JMU starts work on installing field turf at Bridgeforth Stadium

[blur2005]

HARRISONBURG, Va., May 9, 2006 – Work to begin installing a FieldTurf playing surface at James Madison University's Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field began Tuesday.


JMU plans to have the new playing surface completed for the beginning of its football team's preseason practice period in early August and for use during the 2006 college football season. The new surface will replace an Astro-Turf surface that has been in use at the facility since the 2000 season. JMU has had an artificial playing surface at the stadium since the 1973-74 academic year.

Story from jmusports.com (http://www.jmusports.com/Team/Stories/4_4138.asp?TeamID=4&NewsID=4138)

[Umass74]

Congrats to JMU. :hurray:

UMass starts it's field turf installation June 29th..

[BigDukeDawg]

im too excited about this addition... one of the reason mo fenner and other key players were hurt so much last season and the one before that was because we had old school astro-turf that felt like you might as well been playin on the street. The design kicks ass as well... You dont like the grass there mass74 ??

[JMU Duke Dog]

Here is the design for JMU's new field:
http://www.jmusports.com/Images/ForArticles/4_4138.jpg

Three A10/CAA schools are getting field turf this offseason with JMU, UMass, and W&M. Richmond also will have field turf when they move into their on-campus stadium in a couple years.

[bluehenbillk]

Congrats on the new turf & even more congrats if you get rid of the biggest crown a college football field has ever seen.

[89Hen]

Three A10/CAA schools are getting field turf this offseason with JMU, UMass, and W&M. Richmond also will have field turf when they move into their on-campus stadium in a couple years.
Cool design. Funny that most of the I-AA world refers to your school as JMU, but here in the DC area most do call it 'Madison'.

As for who's getting field turf, great for JMU since the crowned asphalt turf will be gone, UMass has to be tough to grow grass past the first week in October, but it's a shame that W&M and UR will be losing their great grass. Those two should stay natural IMO. :nod:

[GannonFan]

I thought Richmond already had Field Turf on their existing stadium as well as the proposed new one? I like natural grass over the Field Turf (I actually don't like the way Field Turf looks - personal preference of course) but I do understand W&M's need to practice on the field during the week - shame to lose one of the best grass surfaces around because of that but that's the way it goes.

[UNH 40]

I hope that UNH keeps the natural grass for years to come. With most teams in the league now changing to field turf, it will be a nice little home field advantage when teams travel to Durham, especially in the rain, and snow in late fall.

[Granite]

I hope that UNH keeps the natural grass for years to come. With most teams in the league now changing to field turf, it will be a nice little home field advantage when teams travel to Durham, especially in the rain, and snow in late fall.

Not sure I agree with that, 40 - granted, I've never played football on it (summer league softball probably isn't a good comparison!) but the long term effects in terms of durability and the ability for multiple uses makes it a much more efficient system. Lights and field turf would expand the usability of Cowell beyond the 5 or 6 home football games each year. Not to mention the climate issues and the state of the natural turf by the end of the season. IMO, Cowell is a prime candidate for field turf.

Because I haven't played on it, I'd be curious to know how much of a difference there is between field turf and natural grass (in terms of creating a real home field advantage for one vs. the other). Any insight there?

[slostang]

Because I haven't played on it, I'd be curious to know how much of a difference there is between field turf and natural grass (in terms of creating a real home field advantage for one vs. the other). Any insight there?
I think that it helps a team that is built on speed. Notice that Notre Dame grew their grass on their field real high before the USC game last year to help slow down some of USC's speed. It almost worked.

[Umass74]

As for who's getting field turf, great for JMU since the crowned asphalt turf will be gone, UMass has to be tough to grow grass past the first week in October, but it's a shame that W&M and UR will be losing their great grass. Those two should stay natural IMO

The main problem with McGuirk was the fact that it was built on a swamp.

If you ever visit UMass and enter from Rt 116 on to Stadium Drive, look to the immediate right and see a nice little area with cattails and water. That wet spot is at the same level as McGuirk field.

Apparently, back in 1965 no one took into consideration that the water table was about 12 inches below the surface. A built up field with a JMU caliber crown would have helped a lot.

It's not the growing season; it's the fact that the ground stays so soft. I've seen the field look good, but it gets ripped up easily.

And of course when it rains there is just no place for the water to drain off. In both of last years "mud" games the UMass staff had covered the field prior to the game and put down drying agent. You saw how much that helped.

The field turf will be a big boon to UMass and the teams that come to play in Amherst. Having the practice fields done will also help UMass who practiced on four different fields last year trying to find a dry spot.

