Latest Rumor Update on the Grass/Field Turf Rumor

[Va_Pats_Fan]

The rule book online @ nfl.com is "not meant to be a substitute for the official rule book". Its a digest only. Just because we can't find it, does not preclude its existance. They are allowed to sod, as I understand it, because this is not a "change" in the turf, but simply maintenance to an existing playing field.

 

[QuiGon]

Sigh, I always hated the artificial turf in old Schaefer Stadium. Now we are turning back the clock!?

Um, this new "FieldTurf" is nothing even remotely like the old astroturf which used to be commonly seen in stadiums across the NFL.

Very discouraging news if true. Football should be played outdoors and on grass IMO.

I agree, but it isn't like the Patriots are currently playing on grass right now as things are.

 

[BelichickFan]

The rule book online @ nfl.com is "not meant to be a substitute for the official rule book". Its a digest only. Just because we can't find it, does not preclude its existance.

When this issue came up a few weeks ago, one of the reporters said it's a rule that's not written down anywhere. Believe it or not.

 

[lobster]

Apparently the use of FieldTurf for soccer is hugely controversial, with some players refusing to play on it. This article "Don't use artificial grass in Toronto FC stadium" was posted on an MLS board concerning Toronto, apparently an MLS expansion team. Three extracts illustrate the controversy:

“It (FieldTurf) kills the culture of the game,†said Julian de Guzman of Toronto, a midfielder with Canada's World Cup team and Spanish First Division club Deportivo La Coruna. “This stadium is supposed to be our new icon for soccer in the country, and the approach seems to be very cheap. It is a step backward in my eyes.â€

De Guzman's Canadian teammate, Tottenham Hotspur defender Paul Stalteri of Brampton, Ont., also gives the surface bad reviews.

“The best salesman in the world couldn't sell me on it [FieldTurf],†he said. “I hope in my career I never have to play on it.â€

Charmaine Hooper of Ottawa, a veteran of Canada's national team, denied (chief operating officer Kevan) Pipe's claims of support from women players, saying she played on the surface last summer for the W-League's New Jersey Wildcats.

“I absolutely hate it,†said Hooper, 38. “These people who are passing or making it okay for us to play on these surfaces, they don't play on the stuff and they don't know. In general, most players don't like it.â€

Hooper said her feet hurt after only a few days of playing on the surface. She said the surface soaks up heat, and the ball takes strange hops and doesn't run the same way as on real grass.

Toronto FC head coach Maurice Johnston hopes to recruit some of Canada's top players for his club, and is aware of concerns regarding the playing surface.

“Any player who doesn't want to play on FieldTurf is not someone who we would be interested in having on our team,†Johnston said through a team spokesman.

That won't sit well with many of the club's potential signings, including national team and Houston Dynamo midfielder Dwayne De Rosario of Toronto.

“I am definitely 100-per-cent pro grass,†De Rosario said. “If they get grass in there instead of an artificial surface, it would be easier to draw better players and teams from Europe to play exhibition games and the fans will respect the team.â€

Source:
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=416298

 

[QuiGon]

Apparently the use of FieldTurf for soccer is hugely controversial, with some players refusing to play on it. This article "Don't use artificial grass in Toronto FC stadium" was posted on an MLS board concerning Toronto, apparently an MLS expansion team.

Well let's see... Gillette Stadium hosts both soccer and football... so which sport should decide which turf is used...? The one the contributes 99% of the revenue to the stadium, or the one that contributes 1% of the revenue to the stadium...?

 

[T-ShirtDynasty]

Grassroots info, eh?

I love having a guy on the board that can get us the inside dirt.

 

[BelichickFan]

Apparently the use of FieldTurf for soccer is hugely controversial, with some players refusing to play on it.

The first quote is about "the culture of the game".
The second quote is from some chick whose "feet hurt" because of it.
The third quote is about recrutiing soccer players.

Nothing much to be worried about there.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Yes of course this surface is a far cry from what once once installed in Foxboro. I realize that. It still seems like a step back rather than a step forward.

Does anybody know what stadiums have this surface installed? Also are the injury statisitics available for playing on this "FT" surface.

Don't like it one bit.

There should be a separate (smaller) stadium built for the Revolution IMO.

Or a better idea would be to disband the league and require all children to play baseball instead. Soccer is ruining the fabric of this country and the grass field in Foxboro!!

I am voting against soccer in the upcoming election BTW.

 

[QuiGon]

Yes of course this surface is a far cry from what once once installed in Foxboro. I realize that. It still seems like a step back rather than a step forward.

Are you sure about that..? Have you actually seen any of the Patriots' home games so far this season..?

I've said this in other posts... I wouldn't recommend FieldTurf for San Diego or Arizona where the grass grows green year round, but I'd say it's much better than the dirt field the Pats have been using so far this season.

There should be a separate (smaller) stadium built for the Revolution IMO.

The Revolution should play in Boston - probably Nickerson Field or any patch of grass that can seat 200 people in attendance.

