- whether it be high-school games, college games, whatever -- you need a turf that won’t wear out. That’s where it makes sense.”

Though it started off as a golf product in the late 1980s and early 1990s, FieldTurf truly got its foot in the door of the football field business when the University of Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium switched to it in 1999. Washington, Washington State, and Oregon are other major college programs that now use it. Pittsburgh was the first NFL team to install it in its practice facility, and Joe Montana’s alma mater -- Ringgold High in Monongahela, Pa. -- was the first football program of any type to go with the surface.

In addition, FieldTurf has been the surface of choice in more than 400 stadiums and privately owned facilities world-wide, Gilman says, and it recently became the first artificial surface approved by FIFA for World Cup play.

“You just have a consistency of footing that’s not even there with real grass,” says Gilman. “You don’t have a divot anywhere. You don’t have a hole in the ground. You have the same surface everywhere. Even in the rain.”

According to a USA TODAY report, NFL Players’ Association executive director Gene Upshaw says the union’s response to FieldTurf has been overwhelmingly positive: “They all felt that FieldTurf was probably the best. That type of surface is one we can live with.” Don Banks covers pro football for CNNSI.com.

Thursday, September 12, 2002
Don Banks