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Monday Night Football turned into one of the worst turfgrass debacles in memory on Nov. 26 in Pittsburgh, resulting in historically-horrid football. But don?EUR??,,????'?????< The result shows what can happen when superintendents face a combination of natural turf, an intense schedule and bad weather.
Monday Night Football turned into one of the worst turfgrass debacles in memory on Nov. 26 in Pittsburgh, resulting in historically-horrid football. But don?EUR??,,????'?????<
The result shows what can happen when superintendents face a combination of natural turf, an intense schedule and bad weather.
Grounds crews worked for more than 24 hours over the weekend to roll out 21/2 acres of fresh, green sod in time for the game. The new grass was placed on top of the old playing surface, known as DD GrassMaster, which is a combination of Kentucky bluegrasses reinforced with polypropylene fibers. Much of the green grass had been worn away and the field sported patches of brown dirt that became slippery and muddy in the rain. The ensuing game narrowly avoided becoming in the first scoreless NFL contest in 64 years. Luckily for all involved the game mercifully ended with a field goal with 17 seconds left. The final score: Steelers 3, Dolphins 0; Heinz Field, disaster. The original field was in such bad shape was because it was subjected to seven football games in 11 days, including four high school championship playoff games Friday and a University of Pittsburgh game Saturday. ?EUR??,,????'?????< Installation of the new sod began after the Pitt game, and continued through Saturday night and Sunday morning. More than two dozen men and at least five fork lifts and tractors worked on the field, which was completed around 9 P.M. Sunday night. Rain Undermines Efforts The newly laid sod looked great ?EUR??,,????'?????< To make matters worse, just after 8 p.m., officials cleared the field when lightning flashed, delaying the game about 15 minutes. As the players left the field, all of the freshly painted white lines were washed out?EUR??,,????'?????< Once the game began, players slogged and slid in watery sprays, and punted balls landed like lawn darts, splashing down 4 inches deep into the soggy mess. Heinz Turf Rates Low The new sod was purchased from Tuckahoe Turf Farm, based in New Jersey with a facility in Pennsylvania. Representatives of the company said the turf would be fine for the game. The only cause for concern would be rain. In a 2006 survey conducted by the NFL Players Association, Heinz Field?EUR??,,????'?????< This game will most certainly prompt the Steelers, who are already investigating artificial surfaces, to look very seriously at installing one before the start of the 2008 season. They have been particularly interested in the new generation of FieldTurf called Duraspine that was installed this summer at West Virginia University. The team sent some of their people to WVU to take a look at the turf even before the debacle on Monday night. Sources: Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Espn.com
Grounds crews worked for more than 24 hours over the weekend to roll out 21/2 acres of fresh, green sod in time for the game. The new grass was placed on top of the old playing surface, known as DD GrassMaster, which is a combination of Kentucky bluegrasses reinforced with polypropylene fibers. Much of the green grass had been worn away and the field sported patches of brown dirt that became slippery and muddy in the rain.
The ensuing game narrowly avoided becoming in the first scoreless NFL contest in 64 years. Luckily for all involved the game mercifully ended with a field goal with 17 seconds left. The final score: Steelers 3, Dolphins 0; Heinz Field, disaster.
The original field was in such bad shape was because it was subjected to seven football games in 11 days, including four high school championship playoff games Friday and a University of Pittsburgh game Saturday.
?EUR??,,????'?????<
Installation of the new sod began after the Pitt game, and continued through Saturday night and Sunday morning. More than two dozen men and at least five fork lifts and tractors worked on the field, which was completed around 9 P.M. Sunday night.
The newly laid sod looked great ?EUR??,,????'?????<
To make matters worse, just after 8 p.m., officials cleared the field when lightning flashed, delaying the game about 15 minutes. As the players left the field, all of the freshly painted white lines were washed out?EUR??,,????'?????<
Once the game began, players slogged and slid in watery sprays, and punted balls landed like lawn darts, splashing down 4 inches deep into the soggy mess.
The new sod was purchased from Tuckahoe Turf Farm, based in New Jersey with a facility in Pennsylvania. Representatives of the company said the turf would be fine for the game. The only cause for concern would be rain.
In a 2006 survey conducted by the NFL Players Association, Heinz Field?EUR??,,????'?????<
This game will most certainly prompt the Steelers, who are already investigating artificial surfaces, to look very seriously at installing one before the start of the 2008 season. They have been particularly interested in the new generation of FieldTurf called Duraspine that was installed this summer at West Virginia University. The team sent some of their people to WVU to take a look at the turf even before the debacle on Monday night.
Sources: Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Espn.com
Francisco Uviña, University of New Mexico
Hardscape Oasis in Litchfield Park
Ash Nochian, Ph.D. Landscape Architect
November 12th, 2025
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