FIELDTURF IS AGAIN THE CHOICE FOR INDIANAPOLIS COLTS AND LUCAS OIL STADIUMINDIANAPOLIS - FieldTurf will be the official playing surface at Lucas Oil Stadium, the brand-new home of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts that will officially open this fall. This major announcement was made today by Colts President Bill Polian and FieldTurf Tarkett CEO Joe Fields. Lucas Oil Stadium will be the latest-and-greatest, shiniest jewel of NFL stadiums, and the selection of FieldTurf is a major coup for the worldwide leader in artificial surfacing.
The Colts will play their first game at Lucas Oil Field when they open the 2008 preseason on August 24 against the Buffalo Bills. Indianapolis will play its inaugural regular season contest at Lucas on September 7 when the team hosts the Chicago Bears.
For the final three years of their tenancy at the RCA Dome, the Colts played on FieldTurf after it was installed in that venue in late spring of 2005. The team also practices on FieldTurf with both an indoor and an outdoor field at the Colts' Indianapolis training facility. RCA Dome had been the home of the Colts since the club's arrival in Indianapolis in 1984. So the Lucas Oil Stadium field will be the Colts' fourth FieldTurf surface.
Lucas Oil Stadium will be one of nine NFL stadiums to utilize FieldTurf, joining Atlanta's Georgia Dome, Cincinnati's Paul Brown Stadium, Detroit's Ford Field, Minnesota's Metrodome, New England's Gillette Stadium, New Jersey's Giants Stadium, St. Louis' Edward Jones Dome and Seattle's Qwest Field. Overall, 21 of the NFL's 32 teams now use FieldTurf at their stadium and/or their practice facility.
"We have been quite satisfied with the performance of the Field Turf installations at our practice facility and at our former home, the RCA Dome" said Polian. "I know our players are happy that we will continue to play on Field Turf at our new home at Lucas Oil Stadium."
"After playing a preseason game on Field Turf against the Seattle Seahawks in 2002, our players asked if we could put it in at our practice facility," said Colts Head Coach Tony Dungy. "After practicing on it, we put it in at the RCA Dome. We've had great experience with Field Turf and are excited that it will continue to be our playing surface in the new Lucas Oil Stadium."
"This is tremendous news for everyone associated with FieldTurf," said Fields. "The advance buzz throughout the sports industry is off the charts for Lucas Oil Stadium, and the fact that FieldTurf will be the official playing surface at this fantastic facility is quite an accomplishment for our product. We are extremely confident that we manufacture the absolute best playing surface in the world today, but it feels great to get this type of affirmation from the Colts. Of course, FieldTurf's latest selection by the Colts tells us that Owner Jim Irsay, President Bill Polian and Head Coach Tony Dungy, along with the players and team staff, have been very pleased with the performance of our product during the past three years that they played and practiced on FieldTurf. Now the Colts will have the state-of-the-art version of FieldTurf to go along with their state-of-the-art stadium."
Lucas Oil Stadium will feature a retractable roof and will have a capacity of 63,000 with the capability to expand to 70,000. Ground was broken for the construction of Lucas Oil Stadium on September 20, 2005, and the cost of the facility is expected to approximate $700 million. RCA Dome, the Colts' previous home, will be demolished in order to accommodate an expansion of the Indiana Convention Center.
In addition to FieldTurf's NFL teams, more than 50 major NCAA universities have it in their stadiums, including Nebraska, Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Boston College, Rutgers, Kansas State, Louisville and Missouri. In addition, MLB's Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays have FieldTurf at their respective stadiums.
With over 2500 installations in almost 50 countries, FieldTurf Tarkett is the largest entity in the sports surfacing industry and provides unparalleled leasing capabilities, engineering and manufacturing resources. In addition to its world-renowned FieldTurf and Prestige brands of artificial turf, FieldTurf Tarkett provides an equally impressive range of products that includes synthetic and hardwood basketball, volleyball and gymnasium flooring, squash and racquetball courts, floor protection and covering systems and weight room flooring. Also in the range of FieldTurf Tarkett products are indoor and outdoor running tracks, including the high performance 'Le Monde' track system, playground surfacing and a complete range of tennis and golf surfaces. For more information on FieldTurf, please visit www.fieldturf.com
