Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

[bison8xchamp]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

So, all games should be played indoors on neutral fields?

As to 'showcasing abilities of student athletes', well, as long as they have games like the SnowBowl in the pros, being able to play in adverse conditions will be a major consideration for NFL scouts.

You play the game in clinical conditions to 'showcase the abilities of student athletes' and you are most decidedly NOT showcasing your student athletes.

zoo, do you have any friends??

[RabbitObsessed]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

So, all games should be played indoors on neutral fields?

As to 'showcasing abilities of student athletes', well, as long as they have games like the SnowBowl in the pros, being able to play in adverse conditions will be a major consideration for NFL scouts.

You play the game in clinical conditions to 'showcase the abilities of student athletes' and you are most decidedly NOT showcasing your student athletes.

Yes. All games indoors on neutral fields, with computerized referees. Please and thank you. That's exactly what I meant.

You obviously are convinced in your opinion and that's fine.

[zooropa]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

Yes. All games indoors on neutral fields, with computerized referees.

Well, where do you draw the line?

You said you prefer games "where the better team wins", so I want to know where you draw the line when it comes to interference from external elements.

Obviously my example was an exaggeration, but given the sloppy choice of words on your part, it can't be ruled out.

"Better team wins," as in 'the worse team shouldn't be allowed to have any sort of home field advantage'?

Because mud, dirt, cold weather, wind, and such are all 'home field' advantages for SDSU.

If you want to 'limit' SDSU's home field advantages, where do you draw the line?

[1stRowFANatic]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

Zoo,
I get your points, however, I think you are going to be on this side of the issue like I am on the shot clock for basketball.

[zooropa]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

Zoo,
I get your points, however, I think you are going to be on this side of the issue like I am on the shot clock for basketball.

Perhaps......

But I still don't see the attraction---I mean if maintenance savings are so fantastic, why not pave the campus green? Nobody uses that for anything at all (unless some of the Indian students are still playing cricket on it).

What's more, the pros haven't exactly embraced fieldturf. I don't know that any outdoor stadium in the NFL has been converted to fieldturf, and the NFL season runs an extra month past the college season....

IMO 'cost savings' is just a rationalization for keeping up with the Joneses.

[RabbitObsessed]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

Perhaps......

But I still don't see the attraction---I mean if maintenance savings are so fantastic, why not pave the campus green? Nobody uses that for anything at all (unless some of the Indian students are still playing cricket on it).

What's more, the pros haven't exactly embraced fieldturf. I don't know that any outdoor stadium in the NFL has been converted to fieldturf, and the NFL season runs an extra month past the college season....

IMO 'cost savings' is just a rationalization for keeping up with the Joneses.

Giants/Jets
Bills
Ravens
Patriots
Seahawks
Bengals

And if you want to add the stadiums that have retractable roofs and field turf the list grows to:
Dallas
Indy

Plus the Packers have natural grass, with synthetic support. Whatever that means.

[zooropa]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

Giants/Jets
Bills
Ravens
Patriots
Seahawks
Bengals

And if you want to add the stadiums that have retractable roofs and field turf the list grows to:
Dallas
Indy

Plus the Packers have natural grass, with synthetic support. Whatever that means.

Cowboys, Bills & Bengals ALL had astroturf at either their old stadiums, or previously at their current stadium (Buffalo).

Indy and the Seahawks went from astroturf indoors to fieldturf outside.

The Meadowlands only had grass for a few seasons (and they never took the astroturf out), and that only because of the XFL. As far as the Pats go, Foxboro had grass for maybe a half dozen seasons, but was designed for astroturf, and Gilette stadium had fieldturf installed.

That leaves, of all the teams listed, only one team (the Ravens) who went from natural grass to fieldturf.

Everywhere else, there has always been artificial turf or natural grass was there for only a short period of time.

[RabbitObsessed]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

Cowboys, Bills & Bengals ALL had astroturf at either their old stadiums, or previously at their current stadium (Buffalo).

Indy and the Seahawks went from astroturf indoors to fieldturf outside.

The Meadowlands only had grass for a few seasons (and they never took the astroturf out), and that only because of the XFL. As far as the Pats go, Foxboro had grass for maybe a half dozen seasons, but was designed for astroturf, and Gilette stadium had fieldturf installed.

That leaves, of all the teams listed, only one team (the Ravens) who went from natural grass to fieldturf.

Everywhere else, there has always been artificial turf or natural grass was there for only a short period of time.

I misread what you said. I didn't see the word "converted" in your initial post.

[zooropa]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

The Lambeau surface:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2690426

It's as close as I'll come to supporting an artificial surface at CAS.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

The Lambeau surface:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2690426

It's as close as I'll come to supporting an artificial surface at CAS.

Fortunately your support is not needed to make the change. It will happen when the money is there. This will give SDSU an opportunity to utlize CAS a lot more than 5-6 times per year.

[KUlawJack]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

I like natural grass. I am on record of my support for natural grass. Its one of the things I love about CAS.

[filbert]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

The Lambeau surface:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2690426

It's as close as I'll come to supporting an artificial surface at CAS.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/110430

The Packers are installing a DD GrassMaster hybrid surface at Lambeau Field for $2.5-3M after “having to re-sod between the hash marks once if not twice” during recent seasons. The re-soddings cost around $100,000 in the spring and $40,000-50,000 during the season. However, the DD GrassMaster surface has been met with “decidedly mixed reviews” at both Heinz Field and Lincoln Financial Field. The Steelers installed a DD GrassMaster surface in ’03 and resurfaced it in ’05, but it was rated the worst grass field in the NFL in an NFLPA survey last year (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 3/18).

[zooropa]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

This will give SDSU an opportunity to utlize CAS a lot more than 5-6 times per year.

For what?

[FargoBison]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

I do think a field turf practice field would be of use for you guys. It saves the grass practice areas when the weather is bad, allows the opportunity to practice on a surface that many of your opponents use, and of course softball and baseball teams can use it as well. For $300k it is a solid investment.

As long as a team can maintain it I do prefer grass, nothing can beat grass when it is maintained really well but having a field turf practice field would definitely be a nice perk that I bet Stig and a few of your other coaches would enjoy.

[zooropa]

Re: Practice Facilities and Artificial Surface

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/article/110430

Meh. ESPN article (AP source) quoted some players as appreciating the field, and the Packers had been using it on their practice field already.