MANHATTAN, Kan., March 22, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Kansas State University, which already has FieldTurf in its football stadium, will also be installing FieldTurf in its indoor football practice facility, its indoor athletic complex and in large portions of its baseball stadium. The joint announcement was made today by Kansas State Associate Athletic Director Casey Scott and FieldTurf CEO John Gilman.
The FieldTurf installation at K-State's indoor football complex is underway and is expected to be completed around April 1. FieldTurf will also be installed later this spring at the university's Bradenberry Indoor Complex, which is primarily utilized for practices for the Wildcats' baseball, golf and track teams. At that time, FieldTurf will also be installed on the infield and the warning track at Tointon Family Stadium, the home of K-State baseball. Additionally, a FieldTurf pole vault runway and a putting green will also in installed for use by the Wildcats.
"FieldTurf has long been proud of its association with Kansas State through the previous installation of our product at the Bill Snyder Family Stadium," said Gilman. "Obviously, we are thrilled that K-State's satisfaction level with FieldTurf is so high that they want to expand our involvement with their top-notch athletic facilities. It is very gratifying to have a university such as Kansas State recognize the high quality of FieldTurf and the fact that we are the undisputed industry leader. As we have done with our FieldTurf field in the Wildcats' football stadium, we will work diligently to give K-State's athletes and coaches the finest product on the market today."
"The synthetic surface (in the indoor football complex) was showing its age," said Scott. "Plus, the FieldTurf is so much better for the players in terms of impact and abrasion. The amount of wear and tear placed on the infield of our baseball field through practice and games is enormous. We have had difficulty in our climate producing the type of quality natural playing surface we want for baseball. Having FieldTurf will allow us to have a consistent playing surface with much, much less concern about maintenance."
The new FieldTurf field in the K-State football complex will be designed to replicate the FieldTurf surface that is currently in use in Bill Snyder Family Stadium. It will have a large Powercat at midfield, "Wildcats" in the north end zone and "Kansas State" in the south end zone.
FieldTurf is currently in use in more than 25 NCAA Division 1-A football stadiums including Nebraska, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, Louisville, Boston College, Missouri and Rutgers.
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-two of the NFL's 32 teams currently use FieldTurf at their stadiums and/or their practice facilities. Also, three Major League Baseball teams use FieldTurf at their stadiums.
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 1800 installations in more than 40 countries. For more information on FieldTurf, please visit www.fieldturf.com or call (800) 724-2969.