[Pard4Life]

Welcome to the club JMU :D

Although it is sad to see many fields lose the grass, it will save programs alot of money and will hopefully cutback on injuries.

Anyhow, who started this FieldTurf trend? The first school I expereinced FT at was Bucknell in 2004. I assume some others had it before then..

[UNH 40]

Not sure I agree with that, 40 - granted, I've never played football on it (summer league softball probably isn't a good comparison!) but the long term effects in terms of durability and the ability for multiple uses makes it a much more efficient system. Lights and field turf would expand the usability of Cowell beyond the 5 or 6 home football games each year. Not to mention the climate issues and the state of the natural turf by the end of the season. IMO, Cowell is a prime candidate for field turf.

Because I haven't played on it, I'd be curious to know how much of a difference there is between field turf and natural grass (in terms of creating a real home field advantage for one vs. the other). Any insight there?

Granite- I agree that it would allow UNH to use it for other things than just for Football, and it is much more durable. The durability issue was kind of my point, as the season wears on and the wear and tear on the field starts to take its tole on the field it would be to the advantage of UNH when teams come to Durham and have not played on a Natural grass surface very often. The field turf is great to play on no matter what the weather is like, you always have good grip and it drains much more efficiently than grass. I actually hate field turf, because those little black pieces of rubber get all over you when you play on it. It drives me and most players NUTS. I would rather play on astro-turf.

The home field advantage for UNH would kind of be like the advantage that the Pats have late in the season when that field starts to get messy they have a huge home field advange.

I would also love to see lights on the game field, every student on campus would attend, it would be a great environment.

[Saint3333]

Anyhow, who started this FieldTurf trend? The first school I expereinced FT at was Bucknell in 2004. I assume some others had it before then..

Appalachian had it installed in 2003, we still have a crown on our field, not sure how it compares with the crown at JMU?

[Proud Griz Man]

Appalachian had it installed in 2003, we still have a crown on our field, not sure how it compares with the crown at JMU?


Montana went to SprinTurf in ~July 2001. We don't miss the November/December bad-turf games and still possess a notable home-field-advantage.


The natural-grass stadium gave way to SprinTurf for the 2001 season. A million dollars was given by an anonymous donor for the new playing surface. The field was named “John Hoyt Field” at the request of the anonymous donor, in honor of a long-time Grizzly booster.

For the 2002 season, Griz Vision was added, featuring a state of the art message center which features game statistics, player profiles, digital replays, and shots of the crowd. The Griz Vision screen is the largest in Division I-AA, measuring 26 feet by 36 feet and was brought in from Times Square in New York City.

The facility underwent its second expansion in the spring and summer of 2003, as approximately 4,000 seats were added on to the north end zone section of Washington Grizzly Stadium, which increased the capacity to 23,117.

[89Hen]

I thought Richmond already had Field Turf on their existing stadium
UR Stadium is famous for the grass field. :nod:

[Granite]

I would also love to see lights on the game field, every student on campus would attend, it would be a great environment.

Agreed - night games in September would definitely enhance the home game experience. Plus it gets dark so early in mid-late November (not to mention early December!) that even 12:00pm starts require lights.

I believe the stadium renovation plans include installing lights, so depending on how that progresses, this should be a reality in the future.

[MYTAPPY]

App sure does enjoy thier field turf and so will you JMU. Just make sure you leave a slick spot around the 1 or 2 yard line the next time Furman vists.

[MplsBison]

UT-Chattanooga also installed the new style turf for the 2005 I-AA championship, correct?

IIRC, the grass for the 2004 I-AA championship was supposed to be freshly sodded or something.

All I remember is large chunks of sod coming lose when JMU ot Montana players would try to plant. It actually affected the outcome of the game IMO, which is horrible.


The playing surface should never effect the outcome of a game IMO.



I think a lot of schools are switching from grass to the new style turf because it's cheaper to maintain and it probably looks better too.


NDSU has the old style turf in the Fargodome. Not sure if they'll be switching anytime soon. Probably not.

[jmuroller]

40-You would rather play on astroturd instead of fieldturf? You are definitely in the minority on that one. Actually I've never heard that. Also, the problem with black things only presents itself when you play on SprintTurf, like it is at Northeastern. Field Turf doesn't have those rubber pellets come up.

FieldTurf is a HUGE upgrade for any field. It is the future of athletic fields. It plays almost exactly like grass and last's twice as long as regular turf. The first FieldTurf fields were installed on High School fields in Texas and Jersey 8-10 years ago. Not one has had to been replaced yet. They really don't know the lifespan of it yet.

