Carrier Dome Surface Will Change to FieldTurf

Syracuse University Director of Athletics Dr. Daryl Gross announced today that the surface of the Carrier Dome will be changed to FieldTurf for the 2005 football season. The replacement of the current Astroturf field will begin on August 3 and is scheduled to be complete on August 25. In addition, four of SU’s outdoor facilities will be resurfaced during the summer, including changing three grass practice fields at the Lampe Athletics Complex to FieldTurf and replacing the Astroturf on Coyne Field with Astro 12.

“Adding Field turf to the Dome and our practice fields is another step in our building a top national athletics program,” Gross said. “This will help us significantly in competition and recruiting top student-athletes in many of our sports. It will also give us more flexibility in our practice schedules. Our current student-athletes will benefit from these new fields immediately as the fields will be ready for the up coming Fall. The football team will really enjoy the softer surface that is so much like grass. This is a wonderful day for SU athletics as we continue our ‘SU Athletics Tomorrow’ campaign to have the most competitive facilities in the country.”

The summer field renovation project begins this week with site preparation the football practice fields and Coyne Fields. The FieldTurf is scheduled to be installed on the two football practice fields beginning June 9 with completion set for July 17. The lacrosse practice field installation will begin on July 17, with completion set for August 10. The installation of Astro 12 on Coyne Field is scheduled to begin on July 4, with completion targeted for August 1.

The 2005 SU football squad will play its first game on FieldTurf in the Dome when it hosts West Virginia University on Sunday, September 4 at 1:30 p.m. The Orange field hockey team will play its first game on the new Astro 12 on Coyne Field on September 9 against Kent.

“The ongoing development of our facilities is again on display,” said SU head football coach Greg Robinson. “We will have the opportunity to play on a surface in the Dome that is the closest thing to having grass in an indoor facility. Having two practice fields side-by-side outdoors gives us the freedom to have practice space. The FieldTurf will provide consistent footing, which is even better than grass, and enable us to prepare outdoors even in inclement weather.”

FieldTurf is like synthetic grass with actual blades and synthetic dirt (the infill, consisting of a mixture of sand and ground-up rubber). Twenty-two of the NFL’s 32 teams have FieldTurf at their stadium and/or practice facility and more than 25 major NCAA universities have it in their stadiums. In addition, MLB’s Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays have FieldTurf at their respective stadiums. FieldTurf was the first artificial surface approved for World Cup play by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body.

“Everyone at FieldTurf is very proud to enter into this association with Syracuse University,” said FieldTurf CEO John Gilman. “Syracuse has long had an outstanding football tradition to go with its reputation as one of the finest athletic programs in the Northeast. With SU being a member of the BIG EAST, more of that conference's member schools will get the opportunity to play on what is undoubtedly the finest artificial surface in the world. I want to personally thank Daryl Gross, Greg Robinson and the rest of the Syracuse athletic department for the confidence that they have shown in FieldTurf. I can promise that the Orange players, coaches and fans will like what they see when the team takes the field against West Virginia on September 4.”

For events that require the FieldTurf to be covered, including SU men’s basketball games and practices and SU commencement, the BRAVO Mat System from Composite Mat Solutions will be used. The BRAVO Mat System is a lightweight, easy-to-handle composite mat system suitable for installation by one person with no special equipment required. BRAVO offers a fast, easy, inexpensive and durable solution whenever and wherever temporary surfaces are needed. Big Red Events (Orlando, Fla.) is the exclusive dealer of Bravo Mats.

Initially developed for the military’s command tents and forward aircraft staging operations, BRAVO Mat System uses leading edge technology to bring safety, efficiency and productivity to all types of temporary platform applications. BRAVO Mat is a lightweight, easy-to-transport, easy-to-use product with exceptional surface protection capabilities. It can be used industries ranging from military, utility, equipment rental and general construction, to emergency response support, indoor/outdoor events, golf course maintenance and landscaping.

They are built for vehicle travel, equipment support, all-weather walkways, field ground cover, tent floors, maintenance pads, storage platforms, and other applications.

The existing Dome Astroturf is the second field surface the Dome has had in our 25 years. It was installed in the summer of 1993.

Syracuse University Athletics

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