A North Carolina-based company will replace Texas A&Ms football field with another natural surface at the cost of $300,000, sources told The Eagle on Thursday.

The move comes after torrential rains last Friday and Saturday when the Bryan-College Station area was inundated with 4.5 inches of rain in less than 24 hours, leading to sloppy conditions in Saturday nights game between Texas A&M and Rice. After the game, which A&M won 38-10, John Sharp, chancellor for the Texas A&M System, led the decision to make a change and bring in the grass from Carolina Green.

After the game, the chancellor asked the staff and the Kyle Field redevelopment committee to look at options, said Steve Moore, the A&M Systems vice chancellor of marketing and communications. He wanted to know how to provide the best competitive playing surface we could going forward and thats what led to this process and the decisions that have been made.

Carolina Greens sod, which is being shipped in on 24 refrigerated trucks, is grown on plastic and will ship with a much thicker sod base than the grass that was installed in early August, meaning it will take less time for it to take a firm hold at Kyle Field. The next home game is Oct. 11 when A&M plays Mississippi. Crews will begin installing the field the week of Sept. 29.

According to Moore, the installation will take about two days, which should give the Aggies ample opportunity to practice on the new surface before their Southeastern Conference home opener.

Aside from the thicker sod base, another reason Carolina Green was chosen is that the company has expertise in replacing fields in-season. Over the past five years, Carolina Green has done in-season replacements for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, University of Tennessee, University of Kentucky and University of South Carolina. Just last week, the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans played on surface that had been installed the week before by Carolina Green.

Moore said there were no discussions about switching to an artificial surface or moving games to other locations, and that university officials, as well as their Kyle Field redevelopment partners Populous and Manhattan-Vaughn Construction, did not originally anticipate any issues.

Populous and Manhattan-Vaughn have done a lot of stadiums and they had a lot of discussion about it, Moore said. There are a lot of different field experts out there. The prescription they used in terms of getting the turf, selecting the turf, putting the turf down and how it was put down was all well vetted. Had it not been for the rain, everyone is confident it would have worked very well.

He added, If you look around at our playing surfaces we have at A&M, whether its at Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park, Ellis Field for soccer or Kyle Field, traditionally weve had great, great turf. The feeling was that we made decisions that were consistent with that and that it was going to be a great surface for us for this year.

At halftime of last weeks game, Rice coach David Bailiff was seen on the sideline shouting with A&M Athletic Director Eric Hyman. However, after the game, Bailiff said he was satisfied the surface was safe enough to continue playing.

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Kyle Field getting new grass after poor field conditions during Rice game

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY - Those responsible for putting a field into Kyle Field thought they had the right grass for the 2014 season.

A first game, a significant rain storm and a second game later, and Texas A&M has called an audible.

A&M System officials said Thursday they had finalized a deal to bring new turf from North Carolina to replace the North Texas-grown grass that routinely was ripped and uprooted during the Rice game last Saturday.

In confirming the news originally reported by The Eagle, System spokesperson Steve Moore said there had been talks with top officials throughout the week which wrapped up Thursday with the deal to bring grass from the Carolina Green Sod company in Indian Trail, North Carolina, a company that is said to have thicker sod to settle in faster, and a company that has installed major sports fields in the middle of seasons on short notice before.

By the end of the month, the new grass will be trucked across the country and laid down in Kyle. A&M's next home game is October 11 against Ole Miss.

The previous field, grown by Tri-Tex in Tioga, Texas, had been down for just about 30 days before the home schedule began. Aggie Athletics field manager Leo Goertz told News 3 before the first home game against Lamar that the ideal time for a field to be able to properly set and grow together is 60 days, but that conditions had been good leading up to that game. Following the Lamar match-up, Goertz said the field had held up as good as he could have hoped.

Then, the day before the Rice game, 4.26" of rain wer recorded to have fallen at nearby Easterwood Airport, a record for any September 12 recorded. By the second half of Saturday's game, field crews were having to sprint as much as the players across the field to fill and repair holes where the turf kept coming up.

