New Practice Field?

[Dayons_Den]

I've seen mentions and now pictures on twitter of a new structure to the Northeast of the football stadium. Does anyone have the details on this?

Is this a new turf field for practice? Is it an building (4 walls and roof) structure or just a fenced off practice area?

Anyone know if there are plans to replace the FieldTurf at the stadium? I was on it in May and it is in pretty rough shape with lots of low spots etc.

[svillefalcon]

The turf has needed to be replaced for about 5 years now. It's just not properly groomed. Synthetic turf fields like ours usually last about 10 years if properly groomed. Were going on 8 years I believe and it has looked bad for years now. Hopefully we are getting a new field.

[jpfalcon09]

The weather in BG has wreaked havoc on the FieldTurf. The shredded rubber has ended up sticking together in clumps due to lack of proper maintenance, there are some spots where the synthetic grass has been ripped away and as DD said the field itself isn't level in many areas.

I'm not sure what the structure is either, perhaps the coaches wanted some sort of outdoor grass area that could be protected from the wind and weather once camp opens.

[BGSU33]

Can anyone post the picture or the link you saw it on twitter. I have looked and can't find it.

Speaking of new fields, I was under the impression baseball was supposed to have its new field for next season. Any update on that also?

[Dayons_Den]

It's on the Falcon Club Twitter.

They refer to it as the new football practice facility.

Odd because I would have expected some fanfare (misty for recruits or funds) regarding a project like this even if it is smaller in scale.

[footballguy51]

According to the board of trustees minutes, the work being done to the practice field is part of the larger renovation being done to the stadium (urgent repair and upgrades) and includes supporting irrigation, fencing, and goal posts, as well as the construction of a modest storage and locker room building.

[factman]

It seems like a waste of money for a department that seems to never have any. They are basically enclosing (fence) the grass practice fields, because this staff likes to practice on grass. Of course the next coach, as have past coaches, will want to practice on the turf, like most other coaches do. Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure seems we have higher priorities for our $$$$$.

[BGSU33]

Judging from the picture, the fence going up around the practice fields looks better than the crappy looking chain-link fence around the stadium.

[kdog27]

It seems like a waste of money for a department that seems to never have any. They are basically enclosing (fence) the grass practice fields, because this staff likes to practice on grass. Of course the next coach, as have past coaches, will want to practice on the turf, like most other coaches do. Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure seems we have higher priorities for our $$$$$.

Totally agree factman

[hammb]

The turf has needed to be replaced for about 5 years now. It's just not properly groomed. Synthetic turf fields like ours usually last about 10 years if properly groomed. Were going on 8 years I believe and it has looked bad for years now. Hopefully we are getting a new field.

But we were told we'd save all this money because once you put the turf down it's basically maintenance free!!

Bring back real grass!

[Falcon137]

The turf has needed to be replaced for about 5 years now. It's just not properly groomed. Synthetic turf fields like ours usually last about 10 years if properly groomed. Were going on 8 years I believe and it has looked bad for years now. Hopefully we are getting a new field.

But we were told we'd save all this money because once you put the turf down it's basically maintenance free!!

Bring back real grass!

Turf still makes more sense. It's sad BG hasn't been able to maintain it, my high school put turf down a year before BG and it looks brand new compared to what BG's now looks like.

The money they are spending on the grass practice fields is a joke. And it's all because Babers has a hard-on for practicing on grass. Like was mentioned earlier, in 3 years when he's gone the next guy will probably only want to practice on turf. Hell, when the temperature drops below 55, he has them indoors.

[BGSU33]

The turf is "relatively" maintenance free but is not "entirely" mainenance free. It still needs maintained but obviously saves money from not needing to be mowed, fertilized, watered, painted, etc. like a grass playing field. We also can practice on the turf, let other BG teams use the turf and even host other teams and events on the turf like those high school games.

I love the decision that BG made to go with FieldTurf. It was the smart and right decision. Look around the state - all 8 FBS teams in Ohio play on turf (FCS Youngstown State does too) and most of the Midwest does also for that matter. Many other smaller colleges and high schools are following. It makes way more sense for this region and allows much more opportunity for use.

As mentioned, the lifespan of the "turf" is about 8-10 years. We're at that point where it needs replaced. Again, it's nothing new as others have it done all the time also. The fact that BG needs to do it doesn't make us unique. It's part of the process. The fibers wear, the pellets get packed, the cushioning and footing become less productive. But we won't have to do the entire project over like we did when we made the switch over from grass. The drainage system and pipes under the field and the crushed rock are in place and won't need redone every time a surface needs replaced like what needed to be done when we converted over from grass to turf about a decade ago.

BG also - and surprising to me - didn't go on the cheap like it often seems to do with these kind of projects and went with the company FieldTurf which does have a superior product compared to other turf companies. FieldTurf has a patent on its infill which is a mixture of the rubber pellets and sand which provides a much more stable footing, cushioning and drainage than the other companies that just use the pellets or pellets and another type of filler.

And for those of you who prefer a grass surface in general, I can understand that. In a perfect world I don't think anybody would rather have turf than grass if you could grow, keep and maintain a natural surface in pristine condition in the fall and winter. But obviously in the United States, during the fall and early winter, the ability to do that is limited to certain areas because of the weather and climate change that obviously occur, and we all know that affects Ohio. We all remember when Game Day came and raved about how thick and plush our grass was. But what many may not have realized is even when the "grass" looked great like it did then, the actual "field" itself was awful. It was extremely pitted and unbalanced all over the place. Many of our own players complained about it as did out opponents and I actually ran the length of the field a couple times to see for myself. I was shocked at how bad it was, it was embarassing. My own backyard was way better. Yes we had great grass, but our field was crap. And of course, we all saw firsthand the outcome of what happened to our grass when we had to play in heavy rain late in the year and were left with the infamous "Mud Bowl" game. When you lose your playing surface like that towards the end of the year in Northwest Ohio, there's no recovering it. It's gone. If we played our games in the summer at BG where we could grow and maintain the grass, yeah, we probably could've stuck with a natural surface. But going to turf was a no-brainer and BG did the right thing.

[Flipper]

You can't play on grass here in the north...most decent sized HS's play on artificial turf. Trying to sell kids on playing on grass would be tough.

For the life of me...I don't undertsand the fascination with grass. It's not 1975...artificial turf isn't a rug over concrete. It's a better surface for sports than grass.

[Lord_Byron]

. . .For the life of me...I don't understand the fascination with grass. It's not 1975. . .

[hammb]

My comment was tongue in cheek, because of all the talk back when about how the modern stuff needed no maintenance and once we put it in we'd never have to put any more money into it. Obviously, that's not the case (nor was it ever). Now, also obviously it's a far better move financially to play on Turf. I understand that, and respect it as a decision...unfortunately it's the nature of the beast that we have to play on turf for financial reasons.

That being said, the game will always be better, IMO, on grass. I feel that way because I think dealing with the elements is a part of football, and turf surfaces take that part out. I like seeing the occasional game in a mud pit and see which team can adapt to those conditions on that day.

All joking aside about what they play being football or not, the Browns DO play on a natural grass surface, and the NFL season is more games going later into the winter than the college season. Same is true in Green Bay. To argue that you can not play on natural grass in our climates is just not correct, IMO. It's not financially feasible for us, I realize, but it's not impossible either.

All that said, let's just hope we don't go standard BG with the turf and let it rot until it's unplayable. The stuff is a financial savings, yes, but it still takes maintenance. Let's do the maintenance.