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Originally posted by Hysterikal:Originally posted by dj43:Of course, some stadiums are designed in such a way that natural grass will not grow there. The AZ, LA, and LV arenas are ahead of the curve on that. Of course, that feature cost millions extra but protecting the health of a $500,000,000 investment makes financial sense.
Cost shouldn't be a viable excuse for any NFL team as to why they can't have grass.
Originally posted by dj43:
Grass, like all green plants, must have sunlight to allow it to grow. There are some varieties that do better in the shade or partial shade but indoors doesn't work.
The players really wanted to play on grass and that was a key consideration. The coaches wanted to play on grass," Cass said.
Baltimore had natural grass in the stadium when M&T Bank Stadium opened in 1998, but it didn't work out well.
The field got chewed up during the season and they had trouble keeping it in good condition late in the season due to sunlight restrictions. Starting in early November, sunlight does not reach the Ravens sideline from about the numbers into the bench.
Thus, the Ravens changed to an artificial turf from Sportsexe Momentum Turf for the 2003 season, then replaced that with a newer Shaw Momentum 51 turf before the start of the 2010 season.
Cass said he has long felt that the Ravens' artificial surfaces were the best in the league. The Ravens knew at the end of the season they were going to replace their current surface, and the original plan was to stick with it.
However, the Ravens did more research over the offseason on whether they could maintain a high quality grass field.
They found a different strain of grass, from a sod farm in North Carolina that are a mixture of Burmuda and some rye grass, that they believe will be more robust than what they previously used in the stadium. The Ravens also plan to use artificial light to keep grass growing where the field is shaded.
....."There have been a lot of technological advances with the grass from what I'm told," Harbaugh said. "Our grounds people have done a great job of researching it, and they feel like they have the type of grass now that can thrive in there."
SEATTLE - It's one of the worst winters he's even seen but the head groundskeeper at Seattle's Safeco Field is fighting back. He's brought in some European sunshine.
Stadium Grow Lighting, a Netherlands company, rolled out a mobile lighting system that has been greening up soccer fields around the world. The lights are tuned to the optimum level of photosynthetically active radiation to stimulate grass growth in even the darkest corners of the field and this time of year Safeco has plenty of them.
The sun never shines along this strip in the winter, said Groundskeeper Bob Christofferson as he pointed to the first base line.
Growing grass in the shadows is not an easy thing but with mobile lighting they can roll the bank of grow lights wherever they are needed in the field.
Opening day is April 13 and Christofferson says by then, with this system, the grass will be at standards they usually don't get until May
Due to the unique water-cooling concept of the LED fixtures, the extracted heat produced by the LEDs, can be re-used and directed to the grass. This results in better and faster growth and the ability to illuminate the grass year-round.
Together with football club 'NAC Breda' and Hubra Fieldmanagement, Oreon researched the benefits of using water cooled LED lighting to improve growth of grass playing surfaces in combination with a unique heating system to improve temperature control and lowering energy costs.
Background
Many professional sport clubs use artificial light to improve the condition of the turf. Traditionally, high-pressure sodium (HPS) fixtures are used. Grass playing surfaces used in sports are designed to withstand high amounts of activity. However, the recuperation of grass is often not fast enough in between matches, resulting in thin patches. Thus additional light is needed. LED lighting is in many ways a proven step forward. A fieldkeeper has more control over growth, resulting in e.g. higher germination rates and faster root/shoot development. Furthermore, LED has many advantages over HPS: lower energy comsumption, longer life span, less heat radiation, and control over the light recipe.
https://www.oreon-led.com/en/news/case-study-led-lighting-stadium-grass-at-football-club-nac-breda
Originally posted by DonnieDarko:
i think it's ridiculous that LA has turf
Originally posted by 49ers808:
We should be awarded draft compensation for what happened to us
