Come next December the field crew will no longer have to partake in the annual annual late-season ritual of re-sodding the middle strip of the field in preparation for the club?EUR??,,????'???s final home games. That is because the Green Bay Packers announced that they will replace the grass with DD GrassMaster, a natural grass surface reinforced with man-made fibers, which the team installed on the Clarke Hinkle practice field prior to its 2005 training camp. A new drainage and heating system will also be installed.

?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'???This is Lambeau Field, for goodness sakes. We should have the best field we can possibly put in here,?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??? said general manager Ted Thompson, who made the final decision. ?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'???Our field has been OK this year because we?EUR??,,????'???ve had pretty good weather, but late in the season when we have to re-sod, then you run the risk of (problems with) player safety and the quality of the game.

?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'???We felt it was the best possible grass surface we could put in Lambeau Field.?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'???

The key word there? Grass. Unlike the New England Patriots, who put in the increasingly popular FieldTurf artificial surface at midseason at Gillette Stadium, Thompson wanted to keep the real stuff in Lambeau Field. Denver?EUR??,,????'???s Invesco Field, Philadelphia?EUR??,,????'???s Lincoln Financial Field and Pittsburgh?EUR??,,????'???s Heinz Field all use the surface.

?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'???We talked about a lot of different things,?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??? Thompson said. ?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'???Quite frankly, we think this is the best option. We do think it?EUR??,,????'???s important, because of the history here and because of the interest our fans have in everything that has to do with this place, that (we have) the grass field. We just felt it was the best thing to do.?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'???

Fields manager Allen Johnson said the team has had ?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'???great success?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'??? with the surface on Hinkle Field and has ?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'???been considering it seriously for Lambeau Field for about a year.?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'???

When the season ends, the field will be excavated, and the irrigation piping will be laid. On top of that, 30 miles of heating-system tubing and four inches of gravel will be installed, with 12 inches of sand on top of that. The sod will be installed in late April or early May, and in late July, the reinforcing fibers will be stitched in place. A new rubberized track will also be installed around the field.

Source: www.chippewa.com