Ath. Dept. plans to redo turf at Franklin

If all goes according to plan, this will be the Penn football team's last season playing on Franklin Field's current turf.

"We have to replace the turf at some point soon," Penn Athletic Director Steve Bilsky said. "Its usefulness and its wear is getting to the point where it has to be replaced."

While initial reports stated that the turf would be replaced this past summer, Bilsky indicated that these reports were "premature."

"By starting to look at it last year, there was a feeling that maybe we would replace it last summer," he said. "The truth of the matter is that our goal is to replace it this coming summer."

According to the Penn athletic director, turf should be replaced every eight to 10 years. The turf was installed in July of 1992.

"There's all sorts of new technology that's going on right now [so] we're not going to replace it with what's historically been called Astroturf," Bilsky said.

Penn officials have narrowed down the selection of replacement surfaces to three choices -- AstroPlay, Sprinturf and FieldTurf.

"They're all related to what's called, for a lack of a better word, artificial grass," Bilsky said.

These artificial surfaces make turf-related injuries like turf toe, foot-lock and rug burn highly unlikely. They are also softer than the current turf at Franklin Field.

Penn football coach Al Bagnoli said that replacing the turf "was certainly a top priority."

"We thought we had enough in place to do it this past summer but for some reason we ran into a couple snags," he said. "It will be done this summer."

"It's pretty much a done deal," Bagnoli added.

AstroPlay -- made by SRI Sports, makers of the popular NeXturf hybrid grass -- is used at colleges such as Illinois, Kansas, Indiana, Boise State, Army and Oklahoma State. It can also be found at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the National Football League's Buffalo Bills.

Made of tufted polyethylene fiber, AstroPlay can be customized to suit the school's needs, with various fiber weights and lengths, as well as sand or rubber fill.

Adidas has a 30,000 square foot AstroPlay cover on their parking garage at their U.S. headquarters in Portland, Ore., for employee recreation and product testing.

While AstroPlay does not have the grassy likeness of NeXturf, it is much cheaper, lasts longer and is easier to maintain.

The Sprinturf infill system is entirely made of rubber.

The playing surface can be found at the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles practice facilities. Universities that use Sprinturf for football include Montana and Youngstown State.

Sprinturf adds a rubber crumb to the stone base under the carpet for more cushioning.

FieldTurf is used by 18 NFL teams, located at such fields as Giants Stadium, the Georgia Dome and Seahawks Stadium.

Many of the nation's top collegiate football programs also play on the surface, including Maryland, Georgia, Michigan, Kansas State, Nebraska, Oregon, Pittsburgh and Wisconsin.

FieldTurf's artificial grass fibers are held in place by "synthetic earth" -- a mixture of sand, rubber granules and re-ground Nike athletic shoe material. The rubber granules are made by cryogenically freezing a tire and shattering it into many pieces.

Bilsky has sent various coaches and staff members to visit different facilities with these surfaces.

Penn field hockey coach Val Cloud would prefer that Franklin Field get a recent grade of NeXturf, as the top-quality surface would allow Franklin Field to host international matches and NCAA tournament games.

"It really doesn't compromise much to the game other than it might be a bit slower, that's all," Cloud said. "I'd be thrilled if we got that. The facilities and the people making the decision have checked out a lot of surfaces. I'm just hoping they choose that one."

Playing the field The Penn Athletic Department is choosing between three types of artificial turf for Franklin Field. These brands were each installed recently at high-profile stadiums.

FieldTurf Georgia Dome Atlanta Falcons Atlanta Giants Stadium New York Giants East Rutherford, N.J. Michigan Stadium University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Mich. AstroPlay Humanitarian Stadium Boise State University Boise, Idaho Ralph Wilson Stadium Buffalo Bills Buffalo, N.Y. Michie Stadium U.S. Military Academy West Point, N.Y. Sprinturf NovaCare Center Philadelphia Eagles practice facility Philadelphia Titans Practice Facility Tennessee Titans Nashville, Tenn. Washington-Grizzly Stadium University of Montana Missoula, Mont.

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