News 3 featured a story on the original grass during its Aggie Gameday pre-game show before the Rice game. Tri-Tex had also provided the turf for Kyle before the 2007 season.

Read the rest here:
New Grass Ordered for Kyle Field After Turf Failures During Rice Game

BEDFORD, Mich., Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Officials with a Michigan school said vandals used grass killer to carve the image of male genitals into a football field, causing four games to be canceled.

Bedford Schools Superintendent Mark Kleinhans said landscapers are using sod to repair the estimated $15,000 to $20,000 worth of damage done to the Bedford High School football field by vandals who used grass killer to put a giant image of male genitalia on the field.

Kleinhans said four games have been canceled as a result of the vandalism and officials are hoping the situation will be corrected in time for the upcoming varsity homecoming game.

Police said they are seeking warrants against two teenage suspects accused of carrying out the vandalism with the help of a 50-year-old mother.

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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Penis-shaped football field graffiti cancels games

I heard that sod worms are especially bad this year destroying a lot of lawns. Is there a reason its worse this year? And what can be done to get rid of them?

The mild winter, wet spring and warm weather have been prime for many different species of turf insects, said Tony McCammon, area horticulture educator for the University of Idaho extension office. This year, I have seen some of the worst outbreaks in my tenure with the University of Idaho; insects such as of bluegrass billbug, armyworms and sod webworms. Many lawns in the Magic Valley are completely ruined and need to be

replaced.

Idaho ranks first nationally and accounts for 50 percent of U.S. Kentucky bluegrass seed production, reports the UI College of Agricultural and Life

Sciences.

Sod webworms, commonly called lawn moths, are a serious pest. Larvae feed on and particularly damage bluegrass. They feed at night, chewing off leaves and stems just above grass crowns and reside in silken burrows during the day. Adults are typically inactive during the day and fly at night, scattering their eggs into the grass. Eggs hatch in about one week; the first generation larvae feed until midsummer. A second generation occurs during the remainder of summer. Generations may overlap with all stages present by late summer. Damage to lawn is most obvious in spring and fall.

Insects are easy to control chemically, if pesticides are applied in the proper part of their developmental stages. When the damage is found, its already too late. Insectides wont work. Effective monitoring is key to control.

Many of the local nursery and landscape companies offer control options to protect your lawns from pests, McCammon said. For 7-in-10 years, winters are harsh enough to kill most overwintering larvae and adults. So the populations leave little damage, and control measures might not be needed. These insects have many natural enemies include other insects, bacteria and fungi that target them specifically.

Sod webworm moths are easy to identify with their pointy snouts. They are also seen at dusk flying in a zigzag pattern across the top of your lawn. They lay their eggs in late spring and just as the temperatures increase. This causes your lawn to immediately show the signs of stress, and in lawns with high populations of webworms, the lawn can die in large patches, said McCammon.

Larval damage is observed as brown patches up to the size of a baseball. Webworm larvae can feed in an area of 4 to 6 square feet. Brown patches can be punctured with pencil-sized holes as a result of birds searching for the burrows. Another good indicator of fresh webworm larval feeding is the presence of moist, green fecal pellets in the lawn.

View original post here:
Curious Mind: Stopping Hungry Sod Worms

Albuquerque has sod laid out and some paving work finished at a new landing spot for Balloon Fiesta pilots -- the city hopes to have the park finished by Oct. 4.

On the north side of Vista Del Norte Park -- off Osuna Road -- theres a patch of dirt where grass needs to go. However, its one of the last open spaces south of Balloon Fiesta Park.

A city spokesman said there are about 6 acres of sod that should be available in time for balloonists. The city has spent months preparing the land, hauling in dirt back in June.

The city admits its behind schedule with laying sod, and cites monsoon rains for the delay.

Were optimistic were going to meet that deadline of being ready for Balloon Fiesta, city spokesman Keith Reed said.

The dirt to the east of the park will remain intact, as the city doesnt have the money to develop it. In addition to the sod, crews need to finish installing sprinklers.

The project will cost about $1.3 million. The city needs $1.6 million to complete the projects second phase.

