Breaking News!! Artificial Turf

[TooTall]

https://ramblinwreck.com/georgia-tech-to-install-artificial-turf-at-bobby-dodd-stadium/

Feel free to discuss. I got my popcorn ready for this one.

 

[deeznats]

If the coaches and players are good with it, no reason it can't be a prudent move. Turf has come a long way since 1994.

 

[TechCubed]

One of my GT classmates is working on this for Shaw. This is their best product, and it's not your grandfather's AstroTurf. He's got a patch of it in his back yard, and if you walked on it blindfolded, you'd never know it wasn't grass.

 

[HurricaneJacket]

Shaw makes good product. I've played on the stuff they were making 5 years ago and it was very comperable to natural grass.

I wonder if they will sell pieces of the sod.

Also, keep the baseball and softball fields natural grass, you can't do outfield art otherwise

 

[Taylorshaw22]

My friend is on the grounds crew and says it will look and feel like natural grass

 

[DeepSnap]

One of my GT classmates is working on this for Shaw. This is their best product, and it's not your grandfather's AstroTurf. He's got a patch of it in his back yard, and if you walked on it blindfolded, you'd never know it wasn't grass.

Doesn't hurt that Chairman & CEO at Shaw is Vance Bell, a former teammate of mine at NATS. Quite a number of other TechExes working there or have retired from there. Thank God it's NOT AstroTurf.

 

[Taylorshaw22]

Baseball and softball are staying natural grass for sure.

 

[bke1984]

Football was meant to be played outside on grass. I don't care how much something "looks and feels like grass" if it isn't grass. Whatever, maybe I'm just getting older...

 

[mtodd30]

Grant field is historic, I believe one of if not the oldest field still in use, but sometimes “historic” can become impractical to keep up. If it helps our athletic department and team, I’m all for it!

 

[Milwaukee]

Football was meant to be played outside on grass. I don't care how much something "looks and feels like grass" if it isn't grass. Whatever, maybe I'm just getting older...

This.

 

[deeznats]

Football was meant to be played outside on grass. I don't care how much something "looks and feels like grass" if it isn't grass. Whatever, maybe I'm just getting older...

It was also meant to be played with no pads, helmets, very little passing, and almost nobody over 200lbs.

 

[Spalding Jacket]

Not sure I feel about this. Were usually known as one of the best natural grass fields in college football.

 

[TheWhiteKenyan]

The increase in revenue from being able to host concerts makes this move worth it in my opinion. If it looks good, it’s a great move for cutting costs and increasing revenue.

 

[Milwaukee]

Worst idea in the history of GT football. This is probably a Collins thing I’m assuming? Grant Field at BDS is like a goddamn cathedral, but let’s mess it up I guess?

Few plush grassy stadiums still exist and they are sacred and gorgeous. Bama, Auburn, UGA, Fla, Tenn, South Carolina, Clemson, USC, UNC, Penn St etc.

Programs that have changed to turf and are now painful to watch as a fan: Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio State, Lville.

It’s a sad day for me, but I’ll live.

 

[JacketOff]

Not a big deal to me. The only “concern” I might have is whether this will affect the field designs and/or how often the design will change. Most recent years have seen at least 2-3 different field designs, I wonder if that number will go up or down with the turf. Hopefully the gold will look more consistent and less washed out on turf.

 

[smokey_wasp]

Makes sense financially. Can save on upkeep and much easier to use the stadium for additional revenue opportunities. I can understand not liking it, though.

 

[smokey_wasp]

Not a big deal to me. The only “concern” I might have is whether this will affect the field designs and/or how often the design will change. Most recent years have seen at least 2-3 different field designs, I wonder if that number will go up or down with the turf. Hopefully the gold will look more consistent and less washed out on turf.

Field is gonna be navy.

 

[lv20gt]

Football was meant to be played outside on grass. I don't care how much something "looks and feels like grass" if it isn't grass. Whatever, maybe I'm just getting older...

Nah. Playing on grass or playing on artificial grass that is nearly indistinguishable from grass makes no difference to the actual game.

 

[CuseJacket]

From the article:

Grant Field had an artificial surface for 25 seasons from 1971-94, which included the Yellow Jackets’ fourth national championship campaign in 1990. Willie Clay, Marco Coleman, Bill Curry, John Davis, Eddie Lee Ivery, Robert Lavette, Randy Rhino, Pepper Rodgers, Bobby Ross, Lucius Sanford, Ken Swilling and Pat Swilling were among the Georgia Tech legends that played and coached on Grant Field’s artificial surface during their time as Yellow Jackets.

 

[gt13]

Grant field is historic, I believe one of if not the oldest field still in use, but sometimes “historic” can become impractical to keep up. If it helps our athletic department and team, I’m all for it!

Grant Field was turf for 20+ years from the 70s to the early 90s, so it should still be "Grant Field" after the change.

Some of my thoughts:

• The new adjustable LED stadium lighting combined with this new turf (which I imagine is much easier to paint) should allow the groundscrew/AA to get the field to look exactly the way they want on TV and in person. The gold sections should be much more vivid on turf as well - I never thought the gold in the midfield logo or endzones popped very well against the natural dirt/grass.
• I have heard that artificial turf is a much hotter playing surface than natural grass. I can't imagine last year's USF game (95 degrees at kickoff) being played on an artificial turf field.
• We have had difficulty in the past when we travel to other teams' turf fields (2015 ND comes to mind). Since we can practice on the new turf field in the stadium much more often now, I wonder if there is any advantage that gives us against teams that play normally on grass. Most teams practice on turf these days, so maybe not.