After 12 years on a hard, green carpet, the Carrier Dome is rolling out the equivalent of a red carpet: FieldTurf. On May 19, Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross announced that the Carrier Dome’s playing surface will be changed from artificial turf to FieldTurf, a grass-like surface made of real grass blades and synthetic dirt.

AstroTurf, the premiere surface when installed in 1993, was beginning to be a detriment to recruiting because of likelihood of injury. Injuries are more common on AstroTurf because of the hard, rug-like nature to it. FieldTurf, though, is supposed to feel just like grass.

‘(FieldTurf) is really safe,’ Gross said. ‘It is high-tech. It is cutting edge. Those are the things that we need to have here at the Dome.’

Changes will also be made to football practice fields, lacrosse practice fields and the field hockey field.

‘Instead of just replacing (the turf), we went to something that will give us a really keen advantage in the world of not only football, but lacrosse as well,’ Gross said. ‘We will have so many student-athletes that will benefit from this.’

Carrier Dome Managing Director Pat Campbell said that a change was being discussed for a few years, but the old turf was kept in good shape and had some life left. Campbell insists it is still a suitable surface, but FieldTurf is the best available and it was the right time to pursue it.

Nine NFL teams use FieldTurf, along with 25 college teams including Michigan and Nebraska. Syracuse lacrosse won the 2004 National Championship on the FieldTurf at M&T Stadium in Baltimore.

‘If you look at top-flight Division I college football teams, we’re there,’ FieldTurf representative Bill Squires said. ‘We know (Syracuse football) is coming back to prominence and we want to be part of it.’

The football lines will be inlaid with removable lacrosse lines painted on in the spring. Unlike the old surface which was conveniently rolled up for basketball, the new turf will be permanent. Thus BRAVO Mat, a cover to protect the field, is also being purchased by SU.

Installation of the surface will begin on August 3 and should be ready for the Orange’s opener against West Virginia on September 4.

The Carrier Dome staff will have to adjust to the differences in maintaining FieldTurf from maintaining AstroTurf, but Campbell doesn’t expect any problems. The less ultraviolet light reaches the field, the longer it will last, he said. The Carrier Dome does not let in UV light so Campbell was excited about the installation.

‘Some things we’re going to have to learn how to do,’ Campbell said. ‘It has a sand and rubber base. But the athletes won’t experience rug burns or injuries from just being tackled and player’s footwork won’t be hurt from just being locked.’

The new turf is just one of the few upgrades that Gross has installed in his ‘SU Athletics Tomorrow’ campaign. Ground was broken on May 13th for a new strength and conditioning facility. The campaign will help pay for similar projects.

‘We have been very, very aggressive with our fundraising and people are buying into the whole ‘SU Tomorrow’ vision,’ Gross said. ‘We are really happy about that. We will continue to fundraise for these projects.’

Published on June 19, 2005 at 12:00 pm