I believe Memorial is due for a turf update sometime in the next few years as well.
New turf at Mellencamp
- Thread starter Pazhoosier85
- Start date
I believe Memorial is due for a turf update sometime in the next few years as well.
Another unforced injury like we have seen before, and the turf needs to be changed.
Looks great. Club sports are going to be practicing in style, I'm a little envious.
I wish Indiana was willing to put in the effort to go grass but even pro teams won't go to the trouble.
Hopefully same turf that colts are putting in that is supposed to reduce injuries
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Isn’t it proven that:
1. Natural grass has fewer knee injuries than artificial
2. Natural grass is more expensive to maintain and limits non football use of the stadium (more for pro teams than college).
Or am I wrong about this?
Right, it is more likely that knee ACL injuries occur on artificial turf than the shock-absorbing natural grass.
You'd think teams would have an artificial surface under the real grass. Like what the Raiders have where the grass is on a rail and they move the entire field outside of the stadium when it's not being used. If they had artificial grass underneath, then other sports can use the artificial surface. Plus if the grass gets highly damaged, you have a backup option. Maybe this is being used already by a team and I just haven't seen it.
I’m surprised they haven’t developed artificial turf that is about as good as natural grass in terms of preventing injuries.
If it was me when it becomes time to install new turf use research already completed decide about natural vs. turf. Natural with the addition of a modern irrigation system delivering fertilizer and weed control through water delivery. Full time labor can be nearly cut to nothing by using a contracting landscape/turf management team regularly scheduled or when you need #'s for labor. Don't know the actual cost of either option but it's worth knowing. Learning to mow a FB field can't be to tough nor would mowing take much time.
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Phoenix does that… The last time the World Cup was in the US they trucked trays of grass into the Pontiac Silverdome.
I don't claim to know anything, but if an Ag school like Purdue can't figure out how to maintain a grass field throughout the season then I'm not sure it can be done.
Believe me that makes me belly laugh too. But I maintain near any till able Hoosier farm field of 80 acres tiled and irrigated can produce an average 300+ bushel of corn could do better than PUke. Hell my own lawn I mow is a little over an acre and a half and it looks damned good till well after several frosts running into December and I live in the NE corner of the state 8 miles from the Ohio line and about 38 miles south of the Meatchicken border. Well knowing I don't have 300lb. creatures anchoring down then torquing up on my grass. I know nothing fancy about turf expertise but maybe more than PUke does. If natural turf lowers leg injury incidents then IU needs to toe the line and make it happen. Also Dolson needs to be sure turf maintenance contractor he hires is not from PUke. For a couple reasons.
The problem is turf would have to give and tear so keeping up repairs would tough to do but I think it would be doable.
I am a rubber chemist and worked on some of the original shock absorbing foams used between the artificial grass & concreate in the late 80's. It was a 1" thick high hardness foam. It would have been like playing on concrete really.
It has really evolved and now they use rubber dust/pellets to simulate the dirt feel. But those rubbers are full of carcinogens which can be magnified when processed to a fine pellet. People are constantly breathing that stuff down on the turf. I never thought that was a safe idea or good use of recycled rubber.
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They do that so it will get sun too. It’s two fold. Arizona stadium was the first to do that. I think.
Doesn’t Green Bay have a turf/ real grass combination field. That field is always nice.
Purdue’s Ag school focus on grass is predominantly for golf courses. Plus they have a weird insistence on using southern Bermuda grass (maybe golf influence?) which in Indiana will stop growing well in September.
To me, it seems like somebody sold all the Universities on these artificial surfaces. Look at all these baseball & softball fields with fake dirt/carpet infields, pitchers mounds, etcs. So, you can't afford to maintain a dirt infield when the athletic department made millions of dollars. I'm sure reduced labor, equipment, chemicals, dirt, etc..; all plays a role. Football is no different, maintaining a grass football field is a 10-12 month expense. Maintaining a fake field is just repairs.
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