DALTON, Ga., June 10, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- FieldTurf will be installed at Boston College's historic Alumni Stadium, it was jointly announced today by BC Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo and FieldTurf CEO John Gilman. The installation of the new FieldTurf field will begin in June and will be completed in time for the Eagles' home opener on September 11 against Penn State.
FieldTurf is currently in use at 18 NCAA Division 1 football stadiums including Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, Kansas State and Missouri. When Boston College joins the Atlantic Coast Conference, it will become the first ACC school to have FieldTurf in its football stadium.
"We are very pleased to announce the installation of FieldTurf in Alumni Stadium. The product has received rave reviews from many people in the collegiate and professional football ranks. Our football staff and players are extremely excited about the new surface."
"Boston College is one of the undisputed longtime powers of Eastern football, and we're delighted to enter into this partnership with the Eagles," said Gilman. "We worked very closely with BC's athletic department, and we obviously think that they made the right decision by choosing the undisputed industry leader in synthetic grass. Our research and development, our installation experience and the proof of how a FieldTurf surface performs over many years sets us far ahead of anyone else in the industry. I know that Eagles' fans are going to like what they see when they come to Alumni Stadium this fall."
Even legendary Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie was enthusiastic about the FieldTurf news. "I think this is a great decision by Boston College. I have played on FieldTurf at many different NFL venues, and I love it. Having FieldTurf will allow Alumni Stadium to maintain a perfect surface year-round, regardless of how harsh the New England winters may be."
With a capacity of 44,500, Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill is one of the most scenic venues in Eastern football. It was originally built in 1957, and was renovated in 1971 and 1988. The new FieldTurf surface will replace the previous Astroturf surface.
In addition to its growing popularity in the college ranks, FieldTurf has already established itself as the turf of choice in the National Football League. Twenty of the NFL's 32 teams currently use FieldTurf at their stadiums and/or their practice facilities. Also, three Major League Baseball teams are using FieldTurf at their stadiums in 2004. FieldTurf was also the first artificial turf product approved by FIFA (soccer's world governing body) for World Cup play.
The NFL Players Association recently conducted a survey of 1280 NFL players who were asked to rank the league's 32 stadium fields on a variety of factors, such as playability, safety, etc. The NFL players ranked FieldTurf third out of 32, which marked the first time that an artificial surface had ever cracked the top ten. Amazingly, NFL players rated FieldTurf ahead of 20 of the league's 22 natural grass fields.
FieldTurf is the result of years of research - evident in the patented FieldTurf infill mix of silica sand and cryogenic rubber and patented layering process that deliver a system that emulates natural grass. Additional benefits are found in improved player safety, reduced maintenance costs and flexibility for conversion - allowing stadium managers to quickly change the field from one sport to another or to easily host a variety of sporting events, concerts and other special events directly on top of the FieldTurf surface.
Over the past few years, the quality and performance of FieldTurf's patented system has resulted in over 825 installations in more than 20 countries. For more information on FieldTurf, please visit www.fieldturf.com or call (800) 724-2969.