OHIO STATE NOTEBOOK
Stadium will have artificial turf
Friday, December 01, 2006
Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The Ohio Stadium field will have artificial turf next season, Don Patko, Ohio State assistant athletic director for facilities management, said yesterday.
An athletic department committee made the call this week. Patko, whose crew oversaw replacement of the grass field two times during the season, said he understood the decision.
"You?ve got to move along with the times," Patko said.
There are now artificial turf fields that look and react like grass but without the wear. Patko said 30 or more choices are available, and that the school has not decided which one will be laid in Ohio Stadium.
The schedule calls for the spring game to be played in late April on the current grass surface. The artificial turf will be installed, at a cost of about $600,000, between then and early June.
Coach Jim Tressel has made no secret that he likes the new generation of artificial grass fields, primarily because of their consistency and durability.
"There would just be a lot more use for the field," Tressel said. "What I am pushing for is a consistent surface. And then, the bonus of artificial turf would be the chance to have a lot more use."
The stadium went to artificial turf in 1971, then switched back to grass in 1990.
"I am disappointed; I am a natural grass person," said Dr. John Street, an associate professor in Ohio State?s horticulture and crop science department and a member of the athletic department?s turf team.
He said that from 2003 through 2005 the grass field in Ohio Stadium "provided pretty much excellent playing conditions."
The athletic department wanted to get one more season out of it, but several factors worked against it, the most severe being a deluge during a preseason scrimmage. The field never recovered and was replaced after the third game. That field failed to take and had to be replaced before the Michigan game.
Street said his group wanted to take another shot at grass, "but we know there were other factors involved in the decision, primarily field usage. They spent $200 million to renovate the stadium, and they don?t want to be limited in times they can use it due to natural grass."
Awards time
Tight end Stan White Jr., a graduate student, and junior receiver Anthony Gonzalez were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American first team yesterday. Sophomore linebacker James Laurinaitis made the second team.
To be eligible, a player must be a starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 and have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing.
Meanwhile, Doug Datish was named a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, which goes to the nation?s top center. Joining him were Michigan?s Mark Bihl, Southern California?s Ryan Kalil, Arkansas? Jonathan Luigs, West Virginia?s Dan Mozes and Rutgers? Darnell Stapleton. The winner will be announced Thursday night during the college football awards show on ESPN.
[email protected]
I must have skimmed over your post... my bad.