[MplsBison]

I though that all the new style turfs had rubber in them?

What else do they put in there?

[Granite]

I think a lot of schools are switching from grass to the new style turf because it's cheaper to maintain and it probably looks better too.

When I was working in athletic admin a number of years ago and the new synthetic turfs were coming to market, the price savings over grass was marginal until a certain point in time - in other words, installing Field Turf or Astro Play (the two big ones at the time) required a large capital investment up front, but became more efficient cost-wise as time went on (less year-to-year maintenance). If I remember right, the lifespan on those early versions is/was estimated to be about 10 years (give or take).

Not sure how the technology has changed, or if prices have come down, but I remember it being a fairly significant up-front investment to replace natural turf and install the new synthetics, and it was easier for some of the more budget-restricted colleges, schools, recreation departments, etc. to just stick with grass.

[MplsBison]

I think there is more competition between the manufacturers now.

I'm sure it's still quite an investment up front, but perhaps not as bad as it used to be.

[89Hen]

FieldTurf is a HUGE upgrade for any field. It is the future of athletic fields.
Keep in mind that the reason it may be the future of athletic fields is the maintenance savings and the fact that you can use it for more events without fear of damaging the grass. It's not because it's better than a good natural grass surface.

I hope we never have artificial turf at the Tub.

[Granite]

Keep in mind that the reason it may be the future of athletic fields is the maintenance savings and the fact that you can use it for more events without fear of damaging the grass. It's not because it's better than a good natural grass surface.

I hope we never have artificial turf at the Tub.

Agreed, 89Hen - maximizing use capacity for athletic facilities is a real advantage to the new synthetic surfaces, IMO. Especially for programs who can't afford (or don't have the will) to invest the $$$$ for a facility that is primarily used for 5 or 6 home games each year.

[jmuroller]

I though that all the new style turfs had rubber in them?

What else do they put in there?


They all have rubber in them. There is a difference in SprintTurf and FieldTurf though. SprintTurf is shorter than FieldTurf, thus the rubber pellets are constantly popping up and clinging to the players. Especially when it is wet outside. Fieldturf is significally longer and thus keeps the rubber trapped down in it.

Also..there is OmniTurf outthere, but the company is no long selling it. The big differene in there turf is that it is WAY brighter than the others. Field and Sprint are darker and look more like grass from a distance.

[MplsBison]

These aren't the only two companies, though.

I know Arkansas State is installing something called "ProGreen" which claims to be the longest synthetic grass in the industry.

[jmuroller]

Also, FieldTurf is extremely cheaper than regualr Astroturf. To replace and install FieldTurf is around $600k as opposed to almost 1million for regular Astroturf. JMU is doing it for 800k since we have to take the crown out.

[UNH 40]

Keep in mind that the reason it may be the future of athletic fields is the maintenance savings and the fact that you can use it for more events without fear of damaging the grass. It's not because it's better than a good natural grass surface.

I hope we never have artificial turf at the Tub.

It would kill me to see the Tub go to an artificial surface. I think all artificial surfaces look like crap compared to a nicely kept natural grass field.

[MplsBison]

IF you can maintain it.

But it's so hard to maintain it for 6 games, especially in the northern climates.

A lot of schools are just giving up.

[UNH 40]

They all have rubber in them. There is a difference in SprintTurf and FieldTurf though. SprintTurf is shorter than FieldTurf, thus the rubber pellets are constantly popping up and clinging to the players. Especially when it is wet outside. Fieldturf is significally longer and thus keeps the rubber trapped down in it.

Also..there is OmniTurf outthere, but the company is no long selling it. The big differene in there turf is that it is WAY brighter than the others. Field and Sprint are darker and look more like grass from a distance.

Rutgers has the field turf with the longer blades of synthetic grass, and after the game i was still covered with those black things. If you fall or make a tackle or dive those little black rubber pieces will get all over you. the longer blades will the rubber down when you run but not if you land on it.

[89Hen]

JMU is doing it for 800k since we have to take the crown out.
I didn't know it cost that much to take a ridge vent out. :p

[UNH 40]

40-You would rather play on astroturd instead of fieldturf? You are definitely in the minority on that one. Actually I've never heard that. Also, the problem with black things only presents itself when you play on SprintTurf, like it is at Northeastern. Field Turf doesn't have those rubber pellets come up.