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City hopes to finish landing strip for Balloon Fiesta

Asheville, NC (PRWEB) August 28, 2014

Super-Sod's new product, Drivable Grass, an environmentally friendly, permeable alternative to concrete, will be featured in their booth at the upcoming 2014 Water Education Summit in Asheville, NC, September 8-10. Discussions will include: conserving water locally, climate change, and watershed planning. Super-Sod brings Drivable Grass to the discussion as a beautiful, easy, and durable option for conserving water, reducing runoff, and mitigating Heat Island Effect.

Drivable Grass is a simple solution for water resource management using living material (turfgrass) to capture and process pollutants without giving up the area to unsightly detention basins or filtration ponds. Turfgrass is a natural bio-filter. Storm-water storage is increased and runoff is minimized when turfgrass is used in conjunction with Drivable Grass to filter, collect, and store run-off underground, underneath a Drivable Grass infrastructure that can be designed to have an attractive, modern look and to allow people and vehicles to use the space in a functional way.

The Drivable Grass system is used for storm drains, detention basins, ditches, filtration systems, bio-swale reinforcement, culvert outlets, fire lanes, and parking lot rainwater capture, just to name a few applications.

Landscape professionals, builders, planners, architects, educators, activists, and anyone in the public sphere interested in learning more about water conservation or Drivable Grass can attend the educational event. A link to The Summit's website can be found on Super-Sod's event & lawn tip calendar.

Super-Sod is a family-run business that employs experts in turf and horticulture. One of their most popular products has been their Soil3 organic compost, delivered in a cubic yard BigYellowBag, which they make partially from composted grass clippings from their sod production. Super-Sod continues to develop new garden products, foster gardening and landscaping, and always seeks to improve their farming practices, technology, environmental stewardship, and employee knowledge. Super-Sod Outlets serve Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, North Florida, and into Alabama, Tennessee, and Virginia.

Original post:
With Drivable Grass in hand, Super-Sod is Sponsoring The 2014 Water Education Summit this September in Asheville, NC

LAKE GEORGE -- Two events scheduled for Charles R. Wood Park in the coming weeks will be held on the newly turfed site as organizers took steps Thursday to minimize potential damage to the new grass.

Warren County leaders had expressed concern earlier this week, because sod placed on the park was put in three weeks later than planned.

The delay means the grass is susceptible to damage when the Shrine Circus and American Music Festival for the Lake take place next month, which prompted talk of moving the events.

Lake George Mayor Robert Blais and county officials discussed the issue Thursday, and agreed to take precautions and use certain parts of Charles R. Wood Park that will allow the events to be held there as scheduled.

Blais said truck traffic will be limited during both the circus and concert, and a stage for the concert will be placed to limit issues with the grass.

Blais said more than 1,000 people are expected for the three-day music festival, which is growing as more acts commit to perform.

He had looked into moving the circus to state-owned Battlefield Park if the grass was not ready at Charles R. Wood Park, but the state would not allow it, Blais said. And no alternative site is available that is big enough for the concert.

Warren County Public Works Superintendent Jeff Tennyson said county officials were satisfied with the steps that would be taken during the events to limit traffic on the grass.

Were confident we can get them on the site without any problems, Tennyson said. The grass is getting green and growing well.

The rest is here:
Despite late grass, events at park will go on

After only one preseason game at Levi's Stadium, the failing sod had to be ripped up and torn out last week after 49ers players began slipping and sliding during a practice.

Now, after another game on the new turf, the sod has to be replaced again. As you can see in the photo below, which Instagram user hundreddollarman, via the San Jose Mercury News, says he snapped on Monday afternoon.

This apparently was snapped at Levi's Stadium on Monday afternoon. (@hundreddollarman)

So, um, what's up?

According to the Mercury News, the team only installed the sod for last weekend's preseason game vs. the Chargers to be used temporarily and now will install a new field this weekend.

That turf should be ready for the 49ers home opener vs. the Bears on Sept. 14 (and the Sept. 6 Chile-Mexico soccer match).

For all you grass buffs out there, the team and its consultants are deciding whether it should continue to use Bandera Bermuda sod or switch to a Tifway grass that the paper says is used by more NFL squads.

