UL Buys Turf . . . installs turf

[NewsCopy]

The turf was only used for one year if im not mistaken...

July 2004 Superdome Goes With Sportexe!

"It’s different than other systems – It’s better!"
– Doug Thornton, General Manager, Louisiana Superdome

The Louisiana Superdome, one of the nation’s most elite football venues, has selected Momentum™ turf system, by Sportexe as its new synthetic turf surface.

The new turf system, which is being installed at the Superdome this summer, was chosen for its proven performance and quality attributes, said Doug Thornton, general manager of the Louisiana Superdome.

He said Momentum™ was chosen after considerable research and review of various turf products. “We feel strongly that Momentum™ is the right surface for the Superdome,” said Thornton. “We were seeking – and found in Momentum™ -- a proven, high performance system for the caliber of games we’re hosting this fall.”

In addition to the 2005 Nokia Sugar Bowl Classic, the Superdome is home to the NFL’s New Orleans Saints, and Tulane University’s Green Wave. The storied stadium also hosts the Bayou Classic, the Wyndham New Orleans Bowl, and Louisiana’s high school football championships.

“We need topnotch technology to ensure we’re providing all these teams the high performance and safety attributes they require for their level of play,” said Thornton.

“We’re impressed with the high quality make-up of Momentum™ turf -- its sewn seams, special backing, denser face weight, etc.

“It’s different than other systems – it’s better,” he added.

Thornton also said he and others at the Superdome were impressed that Momentum™ has been installed by the Baltimore Ravens, University of California – Berkeley, the University of Alabama and other professional and collegiate teams.

“We’re confident this turf will meet our high expectations. Our choice was reaffirmed by these teams, and by Sportexe’s reputation for quality,” said Thornton.

He said his interaction with the company has already been positive, very professional.

According to Sportexe president Mark Nicholls, Momentum™ is slated to be ready in time for the Saints’ first preseason home game (August 13).

Nicholls added, “It will be exciting for all of us at Sportexe to watch the Nokia Sugar Bowl, The Saints’ games, and these other great events on our turf. It’s a testament to the hard work and dedication of our people that our product has been chosen for this elite facility.”

Original link redirected

[snote]

nothing personal towards anyone..

although, concerning the turf just bought for the indoor practice facility.. if i see another .. "we only paid 30K when the real cost was 400-450 post" .. i think i am gonna puke

[LLcoolway]

nothing personal towards anyone..

although, concerning the turf just bought for the indoor practice facility.. if i see another .. "we only paid 30K when the real cost was 400-450 post" .. i think i am gonna puke

How much did we pay and how much is the real cost? Another thing we bettter have written the schematic layout on how it was in the Superdome or we will hae head crams putting it in.

[GoneGolfin]

How much did we pay and how much is the real cost? Another thing we bettter have written the schematic layout on how it was in the Superdome or we will hae head crams putting it in.

I think his point is that the turf is a bit used.

Brian

[snote]

"The Superdome had a three-year agreement with the company that makes the turf," said Gerald Hebert, UL's Athletic Development coordinator. "When that agreement was up, they wanted to sell it and we had the money.

"Tulane backed out of buying it, and the City of New Orleans couldn't come up with the money, which for them would have included around $200,000 in installation. Normally, the turf sells for over $400,000.

"All I care about is that we got it right away. We wanted a bird in hand. There was another turf that's going to be available next year, but we didn't want to wait. It's exactly what we're in the market for. It's the best we could get."

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chosing not to get into long winded banter right now.. but just as a hint.. included around $200,000 in installation. if we can find someone to install the turf.. if it cost 200K for "the City of New Orleans" to install.. there must be some cost for us to install it.. so let's add whatever that number is and it's greater than 30K.. the 400 K more than likely.. brand new.. 10 year warranty,, installed.. etc etc etc..
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"It's the best we could get.".. so let's move on

[CajunNation]

nothing personal towards anyone..

although, concerning the turf just bought for the indoor practice facility.. if i see another .. "we only paid 30K when the real cost was 400-450 post" .. i think i am gonna puke

Now, come on Billy, you know that everything that comes out of the athletic department should never be questioned in the slightest.

Just ask BOP.

