Yale Bowl going to field-turf.....

[Sader87]

Not too many remaining natural grass fields left these days. Brown will be the only Ivy with a natural grass field now.

https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2019/01/25/turf-field-to-be-installed-in-yale-bowl/

[FUBeAR]

Not too many remaining natural grass fields left these days. Brown will be the only Ivy with a natural grass field now.

https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2019/01/25/turf-field-to-be-installed-in-yale-bowl/BOOLA F’n BOOLA!!

[PAllen]

First, the Giants aren't playing there again. Second, it's kind of odd that a University would do this in light of the on campus research that it should also be promoting.

On the other hand, if turf allows them to use the bowl for more than a few games and practices a year, then that would be a major plus.

[Son of Eli]

The new field will be heated which will make it a great venue for cold weather games late in the year. One more reason to participate in the FCS playoffs.

It will also allow Yale to place a Dome over the field during the winter so teams can practice on it year round. That is part of the plan.

[PAllen]

The new field will be heated which will make it a great venue for cold weather games late in the year. One more reason to participate in the FCS playoffs.

It will also allow Yale to place a Dome over the field during the winter so teams can practice on it year round. That is part of the plan.

I hope that you mean a field bubble and not a full stadium dome.

[CenMEBlackBearFan]

Glad to hear Yale is going to field turf as the natural grass was a disaster when we played there, come to think about we played as well as the natural grassxlolx
Did like the read about the carcinogenic issues associated with the field turf and yet they are overlooked by Yale as well as most schoolsxeyebrowx

[walliver]

I don't like plastic fields, but it costs a lot of money to properly maintain a grass field, especially in less temperate climates.

A well-maintained grass field is always better than plastic fibers on top of recycled tires. In some cases, however, fake fields may be preferable to bad plastic.

I was very disappointed when the Citadel announced they were going to the dark side.

I hope Yale will at least keep the surface green.

[Go Green]

A well-maintained grass field is always better than plastic fibers on top of recycled tires.

It has been a LONG time since anyone used those words to describe the grass at the Yale Bowl.

[DeltaDevil662]

No team in the state of Mississippi (FBS, FCS, D2, D3) uses field turf. No reason why but we just don't.

We MIGHT be the first to do it but nothing at this point

[lionsrking2]

No team in the state of Mississippi (FBS, FCS, D2, D3) uses field turf. No reason why but we just don't.

We MIGHT be the first to do it but nothing at this point

USM

[DeltaDevil662]

USM

You're right. It's been that way for a while now so I assumed they still had it.

[Son of Eli]

I hope that you mean a field bubble and not a full stadium dome.

Yes. A field bubble.

[clenz]

No team in the state of Mississippi (FBS, FCS, D2, D3) uses field turf. No reason why but we just don't.

We MIGHT be the first to do it but nothing at this point
Weather.

Grass outside of the southern US starts taking a beating pretty quickly after about the second or third week of September. September and early October often have relatively significant rainfall, and it isn't a "warm rain". Typically by the middle of October it's freezing rain. The fields can't dry properly due to the tempuratues. Thus it takes almost no time to turn it into just complete farm pasture quality.

Couple that with the lack of funding available to maintain the grass field anywhere close to properly - it takes a hell of a lot of time and money to maintain a proper field once that starts to happen - and it's a mess. Hell, look at Heinz Field, whatever Washington wants to call their dump of a Stadium, and Chicago by the second half of the season. Those places have more money and resources to spend in a week to prepare a field than any college will have for at least a year to do so.

The turf in Washington is often held directly responsible for Adrian Peterson's and RG3's knee injuries

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dr6fn69XcAEePhh.jpg:large



Michael Robinson took a video of the field before a game, and there are parts where the field literally didn't exist (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2013/01/09/michael-robinson-takes-video-of-fedex-fields-grass/?utm_term=.477e57176491)
https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/files/2013/01/robinsonfedexturf113a.jpg


A close up of the field from a Green Bay Packers game (https://www.businessinsider.com/lambeau-field-looks-like-a-frozen-tundra-2014-1)
https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/52c9d57becad0471304f26d9-750-563.jpg

Green Bay went to a new combo of turf and natural - polyethylene-based SISGrass (https://www.sispitches.com/products/hybrid-pitch-sisgrass/)...a process that took over 5 months to install - I'm sure it's not cheap and something that 99.9999% of colleges couldn't dream of doing


Instead of the previous three-to-four-week timetable to stitch the field, a single machine shipped from Japan worked around the clock from July 9-16. It stitched fibers ¾ inch from each other and seven inches deep, sticking up just under an inch above the ground. (https://www.packers.com/news/new-turf-ready-to-welcome-packers-into-2018-season)

Synthetic fibers are intended to provide a safe stabilization for the sand underneath the field, preventing the ground from getting pushed around and becoming uneven over the course of a long season.

