Field Turf

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

Is Field Turf an option? I think it should be, especially since we share the field with BHS. The quick research that I've done is that it seems very feasible. It appears that it costs about $800,000 for 80,000 square feet. Other sites have indicated that it costs b/w $4 and $9 per square foot. Many places have focused fund raising around by asking people to buy a square foot. I think this is something that should be looked into by the Jackrabbit Club/SDSU Foundation/Admin. It seems a joint venture with BHS and possibly event the City of Brookings would be a great way to start this off. Maybe in a couple of years we won't have to worry about field conditions or BHS playing at CAS.

Here's a good site with lots of info:

http://www.fieldturf.com/football/index.cfm

[Jacked_Up]

Re: Field Turf

Field Turf seems absolutely necessary, especially if the field is to be shared. Bringing in a D-1 team to play on that beat-up slop of a field would have been an even bigger public relations humiliation than getting beat by a D-III team from the region. No one seems to be complaining about the Field Turf at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls. Coughlin Alumni needs to be upgraded in other ways. Might as well add Field Turf to fund-raising plans.

[filbert]

Re: Field Turf

Field turf at CAS, in the context of an overall facilities improvement plan, would be something I could get behind--and I mean financially.

I'd have to see the plan first, though.

[twism]

Re: Field Turf

I think field turf is something that is going to have to happen if BHS and SDSU play on the same field especially the same weekend.

[filbert]

Re: Field Turf

I think if we (the Jackrabbit Nation) somehow manage to turn the negative of the La Crosse game into a positive of making it possible for SDSU to put in Field Turf in the next couple of years, it will be (almost) worth suffering through that loss.

Let's all get busy!

[GoJacks]

Re: Field Turf

If I remember correctly the Sioux Falls Public Schools put in the field turf at Howard Wood for around $750,000. I know Colorado State put it in Hughes Stadium for $1.2 million again based on square footage. I know they stitched in numbers of and have panels that can be added and removed for field sponsorships. I agree it is time to get SDSU, the City and BHS to start taking to see if it is possible to fund this. The "Step Up For The Pride" campaign seems to be a very successful campaign done in a very short time frame. I am sure we can organize and have it financed very quickly.

[filbert]

Re: Field Turf

Ah, I can see it now . . . SDSUFans.com Field at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

Has a nice ring to it.

Where's that piggy-bank?

[jackphd]

Re: Field Turf

We played seven home games last year and the field was in good condition all year. This year, we get a freak rainstorm (4.5" in 36 hours) and now we need field turf? I would love to have field turf. But my understanding is that the first concern is getting scholarships fully funded. That $800,000 in the endowment would generate about $30,000 a year, every year that would pay for a couple of scholarships essentially forever. How many of those freak rain storms are we going to get the day of a BHS game and the day before a Jacks game?

The only way I can see that happening is if a couple of our big donors decide to do it as an add-on to their already generous giving. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of getting people to buy it by the square foot, but I would worry that those donors wouldn't be giving towards the $20 million campaign if they did.

VeraSun Field sounds pretty good, though. Don't we have any VeraSun IPO millionaires on this board?

[Rabbitlivinginverm]

Re: Field Turf

Ah, I can see it now . . . SDSUFans.com Field at Coughlin-Alumni Stadium.

Has a nice ring to it.

Where's that piggy-bank?  

Filby, that same thought has been in my head all day. ;D

I would step up my financial contribution for this as well. I'm sure most members of the Jackrabbit/ACE Club and Bobcat Backers would step up as well.

[filbert]

Re: Field Turf

We played seven home games last year and the field was in good condition all year. This year, we get a freak rainstorm (4.5" in 36 hours) and now we need field turf? I would love to have field turf. But my understanding is that the first concern is getting scholarships fully funded. That $800,000 in the endowment would generate about $30,000 a year, every year that would pay for a couple of scholarships essentially forever. How many of those freak rain storms are we going to get the day of a BHS game and the day before a Jacks game?

The only way I can see that happening is if a couple of our big donors decide to do it as an add-on to their already generous giving. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea of getting people to buy it by the square foot, but I would worry that those donors wouldn't be giving towards the $20 million campaign if they did.

VeraSun Field sounds pretty good, though. Don't we have any VeraSun IPO millionaires on this board?

Sometimes it takes a bit of a sense of crisis to get people off their wallets . . .

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: Field Turf

I would hate to see the turf go! This week was a freak deal and should be dealt with as such! The turf didn't have anything to do with us playing like that, it probably kept the game closer.

There's just something about having stains on the uniform!

If we do go to turf, it would be cool to look at a blue turf like the one Boise State has. I think that rocks!

SUPERBUNNY

[ray_john]

Re: Field Turf

Field Turf is the way to go -- there HAS to be $ available to make that facility improvement. Now all of a sudden, you have a multi-use venue -- football practice, soccer games, marching band practice/shows, hs and college football...heck, it's even a play to hit ground balls in the spring before the frost is out of the baseball and softball fields.

I'm looking forward to the first game back after the long road trip for two reasons: obviously see the Jacks in action again and measure the improvement, but also to see the "turf" at CAS and see what they managed to salvage. This could be way worse than a few years ago when they killed off the grass with Round Up!

[jivebunny]

Re: Field Turf

I won’t lie. I love real grass and a field that can turn into a quagmire. I can’t stand the prospect of football players not being able to get mud on their jerseys. What I don’t like, though, is that our field was ripped to heck by somebody other than the Jacks. I guess I’m conflicted. I went to a game in Aberdeen last fall and the field turf looked good there. No blue turf, though. Please, no! And I think getting our scholarships up to the limit has to be the top priority.

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Field Turf

real grass every day of the week and twice on Sunday. Just find BHS another field. 5 years at SDSU and I can count on one hand when the field was ever an issue and that was because it was frozen. But, BHS was only playing 1 or 2 games on the field back then. I'd rather see the money go to film equipment, new locker rooms and east side seating.

[trueblue]

Re: Field Turf

The fact of the matter is something needs to be done. This was the first game of the season- how much time and money is going to go in to repair the field for the next game, or what will the field be like for the rest of the season? We need to look into a tarp at the very least- and how much would it cost? As someone pointed out, the field would have many more uses if we did have the field turf. High schools other than Brookings may be interested in playing games here- especially at playoff time if their fields became unplayable due to snow or rain. Another point was the fact we were playing a D-III opponent. What if it would have been a Montana or another I-AA coming here for the first time?