Gillette Stadium Turf Company Under Fire

[PatsFans.com Article]

Ian's Daily Blog - An article from the New York Post tonight is worth mentioning, because the Patriots have installed the new FieldTurf Duraspine PRO at Gillette Stadium for this season, although the company*who makes it is currently taking some heat. [...]

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[Ian]

Ian's Daily Blog - An article from the New York Post tonight is worth mentioning, because the Patriots have installed the new FieldTurf Duraspine PRO at Gillette Stadium for this season, although the company*who makes it is currently taking some heat. [...]

Click Here To Read This Blog Entry​

For the few people who read this immediately, I've added a couple of additional videos on the new surface, along with an interesting news report on the topic.

 

[Gwedd]

Nice article. No field will ever be perfect.

 

[IcyPatriot]

As I said when the grass field was replaced ... the problem with the grass field that we had was that there was not a sufficient amount of loam to support the grass. No sooner had i typed that then sure enough someone in the media mentioned something to the same effect.

In pursuit of having better drainage the idiots that did the field for Gillette had used materials that were great for drainage but not good at all for root growth ... this is why the field was always getting torn up so easily. Actually - this is why many fields become unplayable over time.

Sometimes in pursuit of perfection some of the old and best basics of turf management are forgotten. In the pursuit of no weeds they kill all the weeds when in fact some clover is good for the grass as it produces nitrogen and is very strong and hardy.

I could go on and on ... I'm a grass nut ... but it is what it is in this world where quick fixes have sometimes replaced good old fashioned hard work and thought.

 

[SmokeShowin]

I worked one of the Revs games and the turf was definately nice and soft.


I saw at the end of the blog that you mentioned the video screens too. I noticed when I worked the Swift and Eagles concerts that they have the one in the south endzone dismantled already.

 

[jmt57]

Seems like with so many other topics, this one too may really be all about money. The Field Turf people put in a bid for the Metrodome, and they were the lowest bid. The Metrodome is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which was created by the state of Minnesota. Projects for public agencies normally go to the lowest bidder as long as they meet all the bid requirements, but that was not the case here. Field Turf sued, feeling they should have won the bid; the agency reacted by going on the offensive and discrediting Field Turf.

I don't know that I would jump to the conclusion that Field Turf is bad, though Icy Patriot makes some very interesting comments that would favor a return to natural grass. Gillette and Heinz Field were two of the worst playing surfaces before they switched from natural grass to Field Turf. That 3-0 Dolphins-Steelers game when the punt got stuck in the mud a few years ago was a complete joke due to the condition of the field.

 

[Deus Irae]

Seems like with so many other topics, this one too may really be all about money. The Field Turf people put in a bid for the Metrodome, and they were the lowest bid. The Metrodome is owned and operated by the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, which was created by the state of Minnesota. Projects for public agencies normally go to the lowest bidder as long as they meet all the bid requirements, but that was not the case here. Field Turf sued, feeling they should have won the bid; the agency reacted by going on the offensive and discrediting Field Turf.

I don't know that I would jump to the conclusion that Field Turf is bad, though Icy Patriot makes some very interesting comments that would favor a return to natural grass. Gillette and Heinz Field were two of the worst playing surfaces before they switched from natural grass to Field Turf. That 3-0 Dolphins-Steelers game when the punt got stuck in the mud a few years ago was a complete joke due to the condition of the field.

The Giants just lost Hixon for the season. They are blaming it on the field.

 

[Gwedd]

The Giants just lost Hixon for the season. They are blaming it on the field.

The counter suit would likely claim his choice of cleats or technique would be the real issue. I think the Giants are just looking for a way to shift his salary costs to someone else.

 

[Deus Irae]

The counter suit would likely claim his choice of cleats or technique would be the real issue. I think the Giants are just looking for a way to shift his salary costs to someone else.

Smith said the new FieldTurf at the new stadium feels different from FieldTurf at other stadiums, like it hasn't been completely broken in yet.

"I thought it was real slippery," Smith said. "We were all slipping and stuff. Hopefully it settles in when more people do stuff on it."

Chip Namias, a spokesman for FieldTurf, acknowledged to ESPNNewYork.com that it typically takes a few weeks for FieldTurf to settle in.

Giants' Rolle, Smith think new turf contributed to Hixon's injury | ProFootballTalk.com

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

So the idiots put plastic crap in the new Giants stadium? They get what they deserve.

When are team going to wake up and realize that the safest surface is grass. And not only is it safer but causes a lot less wear and tear on the team. I believe that the Patriots meltdown last year is a direct result of nagging injuries caused by that miserable surface. BB made it a point to draft guys who can play with injuries because of this and they hated it so much that they replaced it. Whether the new stuff is any better remains to be seen.

The Patriots never should have fired their grass guy; the field went downhill after that. And the Krafts should figure out a way to put a temporary surface over the grass when there are other events at the stadium.

A simple solution to the turf problem could start at the college level; where appropriate recruiters should tell parents of prospective students that their precious little kids will be less likely to get injured on their grass field. Colleges would pull up the plastic crap soon enough after that and maybe the idiot owners would get the hint.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

Why don't any of the sots that cover the Patriots start asking some hard questions about the Gillette turf last year? Every knows it sucked and caused injuries but no one wants to imply that the owners were more interested in hosting mulitple events instead of the health of the players. Why? Maybe they are obsessing on things that are easy to report on such dreary contract talk which takes almost no mental effort and does not tell anything about the team.

Speaking of turf injuries I also wish that someone would ask Mayo about the knee and whether was it nagging him all season. I am sure that it was and that a clever reporter could get him admit something like "I am glad to have the knee finally ata 100%"

 

[BrewCity Cheesehead]

So the idiots put plastic crap in the new Giants stadium? They get what they deserve.

When are team going to wake up and realize that the safest surface is grass. And not only is it safer but causes a lot less wear and tear on the team. I believe that the Patriots meltdown last year is a direct result of nagging injuries caused by that miserable surface. BB made it a point to draft guys who can play with injuries because of this and they hated it so much that they replaced it. Whether the new stuff is any better remains to be seen.

The Patriots never should have fired their grass guy; the field went downhill after that. And the Krafts should figure out a way to put a temporary surface over the grass when there are other events at the stadium.

A simple solution to the turf problem could start at the college level; where appropriate recruiters should tell parents of prospective students that their precious little kids will be less likely to get injured on their grass field. Colleges would pull up the plastic crap soon enough after that and maybe the idiot owners would get the hint.

Agree 100%. The biggest reason to change from grass to field turf (at least for an outdoor stadium) is to cut costs because you don't have to redo it every couple years, and you don't have to have a large grounds-keeping staff. If a team is willing to put in the effort, there is quite a bit of technology out there to make a grass surface stronger. Not sure how many other stadiums use the technology, but I know that Lambeau Field uses a natural grass surface reinforced with synthetic fibers. After they lay down the grass, a machine goes over and stitches in a synthetic fiber about every 3/4" or so. So it looks and feels like natural grass, but has much better durability, so it doesn't give way and allow divots.

I was a little taken aback when the article said 21 of 32 teams now use field turf (that number doesn't sound right to me). I'm sorry.... but if you have an open air stadium, you should have a grass surface.... and props to Arizona for having an indoor stadium AND a grass surface.

 

[bresna]

I'm wondering if it's not time to consider this again. Last night's knee injury to Avery and twisted ankle to Hoomanawanui looked like the turf might have helped. Didn't the Saints' Lynell Hamilton blow his knee out on the turf? 3 injuries in two games with two of them involving no contact?