....

(https://www.packers.com/news/new-turf-ready-to-welcome-packers-into-2018-season)
The heating coils underneath the field allowed construction to begin in February. Roughly 15-16 inches of material was peeled off in layers and discarded to the parking lot near the Fleet Farm gate through a conveyer set up in the stands between sections 130 and 132 in the south end zone. (https://www.packers.com/news/new-turf-ready-to-welcome-packers-into-2018-season)

With the drain tile on the sub-floor remaining in place, more than 3,500 tons of sand were brought into the stadium – approximately 170 dump trucks – and smoothed over the heating and irrigation systems, which are atop a new laser-graded layer of pea gravel.

..

Staying on schedule, crews replanted sod in spring and proceeded to stitch more than 2,500 miles of synthetic fiber into the Kentucky bluegrass field. (https://www.packers.com/news/new-turf-ready-to-welcome-packers-into-2018-season)




If you're school has enough money to completely rip a couple feet of earth from under your surface, install one of the largest private boiler systems in the world to heat your field the field to keep it from freezing, at least 5 months to install it, and then the money required to properly care for it (grow lights, dedicated field crew, all the machines to take care of it, etc...)...then yes...keeping the natural grass in the north is viable......but you're also not playing FCS football

That gross holds up pretty well
https://media.profootballfocus.com/2018/12/USATSI_11775966.jpg?w=916&h=720





Compare that to the climate of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Texas, most of Kentucky, Sour Carolina, etc. where it looks like the average temp in December and January is between 55-60 with an average low about 40-45. Most of the northern US during that time of year has a low of about 10-15 and a high of 30-35.

[Grizalltheway]

Weather.

Grass outside of the southern US starts taking a beating pretty quickly after about the second or third week of September. September and early October often have relatively significant rainfall, and it isn't a "warm rain". Typically by the middle of October it's freezing rain. The fields can't dry properly due to the tempuratues. Thus it takes almost no time to turn it into just complete farm pasture quality.

Couple that with the lack of funding available to maintain the grass field anywhere close to properly - it takes a hell of a lot of time and money to maintain a proper field once that starts to happen - and it's a mess. Hell, look at Heinz Field, whatever Washington wants to call their dump of a Stadium, and Chicago by the second half of the season. Those places have more money and resources to spend in a week to prepare a field than any college will have for at least a year to do so.

The turf in Washington is often held directly responsible for Adrian Peterson's and RG3's knee injuries

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dr6fn69XcAEePhh.jpg:large



Michael Robinson took a video of the field before a game, and there are parts where the field literally didn't exist (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2013/01/09/michael-robinson-takes-video-of-fedex-fields-grass/?utm_term=.477e57176491)
https://img.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/files/2013/01/robinsonfedexturf113a.jpg


A close up of the field from a Green Bay Packers game (https://www.businessinsider.com/lambeau-field-looks-like-a-frozen-tundra-2014-1)
https://amp.businessinsider.com/images/52c9d57becad0471304f26d9-750-563.jpg

Green Bay went to a new combo of turf and natural - polyethylene-based SISGrass (https://www.sispitches.com/products/hybrid-pitch-sisgrass/)...a process that took over 5 months to install - I'm sure it's not cheap and something that 99.9999% of colleges couldn't dream of doing



If you're school has enough money to completely rip a couple feet of earth from under your surface, install one of the largest private boiler systems in the world to heat your field the field to keep it from freezing, at least 5 months to install it, and then the money required to properly care for it (grow lights, dedicated field crew, all the machines to take care of it, etc...)...then yes...keeping the natural grass in the north is viable......but you're also not playing FCS football

That gross holds up pretty well
https://media.profootballfocus.com/2018/12/USATSI_11775966.jpg?w=916&h=720





Compare that to the climate of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Texas, most of Kentucky, Sour Carolina, etc. where it looks like the average temp in December and January is between 55-60 with an average low about 40-45. Most of the northern US during that time of year has a low of about 10-15 and a high of 30-35.

Wa-Griz and the Litter Box used to be absolute mud pits by the time Cat-Griz rolled around.

[clenz]

Wa-Griz and the Litter Box used to be absolute mud pits by the time Cat-Griz rolled around.
I can imagine. The potential temp and precip swings through the mountains had to play hell on the field.

