FB: American Rivers Conference

[doolittledog]

Dubuque will have lights as of next season...as well as field turf...and for you former players out there, new locker rooms actually at the stadium.  No more running down the street to Stoltz or to the basement of Donnell Hall. 

[The Show]

Can players play schools off each other?  Things like, "I like your school...but school y over there is offering me x amount of finantial aid...can you beat that???"

Worked for me, probably safe to assume that it's still being done today.

[Charlie Kohawk]

No lights at Clark Field, but all IIAC football followers will be pleased to learn Coe is installing field turf this off season. No more mud bowls in Cedar Rapids.

[Walston Hoover]

No lights at Clark Field, but all IIAC football followers will be pleased to learn Coe is installing field turf this off season. No more mud bowls in Cedar Rapids.

Hey How about that! Now to the visitor's seating.
Doolittle-I Thought UD had some of the best natural grass around when I played there. In 2002 and 2000 we got ready at the stadium, but had to walk to the fieldhouse to shower after.

[lorbec47]

UD has had locker room facilities under the bleachers for a few years now. I still think you had to shower down the street though. There natural grass is amazing, but they are still changing to field turf.

[Walston Hoover]

Anyone have any idea what field turf costs just to install?
When Wartburg did it it was part of the whole stadium so I never heard how much the field portion was.

[doolittledog]

I am not a fan of field turf.  I think it's just the flavor of the month so everybody is stumbling over themselves to get it.  I'll get numbers on it later.  From what I've been told by people that have played on it is that initially it's a great surface.  Feel like you are playing on grass, the ball doesn't take funny bounces like on the old astro turf and you don't get muddy in the rain.  From what they say though, is after 3 or 4 years it really starts to go away.  Gets hard, you have the rubber pellets coming out of the surface and getting into your eyes.  Field Turf is marketed as plays like real grass and you lower your maintenance costs.  But if you end up needing to replace it every 6 or 7 years, with the last 3-4 being a crap surface I don't know if that is really worth it. 

I don't have the time today with work to find links but George Thoma is the grass guy in Kansas City that does work for the Chiefs and Royals and the NFL brings him in every year for the Super Bowl.  He has stated in the past that grass is much cheaper to maintain than artificial turf. 

[knightlife06]

Actually field turf is designed to be just  the opposite as you have stated.  After the 3rd or 4th year the rubber pellets settle into the surface and it's not nearly as much of an issue as it is the first few years.  I really enjoyed field turf as a player and continue to like it as a coach.  Of our 12 games we played last year only 1 of them was on actual grass.  I believe Wartburg's surface is around 6-7 years old and it is in fine condition.  Simpson's field is not that great just because it is a different surface than Wartburg's.  If you put the initial money into the surface it will pay dividends in the long run, like the Wartburgs, Centrals, and Loras have all done. 

[redmen]

Exactly Knightlife... it is during the first year that the rubber pellets are a problem, after a few years of getting worked in they aren't flying around everywhere.  As soon as I saw this conversation turn toward field turf I was just waiting for someone to bring up Simpson's turf, so you came through for me on that one too Knightlife.  You said it best "Simpson's field is not that great just because it is a different surface than Wartburg's".  Different than Wartburg = Bad.   

[knightlife06]

You're killin me here red. 

[doolittledog]

Interesting what I heard seems to be wrong.  Then again I was told this by some soccer players.  And they tend to gravitate towards prefering grass. 

And I should have worded things better about the stadium.  It was the showering afterwards and the block long trek you used to take I was refering to.  I was thinking not too many former players would have liked that but maybe that wasn't such a big deal. 

[Walston Hoover]

I think its the cheap Field Turf knock-offs a la Simpson and Valley Stadium that have given Field Turf a bad name. Sprinturf I think is the worst. Astroplay is not as bad. Field Turf is the Cadillac though.

[redmen]

So now Valley is the bad guy as well...must be some major brainwashing going on over there at Dowling. 

I will admit that Simpson's turf has some issues (turf pulls up in places, moves, etc)....which I really don't understand because if I recall we spent just as much if not more than Warturg did on their turf.  Don't quote me on that, but I think I remember that from somewhere.  Either way, Simpson messed up bigtime by putting those ugly soccer lines on the field and not filling in the endzones.  Whatever you have to do to save a buck I guess.  That being said, I always liked our turf and was a good investment when compared to grass.

[sportsknight]

Interesting what I heard seems to be wrong.  Then again I was told this by some soccer players.

Well, there's your problem right there.

[doolittledog]

Interesting what I heard seems to be wrong.  Then again I was told this by some soccer players.

Well, there's your problem right there.

I don't know.  Wartburgs soccer team made it to the final 16 of the national playoffs this year.  The football team lost to Dubuque and didn't make the playoffs.  The basketball team looks likely now to miss out on the IIAC tourney.  I wonder if we might see some Wartburg regulars on this board start sporting some soccer love and buy up a bunch of Wartburg soccer gear and start posting on the soccer side of this forum...you know, just to follow a winner!!!

Relax, just kidding (prepares to watch karma drop into the negative)