Recent AstroTurf News

Boston, MA, June 13, 2013– Boston University’s impressive new athletic facility is nearing completion, and the final stages include an unconventional roof. Plans have been initiated to install a new AstroTurf® playing surface as the rooftop feature of New Balance Field, the multimillion dollar athletic venue under construction in West Campus. Installation of the AstroTurf field will begin June 15th with completion scheduled for mid-July, as the facility remains on track to open this fall.

In what’s been touted as a brilliantly efficient use of limited urban space, the innovative design of the complex calls for an open-air field to sit atop a tiered parking structure with a brick façade, and includes stadium seating for up to 1,000 spectators. Measuring in at 110,000 square feet, New Balance Field will essentially double BU’s athletic field capacity, relieving some of the pressure from neighboring Nickerson Field and enabling the school to expand its sporting endeavors. The university already has plans to add a varsity men’s lacrosse team in the spring, and nationally ranked BU Field Hockey will return to campus after more than a decade without a home field.

“I am very happy for the support of both New Balance and Boston University to find a way to bring us back on campus,” said BU Field Hockey head coach Sally Starr. “We have managed to maintain a competitive level of success while being off campus and look forward to even greater success now that we truly have a home field.“

The women’s varsity field hockey team had to abandon Nickerson Field in 2000 when a Field Turf surface was installed, which is too slow and spongy for the sport. For 12 years, the team caravanned to either MIT or Harvard for games and practices. But now the Terriers will have a splendid new home field right on campus with a playing surface that is universally regarded as the gold standard for field hockey.

Athens, Ohio — The Ohio University Football team is in the process of receiving a new playing surface at Peden Stadium that will be in place for the start of the 2013 preseason. The installation process of the new turf began last Thursday morning.

Ohio Athletics has selected AstroTurf®’s GameDay Grass™ 3D X52 turf system that is currently being installed at Peden Stadium. The system features a two inch pile height, an artificial RootZone™ and a mixture of sand and rubber infill. The AstroTurf design is a similar model that the Michigan State and Cincinnati football teams utilize on its home fields.