Maintaining natural grass fields in football stadiums is getting more difficult in the Midwest and Northeast, so Notre Dame are moving ahead with the times and installing artificial turf to end the talk and speculation that comes each year around spring time about whether or not to change or keep things as they are.
The last 3-4 years have been pretty bad in terms of how the field has looked like, but it’s about more than just aesthetics. A bad playing field means a higher risk of injury, as it seems that the weather conditions make it more and more difficult to make the turf look respectable, not to mention playable as we move into the colder months of the year.
During the school’s the school’s Blue-Gold spring game, the announcement was made, which pretty much fit as it looked like the pitch hasn’t quite recovered yet from the wear and tear of the 2013 season. The team already practices on FieldTurf, the type being installed, at both their indoor and outdoor complexes, the Loftus Sports Center and the LaBar Practice Complex. According to the school, 37 of the 47 FBS programs in the Northeast and Midwest feature stadiums with some form of artificial turf.
The installation of the FieldTurf will begin following the school’s commencement weekend (May 18), and should be finished by August 15, 2014. The Irish begin their season with two home games: The first on August 30, playing against the Rice Owls, and a week later go into a much bigger rivalry game, hosting Michigan, maybe for the last time in the next few years after backing out of their game against the Wolverines in 2015.