 

[CTPatsFan]

What about hiring somebody that actually knows how to grow grass? What about bringing in an engineering firm to review the "state of the art" drainage, heating and irrigation system. Don't forget this stadium was built by the "lowest bidder".

We had one of those guys, he quit. This stadium as it sits now could grow grass. While "low bid" can often get you the "low quality", all of the materials from the base to the root zone were screened, tested for spec's and approved before the were allowed in and every single layer was laser graded before the next one was brought in.

 

[lobster]

The Revolution should play in Boston - probably Nickerson Field or any patch of grass that can seat 200 people in attendance.

I thought I read the Revolution had 20,000 fans for a recent game.

 

[shirtsleeve]

Sigh, I always hated the artificial turf in old Schaefer Stadium. Now we are turning back the clock!?

What about hiring somebody that actually knows how to grow grass? What about bringing in an engineering firm to review the "state of the art" drainage, heating and irrigation system. Don't forget this stadium was built by the "lowest bidder".

Very discouraging news if true. Football should be played outdoors and on grass IMO.

The only team with a real field in the AFCE will then be Miami!

From what I have read, field-turf is supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread. I've seen some of it installed. Like others have reported, long "grass" fibers, sand in the base and filled to almost the top of the fibers with very small eraser like pieces of rubber. Again, from what I've read, no more of an injury risk than real grass, and less if the natural surface is less than ideal. Its not supposed to be any faster than grass, either.....

Which leads me to agree with you completely, but for very different reasons. Nothing like half frozen, icey mud in January when we face the Dolts or Donks at home for the AFC championship. Thats what home field advantage is supposed to be all about. Perhaps the team can import some mud before the playoffs begin?

 

[Justice]

This is from the story from nfl.com - note that the Pat's are installing sod in the end zones as well between the hash marks. Also the filming of that football movie prevented the installation of sod earlier.
Source: http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/NE/9735579

They started last night, pretty much the minute the movie crew was gone. In addition to the endzones (which they were never going to get back to a natural color after 6 coats of paint, anyways) they're doing some of the sidelines on the south end of the field where the Rolling Stone's stage was set up. I was in there today and it looks better already.

Almost makes up for the fact that they're going to be picking red, white and silver confetti out of the stands for the next 6 months.

 

[pats1]

Again, to point out Lobster's post:

http://www.nfl.com/teams/story/NE/9735579

Tim Davey, the league's director of game operations, said he spoke to "a very high authority" in the Patriots organization Oct. 16.

...

Davey said the Patriots can't do that this year because an NFL rule forbids teams from changing from natural grass to an artificial surface during the season.

 

[pats1]

And to re-state my opinion on FieldTurf:

Reasons why I'm VERY skeptical on the validity of the report:

A) Guys, all we have on this is a Kathryn Tappen report. I'll believe it when a REAL news outlet reports it (and not just a blog picking up the story.) Even Reiss doesn't have it.

B) There was just a report a few days ago about the center strip of the field being replaced with sod. What would be the point in doing that if the Pats were going to put down FieldTurf in two weeks anyways?

C) I'm no expert, but just the sound of an entire turf field being put down in a week is sketchy, at best.

D) Why has the field come to be like this? It's simple, and it has to do with Kraft's, well, greed.

Movies. Concerts. Soccer. Football.

They're trying to squeeze all of the above on the field, and it's just not working.

E) We all know how the Pats left the field uncovered before the Jan. 2005 Colts game. We all know how the Pats feel about Polian, his crybaby rants, his soft Colts, and their climate controlled dome.

Has the thought of the Pats making a Polian-esque move like this ALLEGED CHANGE EVER crossed your mind?

...

But, if it all stands to be true, I mourn another blow to the status of the Patriots. I'm still upset about what effects the Pats' trip to China will have on the team. And we all know that was a purely BUSINESS decision. I don't want my hometown Pats to be like any other team. We should pride ourselves in an owner like Kraft, out on the field saying, "It's not that cold out," where he prided himself on his days sitting on the frozen Foxboro benches.

First it was the step from a non-heated to a heated field, eliminating any "risk" of having inches of snow on the field, a la the legendary "Snow Bowl." Now this - a divot-less, mud-less, dirt-less - FOOTBALL-LESS field. Just another step.

I don't want to know what's next. We might have the FieldTurf, a la Ralph Wilson stadium. So...Jonathan/Robert Kraft stadium next?

R.I.P.​

 

[Patriotic]

Grassroots info, eh?

What a cutting remark by RayClay. CTPatsFan gets mowed down. If I'm a ref, RayClay is penalized one yard for for clipping.

 

[CTPatsFan]

And to think some of you doubted the grass-man.

 

[BelichickFan]

And to think some of you doubted the grass-man.

Yeah, now you think you're so damn special don't you ? Thanks for the heads up your info was RIGHT ON the money.

 

[captain stone]

And to think some of you doubted the grass-man.

I never doubt the Grass Man; I just wish I could have hooked up with my Grass Man while I was in MA 2 weeks ago.