Original post:
Passing grass: 49ers rip out stadium sod again

Jan 27, 2012: In this file photo, United States' Kelly O'Hara (5) fights for control of the ball with Costa Rica's Daniela Cruz (8) during the first half of CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying soccer game action at B.C. Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.AP

Even actor Tom Hanks has an opinion about whether the athletes at the 2015 Women's World Cup should play on artificial turf or grass.

A group of players from the U.S. women's national team, who will vie for a spot in the World Cup in October qualifying, have joined with several international players in protesting the turf surfaces for next summer's big event in Canada. And they're getting rapidly growing support from the sport's fans, including Hanks.

Last week Hanks, a big soccer fan, voiced his support on Twitter: "Opinion: Women's World Cup is the best Soccer of the year. Hey FIFA, they deserve real grass. Put in sod. Hanx."

The athletes say that it's not just a safety issue because turf is less forgiving than natural grass, it's about equity. They argue the men weren't asked to play soccer's top international tournament on a fake surface.

"It really goes down to this: The men would never play a World Cup on turf, so why should the women? It's the same tournament. It's the World Cup," U.S. forward Sydney Leroux said. "It's the biggest thing that we have for soccer. Why would we play on something that's not real?"

The athletes have formally joined in a letter of protest penned to FIFA, the sport's international governing body, and the Canadian Soccer Association. If they don't hear back soon, legal action could be taken in Canada based on that country's laws against gender-based discrimination.

Boies, Schiller & Flexner, the law firm involved in the recent lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon against the NCAA, drafted the letter on behalf of the players and is prepared to go to court.

"I think it resonates with a lot of people," said Boise Schiller & Flexner attorney Hampton Dellinger. "It's important in and of itself, but it's also important on a symbolic level, that if some of the world's greatest athletes can be treated this way, it's a real setback for gender equity in sports. It should have never gotten to this point, but it's not too late for Canadian soccer and FIFA to do the right thing."

In an email to The Associated Press, FIFA acknowledged receipt of the letter, but declined further comment. The Canadian Soccer Association deferred to FIFA for reaction.

See the original post here:
Safety cited in Women's World Cup turf war

By ANNE M. PETERSON AP Sports Writer

Even actor Tom Hanks has an opinion about whether the athletes at the 2015 Women's World Cup should play on artificial turf or grass.

A group of players from the U.S. women's national team, who will vie for a spot in the World Cup in October qualifying, have joined with several international players in protesting the turf surfaces for next summer's big event in Canada. And they're getting rapidly growing support from the sport's fans, including Hanks.

Last week Hanks, a big soccer fan, voiced his support on Twitter: "Opinion: Women's World Cup is the best Soccer of the year. Hey FIFA, they deserve real grass. Put in sod. Hanx."

The athletes say that it's not just a safety issue because turf is less forgiving than natural grass, it's about equity. They argue the men weren't asked to play soccer's top international tournament on a fake surface.

"It really goes down to this: The men would never play a World Cup on turf, so why should the women? It's the same tournament. It's the World Cup," U.S. forward Sydney Leroux said. "It's the biggest thing that we have for soccer. Why would we play on something that's not real?"

The athletes have formally joined in a letter of protest penned to FIFA, the sport's international governing body, and the Canadian Soccer Association. If they don't hear back soon, legal action could be taken in Canada based on that country's laws against gender-based discrimination.

Boies, Schiller & Flexner, the law firm involved in the recent lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon against the NCAA, drafted the letter on behalf of the players and is prepared to go to court.

"I think it resonates with a lot of people," said Boise Schiller & Flexner attorney Hampton Dellinger. "It's important in and of itself, but it's also important on a symbolic level, that if some of the world's greatest athletes can be treated this way, it's a real setback for gender equity in sports. It should have never gotten to this point, but it's not too late for Canadian soccer and FIFA to do the right thing."

In an email to The Associated Press, FIFA acknowledged receipt of the letter, but declined further comment. The Canadian Soccer Association deferred to FIFA for reaction.

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Women's World Cup turf war heats up - Quincy Herald-Whig | Illinois & Missouri News, Sports