INDIANAPOLIS, May 12, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- For the second time this week, FieldTurf has been selected as the new turf of choice by a prominent National Football League franchise. The RCA Dome in Indianapolis has decided to install FieldTurf for the 2005 football season. The announcement was made at a press conference today that was attended by Colts President Bill Polian, Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy, and FieldTurf Vice President/Marketing Troy Squires.
The new FieldTurf will replace the AstroTurf that is currently in place at the RCA Dome. Following the announcement earlier this week that the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis (home of the Rams) has elected to replace its AstroTurf with FieldTurf, the RCA Dome was the last NFL stadium to announce the removal of its AstroTurf surface. Twenty-two of the NFL's 32 teams have FieldTurf at their stadium and/or practice facility. The Colts already have a FieldTurf practice field at their training complex.
The Colts will play the first game on their new FieldTurf surface when they host the Buffalo Bills in their '05 preseason home opener on August 13.
"In addition to having played on this surface on the road, our players and coaches are familiar with FieldTurf," said Polian. "This is the surface we have practiced on in the Union Federal Football Center for the past two seasons. Our experience is that our players are comfortable on FieldTurf, so we are happy this transition for our home field playing surface includes a familiarity for our personnel."
"This is certainly a great day for FieldTurf," said FieldTurf CEO John Gilman. "We are very proud to be associated with the Colts, and we thank them for the confidence they have shown in FieldTurf. I know that Coach Dungy and the players have been very pleased with the FieldTurf surface at their practice facility, and now they will get to play their home games on the same great field. The NFL is the top league in all of sports, and we are honored that such a vast majority of its teams view FieldTurf as the most superior product on the market. We are the undisputed industry leader in artificial turf, and we are very proud of that fact. I think that the Colts and their fans will be very happy with the FieldTurf surface they see when the team takes the field in '05."
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 has finished in the top five in each of the past two NFLPA surveys. No other artificial turf company has ever ranked in the top five.
The RCA Dome opened in 1983 and has been the home of the Colts since 1984. In addition to FieldTurf's NFL teams, more than 25 major NCAA universities have it in their stadiums, including Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin, Boston College, Oregon, Washington, Kansas State and Missouri. In addition, MLB's Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays have FieldTurf at their respective stadiums. Also, FieldTurf was the first artificial surface approved for World Cup play by FIFA, soccer's world governing body.
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 on top of the FieldTurf surface.
Over the past few years, the quality and performance of FieldTurf's patented system has resulted in over 1,300 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 also offers a full range of artificial grass solutions.