FOXBOROUGH, Mass., Nov. 15, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- The New England Patriots have selected FieldTurf for immediate installation at Gillette Stadium, it was jointly announced today by Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft and FieldTurf CEO John Gilman. The removal of the grass field at Gillette Stadium began on Tuesday and the new FieldTurf surface will be in place for the Patriots' next home game on Sunday, November 26 against the Chicago Bears.
Gillette Stadium is the ninth NFL stadium to install FieldTurf, joining Atlanta's Georgia Dome, Cincinnati's Paul Brown Stadium, Detroit's Ford Field, Indianapolis' RCA Dome, Minnesota's Metrodome, New Jersey's Giants Stadium, St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome and Seattle's Qwest Field. Overall, 21 of the NFL's 32 teams now utilize FieldTurf at their stadium and/or their practice facility. Gillette Stadium's mid-season conversion from grass to artificial turf is unprecedented in the history of the National Football League.
"Everyone associated with FieldTurf is delighted that the Patriots have selected FieldTurf for this installation," said Gilman. "We are obviously very gratified by the tremendous confidence in our product that is being displayed by the Kraft family, Coach (Bill) Belichick and the entire Patriots' organization. We are absolutely dedicated to providing the Patriots with the finest playing surface available in the world today. There is a good reason why FieldTurf is the runaway world leader in synthetic grass playing fields, and we very much look forward to providing a surface that will serve the Patriots players, coaches and fans well."
"John Gilman and his staff have created a great product with FieldTurf," said Kraft. "And John has convinced us that this will not only be the best long-term field solution for Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots, but he also assures us that it will be one of the best playing surfaces in the NFL. Unfortunately, that was a goal that we were unable to accomplish with our natural grass playing surface, despite the tremendous amount of resources we invested in the construction, installation and maintenance of that field over the past five years. We look forward to installing a field that will provide a consistent playing surface year-round."
Gillette Stadium has featured a natural grass playing surface since it opened for the 2002 season. The stadium is the home of both the Patriots and the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer (MLS). In addition, Gillette hosts a variety of other special events, including concerts. As a multi-use facility in a cold-weather climate, concerns had recently arisen with regards to the ability to keep the grass in a pristine and playable condition. The installation of FieldTurf will eliminate those concerns, and will give Gillette an outstanding and a consistent playing surface. The Patriots already have FieldTurf in the Dana-Farber Fieldhouse, the team's indoor practice facility adjacent to the stadium.
Every other year, the NFL Players Association conducts a survey of all NFL players who are asked to rank the league's 31 stadium fields on a variety of factors, such as playability, safety, etc. FieldTurf consistently gets high marks from the NFLPA survey. In the most recent report, the league's players ranked FieldTurf facilities as high as fifth out of 31, 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.
In addition to FieldTurf's NFL fields, more than 40 major NCAA universities have it in their stadiums, including Boston College, Harvard, Nebraska, Rutgers, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon, Washington, Kansas State, Louisville and Missouri. In addition, MLB's Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays have FieldTurf at their respective 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 on top of the FieldTurf surface.
Over the past few years, the quality and performance of FieldTurf's patented system has resulted in over 1,900 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. For more information on FieldTurf, please visit www.fieldturf.com.