FieldTurf is a HUGE upgrade for any field. It is the future of athletic fields. It plays almost exactly like grass and last's twice as long as regular turf. The first FieldTurf fields were installed on High School fields in Texas and Jersey 8-10 years ago. Not one has had to been replaced yet. They really don't know the lifespan of it yet.

I only like astro-turf because it plays so much faster than the field turf.

[jmuroller]

I didn't know it cost that much to take a ridge vent out. :p


It's the concrete that costs so much to take out

[MplsBison]

Rutgers has the field turf with the longer blades of synthetic grass, and after the game i was still covered with those black things. If you fall or make a tackle or dive those little black rubber pieces will get all over you. the longer blades will the rubber down when you run but not if you land on it.


I guess it really just isn't that big of a deal. Otherwise the schools would not be investing so much money.


I mean, the little rubber things come off in the shower, right? They don't cause cancer, right?

[UNH 40]

I guess it really just isn't that big of a deal. Otherwise the schools would not be investing so much money.


I mean, the little rubber things come off in the shower, right? They don't cause cancer, right?

They are not bad for you or anything, but they are just so uncomfortable and it is irratating as hell having them all over you body, in you mouth, in you eyes, in your hair all over you mouth piece.:bang: :bang: I really dislike the stuff. Unless you've played on it and experienced the annoyance it can cause you wouldn't think it is a big deal, but it drives a lot of players crazy.

[89Hen]

They are not bad for you or anything, but they are just so uncomfortable and it is irratating as hell having them all over you body, in you mouth, in you eyes, in your hair all over you mouth piece.:bang: :bang: I really dislike the stuff. Unless you've played on it and experienced the annoyance it can cause you wouldn't think it is a big deal, but it drives a lot of players crazy.
I was on G'town's field soon after installation last fall. I was only there watching and taking pictures of a scrimmage and I had the black grains all over me and my camera equipment. It was like they were supercharged with static and just stuck to you. The players were aboslutely covered with them. :nod:

[slostang]

NDSU has the old style turf in the Fargodome. Not sure if they'll be switching anytime soon. Probably not.
I think that the Fargo Dome can not switch to Field Turf or SprinTurf because the take up the AstroTurf to use the Dome for other events. I may be wrong, but I do not think you can do that as easily, or at all, with the new Turfs.

[MplsBison]

Many domes have the new style turf. In fact, every dome in the NFL and MLB has it.

So, obviously, there is something that can be done about it. I have no idea what that is exactly.

[DTSpider]

I thought Richmond already had Field Turf on their existing stadium as well as the proposed new one? I like natural grass over the Field Turf (I actually don't like the way Field Turf looks - personal preference of course) but I do understand W&M's need to practice on the field during the week - shame to lose one of the best grass surfaces around because of that but that's the way it goes.

The on-campus soccer stadium has the new field turf. It was installed two years ago since that field is used by both the men's & women's soccer teams. Football also likes to practice there if possible to keep the other grass practice fields from getting worn out. I think that women's lacrosse may also use that field. Hopefully in 3 years it'll be fully expanded and ready to host football.

The current off campus stadium (UR Stadium or City Stadium) has a natural grass field. It is used only a few times a year. The grass was upgraded several years ago to host the NCAA soccer tournament. It is widely considered as one of the better grass fields. It gets excellent drainage and has been ready within days of hurricans and tropical storms. That field will not be replaced. However, it is believed that the city will turn it into low priced housing once UR moves to the on-campus facility. UR had considered purchasing it, but balked at the more than $5 million price tag (which is outragous if you're familar with the location).

[blur2005]

However, it is believed that the city will turn it into low priced housing once UR moves to the on-campus facility. UR had considered purchasing it, but balked at the more than $5 million price tag (which is outragous if you're familar with the location).
Yeah, that is nuts. When I went to the JMU game there back in '04, I couldn't believe where the stadium was situated. It is a nice field, though, and I liked the colisseum-styled side. But it is definitely not worth $5 million where it's located.

[blukeys]

They are not bad for you or anything, but they are just so uncomfortable and it is irratating as hell having them all over you body, in you mouth, in you eyes, in your hair all over you mouth piece.:bang: :bang: I really dislike the stuff. Unless you've played on it and experienced the annoyance it can cause you wouldn't think it is a big deal, but it drives a lot of players crazy.

Former Philadelphia Phillie slugger Richie Allen used to say "If a horse won't eat it, I don't want to play on it." ;) ;) ;)

[JMU Duke Dog]

One can watch the changing of the field at: http://turfcam.jmu.edu/

The username is "demo" but no password is required.