[JMV JustMyView]

nothing personal towards anyone..

although, concerning the turf just bought for the indoor practice facility.. if i see another .. "we only paid 30K when the real cost was 400-450 post" .. i think i am gonna puke

We got a "discount rate" due to a alumni getting us a better deal.

[NewsCopy]

The Superdome Commission voted Thursday to spend as much as $275,000 to buy and install the new turf. It also agreed to spend up to $140,000 to replace some of the controls in the Dome's computerized lighting system, $70,000 to replace a compressor in the building's main air-conditioning chiller and $40,000 to repair components in the public-address system.

The turf used for the 2004 season wasn't worn out, but since the Dome switched to infill-style turf in the middle of the 2003 football season, it has followed the policy of removing the turf in January after the season ends and installing a fresh batch the next summer.

Dome officials say it would be possible to reuse the old turf but that it would not meet National Football League specifications after being pulled up and then reinstalled.

The Saints agreed to split the cost of the new turf with the Dome in 2003 and 2004 but refused to do so this year.

Including sidelines, the turf covers about 100,000 square feet and weighs about 450,000 pounds.

Cover is rejected

There is an alternative to getting new turf every year: installing a cover over the artificial grass to let the Dome hold offseason events -- such as the Endymion extravaganza, the Essence Music Festival and the New Orleans Boat Show -- on the Dome floor without destroying the turf.

But Doug Thornton, the Dome's former general manager and now a regional vice president for SMG, the company that manages the Dome for the state, said the cover would cost more than $1 million and that both it and the turf would still need to be replaced about every five years.

He said officials decided it made more sense simply to install fresh turf every year.

Glenn Menard, Thornton's successor as Dome general manager, said the turfs used in 2003 and 2004 were sold to Louisiana Tech and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for about $30,000 each.

Made in Canada

The 2005 turf will be the same model as that used last year. Known as Momentum, it is manufactured by Sportexe, a Canadian company. The Superdome signed a contract with Sportexe last year guaranteeing the Dome the same price through 2006.

Like AstroPlay, the brand used in 2003, Momentum turf features 2-inch blades of polyethylene "grass" supported by a 1 ¾-inch base of sand and rubber called infill.

The infill-style artificial grass has a more realistic look and feel than the carpet-like playing surface that had covered the Dome's floor for many years.

The infill-style turf comes with inlaid yardage lines and numbers, meaning they don't have to be painted onto the turf. The lines are created by sewing in white blades of artificial grass, instead of the regular green blades, as the turf is manufactured. Logos for the Saints and other teams or events must still be painted onto the turf.

In the past, everything had to be painted, with crews having to touch up the lines and numbers before each game.

The rest of the story

By Bruce Eggler

[snote]

interesting reading.. a few points caught my attention.. thought i'd go ahead and post the rest of article for posterity.. for future discussion as the times-pic will probably discard article..
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Thornton said the cover that would allow other events to take place on top of the turf would consist of 8-foot-by-8-foot, 1 ½-inch-thick sheets of foam-filled plastic.

But he said holes would have to be cut in it and in the underlying turf for shows that need access to the electrical lines in the stadium's floor, and additional layers of plywood and plastic would have to be placed over the cover for monster truck shows and other events involving unusually heavy loads.

Sportexe bid the best

Dome officials had not planned to replace the stadium's venerable carpet-like AstroTurf surface in 2003, but they got such a good offer from SRI Sports of Leander, Texas, that they decided to replace the turf in midseason.

SRI, which wanted to be able to advertise that the Superdome was among its customers, offered to install the AstroPlay turf for $190,000 for 2003. For 2004, it promised to reinstall the same turf, if feasible, for $165,000, or new turf for $200,000. But the company went bankrupt in early 2004, leaving the Dome contract in limbo.

SMG asked other companies making similar turf systems to bid on the Superdome contract and got four responses, three from companies whose products had been approved by the NFL. Over the three-year contract, the Sportexe bid was about $400,000 cheaper than those from FieldTurf and ProGreen International.

[leeman]

I wonder what kind of shape the turf that UL bought from the saints is in.. I think they are storing it in blackham colesium. hope the heat doesn't ruin it.. I think it was pretty expensive stuff.... just curious.....