Rice Facilities ‏@ricefacilities 3m

One month from today we will have a new artificial turf field. pic.twitter.com/9GAWywMjjJ

Interesting. Thought the current turf was relatively new. Good to see improvements even if they are trickling in at this point.

(02-10-2014 05:44 PM)mbrindley Wrote:  Interesting. Thought the current turf was relatively new. Good to see improvements even if they are trickling in at this point.

It was put in in 2007, IIRC.

Yes, good news I guess. Although compared to other more pressing needs... perhaps it was deteriorating in ways we don't know.

Curious as to why. didn't we replace it in 2006, then 2007?

(02-11-2014 12:34 PM)Antarius Wrote:  Curious as to why. didn't we replace it in 2006, then 2007?

Yes. The 2006 version was stained with TG's yellow. 2005 and before was Hatfield's concrete dome.

(02-11-2014 11:33 AM)talon owl Wrote:  

(02-10-2014 05:44 PM)mbrindley Wrote:  Interesting. Thought the current turf was relatively new. Good to see improvements even if they are trickling in at this point.

It was put in in 2007, IIRC.

Yes, good news I guess. Although compared to other more pressing needs... perhaps it was deteriorating in ways we don't know.

I looked it up on Riceowls.com
It was replaced in early 2008.

Generally speaking they replace it when the performance warranty runs out (thus lots of liability shifts from the company to the school). Turf quality is PROBABLY the number one priority for health and safety of the athletes. I know that other things certainly contribute and are important... but turf is certainly a big one.

It seems like the late 1980s when nearly every visiting team complained about the state of the Astroturf. It seemed like Rice took a long line time to act on it back then, and I'd suspect that they only replaced it once between then and moving to field turf in 2006.

(02-11-2014 01:12 PM)Pan95 Wrote:  

(02-11-2014 11:33 AM)talon owl Wrote:  

(02-10-2014 05:44 PM)mbrindley Wrote:  Thought the current turf was relatively new.

It was put in in 2007, IIRC.

It was replaced in early 2008.

A great investment -- Good thing we are avoiding all the expense and difficulty of mowing grass!

New turf is next-gen Astroturf

Hard to read much into the announcement, but as someone who's been on the field several times in the past year the Fieldturf was definitely starting to get worn down. The midfield logo and end zone lettering slightly stuck up from the rest of the turf.

Where is the old turf going?
Bids on a giant logo for tailgating?

Check out the company's website:

http://www.astroturf.com/ ... first rotation on the front-page images...

Our roots were natural grass until 1970.

The Astroturf they are putting in now must be a lot better than the original Astroturf. You can see some of the original type thin Astroturf on the ramps at the track stadium.

(02-11-2014 11:45 PM)I45owl Wrote:  Check out the company's website:

http://www.astroturf.com/ ... first rotation on the front-page images...

I noticed the Liberty Bowl was a place that has this Astroturf in place. Weren't the Rice players (in particular, though some MSU players did, too) struggling with the traction early in the game? Something to watch for.

(02-12-2014 08:07 AM)gsloth Wrote:  I noticed the Liberty Bowl was a place that has this Astroturf in place. Weren't the Rice players (in particular, though some MSU players did, too) struggling with the traction early in the game? Something to watch for.

I'd bet we didn't have the right cleats for that type of field.

(02-12-2014 08:07 AM)gsloth Wrote:  I noticed the Liberty Bowl was a place that has this Astroturf in place. Weren't the Rice players (in particular, though some MSU players did, too) struggling with the traction early in the game? Something to watch for.

Actually it is FieldTurf not Astroturf:

Quote:. The stadium features a synthetic FieldTurf playing surface, spacious locker rooms and a four-level press box, which features a stadium club for VIPs. The playing surface, which had been natural grass through the 2004 season, was replaced with the new FieldTurf surface that is used in more than 25 NCAA Division IA football stadiums.

Liberty Bowl

And here is a quote from current AstroTurf user that is very relevant to Rice Football next season:

Quote:“We will play on a synthetic surface, AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D. We are going to be built for speed as a team and we need to play on a fast surface!,” said Head Coach Bobby Wilder.

Old Dominion Monarchs AstroTurf Gameday grass

It seems that this surface has a good balance of player safety and speed. On numerous occasions I've read Moondog state that the current playing surface is very slow.

(02-12-2014 11:35 AM)Pan95 Wrote:  

(02-12-2014 08:07 AM)gsloth Wrote:  I noticed the Liberty Bowl was a place that has this Astroturf in place. Weren't the Rice players (in particular, though some MSU players did, too) struggling with the traction early in the game? Something to watch for.

Actually it is FieldTurf not Astroturf:

Quote:. The stadium features a synthetic FieldTurf playing surface, spacious locker rooms and a four-level press box, which features a stadium club for VIPs. The playing surface, which had been natural grass through the 2004 season, was replaced with the new FieldTurf surface that is used in more than 25 NCAA Division IA football stadiums.

Liberty Bowl

And here is a quote from current AstroTurf user that is very relevant to Rice Football next season:

Quote:“We will play on a synthetic surface, AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D. We are going to be built for speed as a team and we need to play on a fast surface!,” said Head Coach Bobby Wilder.

Old Dominion Monarchs AstroTurf Gameday grass

It seems that this surface has a good balance of player safety and speed. On numerous occasions I've read Moondog state that the current playing surface is very slow.

Seems like it would usually be to our advantage to play on a slower field

It's not surprising that the techonology of artificial grass fields is evolving, and fairly rapidly, which may mean that artificial fields become "techonologically" obsolete before they need replacementl merely on account of wear. Heck, even "natural grass" fields have evolved fairly significantly, with the installation of different drainage systems and subsurfaces.

Part of the justification, I always understood, for artificial fiels in outdoor stadia was a long-term reduction in cost, taking into account maintenance. I wonder if that justification still holds, if artificial fields are now being replaced as often as they seem to be, i.e. every 6 years or so.

I can sure say I'm glad Reckling Park has a grass field!

(02-12-2014 11:35 AM)Pan95 Wrote:  

(02-12-2014 08:07 AM)gsloth Wrote:  I noticed the Liberty Bowl was a place that has this Astroturf in place. Weren't the Rice players (in particular, though some MSU players did, too) struggling with the traction early in the game? Something to watch for.

Actually it is FieldTurf not Astroturf:

Quote:. The stadium features a synthetic FieldTurf playing surface, spacious locker rooms and a four-level press box, which features a stadium club for VIPs. The playing surface, which had been natural grass through the 2004 season, was replaced with the new FieldTurf surface that is used in more than 25 NCAA Division IA football stadiums.

Liberty Bowl

Nope.

Quote:The 59,308-seat facility features a new AstroTurf surface, spacious locker rooms and a four-level press box which features a VIP stadium club. Recently added to other NFL and university stadiums as well, the new AstroTurf field was installed at the Liberty Bowl in 2012.

http://beamemphistiger.com/facilities/football/

Interesting that we chose to change to the same playing surface as the field we played our worst game in years on.