DALTON, Ga., July 6, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, AL, the home of the Senior Bowl, will become the latest football facility to install FieldTurf, it was jointly announced today by Stadium Board Chairman Terry Ankerson and FieldTurf CEO John Gilman. The new FieldTurf will replace the natural grass at Ladd-Peebles.
Ladd-Peebles Stadium has been the home of the Senior Bowl since 1951. It also annually hosts the GMAC Bowl along with the Alabama-Mississippi High School All-Star Game. Additionally, Alabama State traditionally plays one home game per season at Ladd-Peebles, and Troy State occasionally plays a home contest there. The facility also stages the home football games for four Mobile-area high schools.
The decision to install FieldTurf was made by the Ladd-Peebles Stadium Board by a vote of 6-1.
"We're very happy to be partnering with FieldTurf," said Ankerson. "FieldTurf is the leader in the industry, and it will be great to have their product at Ladd-Peebles. We stage a lot of college and high school football games at Ladd-Peebles. It's not uncommon for us to host games on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. Installing FieldTurf will take us to another level, in permitting us to play all of our games in great field conditions. It will also open us up to attracting other diverse events to Ladd-Peebles. The makeup of FieldTurf will allow us to stage all types of events back-to-back. A lot of great athletes have competed on our stadium field, and we're thrilled to carry on that tradition with state-of-the-art FieldTurf."
"FieldTurf is, without question, the leader in the industry, and we are very pleased that it will soon be installed at Ladd-Peebles Stadium," said Senior Bowl President Steve Hale. "With 20 National Football League teams having selected FieldTurf for either their practice or game site, our players will now have that same opportunity to display their talents on the safest and best playing surface each year."
"FieldTurf is extremely pleased with its new association with Ladd-Peebles Stadium and with the Senior Bowl," said Gilman. "For many years, the Senior Bowl has been THE premier college football all-star event. Through the years, so many great players have performed on the field at Ladd-Peebles, and we're excited that future Senior Bowl all-stars will be playing on FieldTurf, the undisputed leader in artificial turf systems. With the busy schedule of top-flight college and high school football games that are played at Ladd-Peebles, the installation of FieldTurf will ensure that the players will always be performing under the safest and most playable conditions."
Initially called Ladd Memorial Stadium, the edifice was originally built in 1948. The facility underwent an $8.1 major renovation in 1997, which included the installation of new locker rooms, a new press box and new stadium offices. In 1999, the stadium was rechristened Ladd-Peebles, in honor of the Senior Bowl's longtime chairman, E.B. Peebles Jr. Through the years, the stadium has hosted games featuring Alabama and Auburn, as well as NFL and AFL preseason contests. Currently, Ladd-Peebles has a capacity of 40,646.
The Senior Bowl is considered the preeminent college all-star game, and annually attracts the top NFL prospects. Each Senior Bowl squad is coached by an NFL coaching staff, and the week's practice sessions attract virtually every league general manager, head coach, assistant coach and scout, thus making for a mini NFL convention.
FieldTurf has become the unquestioned artificial turf of choice of the NCAA and the National Football League. Twenty of the NFL's 32 teams currently have FieldTurf at either their stadiums and/or their practice facilities. In a poll of all NFL players, the NFL Players Association ranked FieldTurf as the third-best of the NFL's 32 stadium fields. In that poll, FieldTurf finished ahead of 20 of the league's 22 natural grass fields. Twenty NCAA Division 1 universities have FieldTurf in their football stadium, including Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas State, Washington, Oregon and Missouri. Many additional D-1 programs also have FieldTurf at their training/practice facilities. FieldTurf was also the first artificial surface approved for World Cup play by FIFA, the world governing body of soccer.
Over the past few years, the quality and performance of FieldTurf's patented system has resulted in over 950 installations in more than 40 countries and has made it the first choice for top stadiums around the world. FieldTurf is a privately held company that has revolutionized the artificial turf industry with its patented products and installation technologies. FieldTurf offers a full range of artificial grass solutions. For more information on FieldTurf, please visit fieldturf.com, or call (800) 724-2969.