I'm a big fan of grass fields. A well maintained grass surface is just another level in terms of looks, safety, and playing on. I don't care for the SEC but I'll watch SEC games on CBS because I enjoy watching games played on surfaces that are that well maintained.

[Sader87]

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29998&stc=1

Although our play on it hasn't been optimal lately, the grounds crew/field maintainence guys have done a great job with the tuef at Fitton the last few years. It's really held up throughout an entire season's play the last few years....I remembah it being beat to hell by season's end in the 1970s and 1980s.

[ngineer]

I remember one hell of a mud game at Fitton about 10-15 years ago when the field was coming up in chunks. Our QB, Kevin Keating was virtually shot putting his passes. A few years later we had a similar deluge at Goodman that basically was the death knell of that grass field, which was uneven and poorly drained to begin with. The new sod field installed in around 2008 is tremendous. Drains very well and has underground irrigation system. It has held up very well in several rain games, and if major precip expected, they cover it pregame. I understand cost concerns, especially for schools with limited space for multiple sports. Lehigh is lucky to have so much land so as to be able to have grass field and still have artificial turf fields for practice and other field sports as well. "If a horse can't eat it, I don't want to play on it."--Richie "call me Dick" Allen, Philadelphia Phillies.

[Bill]

Engineer,

Yes - that was probably 2002 or 2003...there was a hurricane/northeaster. It was ugly...Kyle got the job done though. If memory serves, a picture of one of our players was the inside lead picture in SI that week. We knew it was going to be miserable, so I splurged on LL Bean duck boots that week to wear. I stayed dry... I still have those boots to this day!

[Go Lehigh TU Owl]

Engineer,

Yes - that was probably 2002 or 2003...there was a hurricane/northeaster. It was ugly...Kyle got the job done though. If memory serves, a picture of one of our players was the inside lead picture in SI that week. We knew it was going to be miserable, so I splurged on LL Bean duck boots that week to wear. I stayed dry... I still have those boots to this day!

2006 (Coen's first year) was played in a steady rain up there too. Marques Thompson had a huge game in the slop. It was nothing like the 2005 game at Goodman but still nasty.

[UAalum72]

2006 was the Albany game. Didn't actually rain much during the game, the hurricane went thru the night before and early morning.

"I don't know about artificial grass, I never smoked any." - Bill "Spaceman" Lee, Red Sox lefthander.

[PAllen]

The Baltimore ravens had that mixed artificial/natural grass stuff for a season or two. By the end of the first season, with HS games played on thanksgiving, and a couple of weeks later, then a playoff run, the plastic was completely separating from the natural grass. They had to go through in the off season and cut large chunks of it out. After that, they got the fake stuff.

[ASU33]

No team in the state of Mississippi (FBS, FCS, D2, D3) uses field turf. No reason why but we just don't.

We MIGHT be the first to do it but nothing at this point

USM has field turf, so does D2 Mississippi College and Delta State, and so does NAIA Millsaps

[Herder]

Nice will by Yale today! Looks like a good team . . . Too bad about their policies no to compete in with he post season, they might have had a chance to win one or two in the Big dance.

[Ivytalk]

Nice will by Yale today! Looks like a good team . . . Too bad about their policies no to compete in with he post season, they might have had a chance to win one or two in the Big dance.
Not true in basketball. Yale will play in the NCAA hoops tournament.

[Son of Eli]

Not true in basketball. Yale will play in the NCAA hoops tournament.


Yale will be a 14 seed and play LSU.

[Herder]

Really? What about the kids? The BB team must be a lot smarter than you FB players to be allowed to miss class.

[Ivytalk]

Yale will be a 14 seed and play LSU.
Yale has a shot. LSU has crapped the bed a few times this year.

[bulldog10jw]

My son that lives in CT works for a construction company. He called to tell me that his company got the contract to haul away the old turf in the bowl. He said they are getting requests from alums who want a piece of the turf as a souvinier. He wanted to know if I wanted a small piece.

[FUBeAR]

My son that lives in CT works for a construction company. He called to tell me that his company got the contract to haul away the old turf in the bowl. He said they are getting requests from alums who want a piece of the turf as a souvinier. He wanted to know if I wanted a small piece.Here ya go. I brought home some of the ‘turf’ I saw at Yale this past Fall.
https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/PETCO/2535922-center-7

[bulldog10jw]

Here ya go. I brought home some of the ‘turf’ I saw at Yale this past Fall.
https://s7d1.scene7.com/is/image/PETCO/2535922-center-7

You should advertise your turf in the NH Register. You may get a good offer.

