DETROIT, May 8, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wayne State became the latest NCAA university to select FieldTurf for installation at its football stadium. That announcement was made today by Wayne State University Athletics Director Rob Fournier and FieldTurf CEO John Gilman. The installation at Adams Field will be completed in time for the Warriors' 2006 home-opener on September 9 against Saint Joseph's (Indiana).
A member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Wayne State has been playing its home games at WSU Stadium/Adams Field since 1968. In 2003, the facility's name was expanded to include Tom Adams, a 1979 WSU Hall of Fame inductee.
"We have looked at various turf options for nearly two years and the obvious choice for us was FieldTurf," said Fournier. "You must consider so many factors in getting a product -- durability, longevity, craftsmanship and economy. FieldTurf was the unquestioned selection ... and their team is professional and easy to work with."
"In replacing the grass at Adams Field, the folks at Wayne State were extremely diligent in researching the type of new surface that they wanted to install there," said Gilman. "Everyone at FieldTurf is obviously very pleased and honored that Mr. Fournier and his staff have the utmost confidence in our product. FieldTurf is the undisputed world leader in artificial turf surfacing, and I have no doubt that the coaches, players and fans of Wayne State will be very pleased."
"We are very excited to have FieldTurf installed in our stadium," commented WSU head football coach Paul Winters. "It's great to know we will have the very best!"
More than 30 colleges currently play their home games on FieldTurf, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington, Oregon, Kansas State, Boston College, Syracuse, Missouri, Louisville and Texas Tech. 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.
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 1800 installations in more than 40 countries. For more information on FieldTurf, please visit www.fieldturf.com or call (800) 724-2969.