Neil dropped us some notes on turf, and since he knows a lot more about it than the rest of us, we thought we'd pass it on. Thanks Ne1l!
The Sportgrass link brought back some thoughts to me, as I have
researched turf products for some of our proposed park and field
improvements here in Westfield.
It appears that the ownership has changed after some problems in recent
installations at Lambeau Field and Ravens Stadium. I also recall some
litigation which questioned whether the sportgrass system violated
another company's patent. Here's a link the the Milwaukee paper on the
decision to remove Sportgrass in Green Bay, midseason, no less, last
year. (postscript: The sod that replaced it became a "sandy mess" as it
really didn't have time to take root.)
http://www.jsonline.com/packer/news/sep99/field29092899.aspÂ
I know this is a bit far afield (couldn't resist) for a Duke basketball
site to discuss, but if there is some momentum here, I'd be happy to
share whatever info and insight I have learned as we try to build more
durable public fields..
Here are a few other links:
The SW Franks website lists the PSI installation of Sportsgrass,
although the current Ravens website lists the playing surface as
"bluegrass supertiles". A quick google.com search found this
interesting sidebar on the turfgrass program at Penn State and the
research on using sand in the base, and the subsequent substitution of
artificial materials.
http://www.agronomy.psu.edu/FOR/forfall99p2.htmlÂ
http://www.swfranks.com/installations.htmÂ
http://www.southernturf.com/cat.htmÂ
Regards
Neil S
P.S.
I found the European company that originated" the hybrid approach. I
think they installed just prior to last year or this year in Binghamton
NY for baseball. It would be interesting to hear the results. http://www.ddgrassmaster.com/index.html