[bulldog10jw]

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30280&stc=1
http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30281&stc=1
http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30282&stc=1

[Son of Eli]

Great pictures. Where did you get them? I’d like to follow the progress.

[FUBeAR]

So, I see they've moved the equipment into position. When will they begin digging up the playing surface?

[bulldog10jw]

Great pictures. Where did you get them? I’d like to follow the progress.

My son works for the construction company hauling away the old turf. Unfortunately, they have nothing to do with the installation of the new turf.

- - - Updated - - -


So, I see they've moved the equipment into position. When will they begin digging up the playing surface?

Soon

[Son of Eli]

[QUOTE=bulldog10jw;2760256]My son works for the construction company hauling away the old turf. Unfortunately, they have nothing to do with the installation of the new turf.

- - - Updated - - -
You need to return to the bowl to inaugurate the new field against Holy Cross. It will bring the new field good luck with all the wins you’ve attended over the decades.

[Go Green]

My son works for the construction company hauling away the old turf. Unfortunately, they have nothing to do with the installation of the new turf.



Did his company also haul away the old turf on Yale Field (the baseball stadium)?

[bulldog10jw]

Did his company also haul away the old turf on Yale Field (the baseball stadium)?

He never mentioned it at the time. I'll have to ask him.

[WestCoastAggie]

I sure hope we don't switch over, no matter how much b***hing or moaning our Aggie alumni make. We had an alum donate $125,000 just for one year of grass maintenance in BB&T stadium last spring.

Sheesh!

[Son of Eli]

Here are some pictures of all the dirt they’ve excavated.





http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30287&stc=1http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30288&stc=1

[bulldog10jw]

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30303&stc=1

[Son of Eli]

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30303&stc=1
Field hasn’t looked this good in years.

- - - Updated - - -


http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30303&stc=1
Field hasn’t looked this good in years.

[Son of Eli]

Some more pictures I found on twitter

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30342&stc=1http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30343&stc=1

[Son of Eli]

https://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30763&stc=1



https://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30765&stc=1

[FUBeAR]

https://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30763&stc=1



https://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=30765&stc=1NICE!
SO. MUCH. BETTER!!!

[CenMEBlackBearFan]

NICE!
SO. MUCH. BETTER!!!

I agree, beautiful. Wish it had been in place last year when we visited the Bowl. It was a mud pit but then again we decided b/c we didn't have our QB we would just not show upxsmhx

[caribbeanhen]

another one Bites the Dust... I enjoyed Yale whipping Maine on the ugly grass last year, made the game worth watching, will not be watching anymore Yale games now

[CenMEBlackBearFan]

another one Bites the Dust... I enjoyed Yale whipping Maine on the ugly grass last year, made the game worth watching, will not be watching anymore Yale games now

And i now better undertstand Gangtackle11 and his affliction with you angry birdsxbowx
Actually have stayed in touch with a couple of great hen fans over the years having met them in Orono years ago and again in Portland, they just don't post herexthumbsupx

[caribbeanhen]

And i now better undertstand Gangtackle11 and his affliction with you angry birdsxbowx
Actually have stayed in touch with a couple of great hen fans over the years having met them in Orono years ago and again in Portland, they just don't post herexthumbsupx

angry..... haha, you have no idea black bear.... did my post really upset you that much, go take a hike in the woods

[grayghost06]

http://www.anygivensaturday.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=29998&stc=1

Although our play on it hasn't been optimal lately, the grounds crew/field maintainence guys have done a great job with the tuef at Fitton the last few years. It's really held up throughout an entire season's play the last few years....I remembah it being beat to hell by season's end in the 1970s and 1980s.

Field looks pretty good. That BC game at Fitton in 86 was a tough mudder. In fairness though, Mother Nature dealt them a rough week of weather.

[FUBeAR]

I agree, beautiful. Wish it had been in place last year when we visited the Bowl. It was a mud pit but then again we decided b/c we didn't have our QB we would just not show upxsmhxSame...except it was a Sandy Mud Pit & once Mercer’s backup QB figured out that “All 9 routes” would work almost every play, the dug hole was too deep to dig out of.

[Son of Eli]

Field looks pretty good. That BC game at Fitton in 86 was a tough mudder. In fairness though, Mother Nature dealt them a rough week of weather.


I was very impressed with the excellent condition of the turf at Fitton Field when I attended last year’s Holy Cross-Yale game. Keeping a natural grass field in New England in such condition is no easy trick. Unfortunately Yale seemed to lose the ability to do it, for whatever reason.