FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga., Oct. 3, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Atlanta Falcons have chosen FieldTurf as the new artificial turf for the indoor practice field at their state-of-the-art Flowery Branch, Ga. training/office complex. The joint announcement was made today by Falcons President/General Manager Rich McKay and FieldTurf CEO John Gilman.
The installation of the new FieldTurf is almost complete and should be available for full use by the Falcons very soon. The Falcons already play all of their home games on FieldTurf, as The Georgia Dome is in its third season with FieldTurf. For the 2005 season, 23 of the National Football League's 32 teams will use FieldTurf at their stadiums and/or practice facilities.
The Falcons' Corporate Headquarters and Training Facility opened in 2000 and is considered one of the very best facilities in the National Football League. Besides the full-length indoor field, the complex also features three standard outdoor practice fields.
"When we decided to replace our indoor turf, FieldTurf was the obvious choice," said McKay. "FieldTurf is the standard setter of the industry and provides a surface that our players are very familiar and comfortable playing on."
"Everyone at FieldTurf is obviously thrilled to further expand our relationship with the Atlanta Falcons," said Gilman. "Arthur Blank, Rich McKay and Jim Mora have put together one of the league's top franchises, and it means a lot to us at FieldTurf that they hold our product in such high regard. With Rich serving as the Chairman of the NFL's Competition Committee, I know that he only wants the best for his players. We really appreciate and value the Falcons' confidence in FieldTurf. I am totally confident that the Falcon players, coaches and team staff will be delighted with their new FieldTurf field."
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
In addition to its dominance in the NFL, FieldTurf has also established itself as the leader in the NCAA and in Major League Baseball. Also, FieldTurf was the first artificial turf product approved by FIFA (soccer's world governing body) for World Cup play.
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 1,500 installations in more than 40 countries. For more information on FieldTurf, please visit www.fieldturf.com or call (800) 724-2969.