ANNAPOLIS, Md., March 30, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- FieldTurf has been selected for the new turf at Navy's Jack Stephens Field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The announcement was jointly made today by Navy Athletic Director Chet Gladchuk and FieldTurf CEO John Gilman. FieldTurf will replace the natural grass that is currently in the historic Annapolis stadium. The installation of the new FieldTurf is expected to be completed in August, and the new surface will debut when Navy hosts Stanford in the Midshipmen's home opener on September 10.
FieldTurf is currently in use in more than 20 NCAA Division 1-A football stadiums including Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, Kansas State, Boston College and Missouri.
"We were very careful in our review and analysis of a number of very impressive products before we decided to select FieldTurf," said Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk. "The competition in the marketplace is aggressive however, in the end, no other product could deliver the whole package like the FieldTurf team. The detail in every aspect of the product and installation made it crystal clear that these people are real pros and FieldTurf is the benchmark to which all others are compared."
"I can't express how proud we are to have this association with the U.S. Naval Academy," said Gilman. "The history and prestige that are associated with this great institution speaks for itself. On the heels of Navy's fantastic 2004 season, we are obviously very pleased that they have selected the undisputed industry leader for their new stadium turf. The players, coaches, support staff and fans of Navy football will be delighted with their new FieldTurf surface when they step onto the field for that first home game against Stanford in September."
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium has a capacity of 34,000, and is one of the most historic venues in the country. The facility was dedicated in 1959. The stadium has been the home of many great Navy football teams, plus two Heisman Trophy winners in Joe Bellino (1960) and Roger Staubach (1963).
The Midshipmen are coming off one of the greatest seasons in school history, having compiled a 10-2 record in 2004 that culminated with an Emerald Bowl victory over New Mexico. Those ten victories tied a 99-year-old school record that was established in 1905.
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 will use FieldTurf at their stadiums in 2005. 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 all 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 fifth out of 32, and amazingly, NFL players rated FieldTurf ahead of 15 of the league's 19 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 1300 installations in more than 40 countries.