Turf rolled out for practice field

FLORENCE - As grass around the Shoals withers from the oppressive heat, the practice field at the University of North Alabama is growing greener every day.

On Monday, an installation crew for Pittsburgh-based ProGrass Turf began unrolling the new synthetic surface for the field, which is shared by UNA football and soccer programs. By Tuesday, several rolls of the synthetic turf had been sewn together to form a large patch of green on the field that is now covered with crushed stone. The stone will eventually be covered by the turf, and a new walking track will be built around the border of the field.

The field is being reconfigured to provide two 70-yard football fields running north-south and a soccer field running east-west that is 120 yards long by 70 yards wide.

UNA Athletic Director Mark Linder said white lines for the football field will be inlaid into the synthetic turf. The lines for soccer will be inlaid in black.

The new field will allow soccer matches to be played on the UNA campus for the first time since it began fielding a soccer team in 1997. UNA's home soccer matches have been played at North Florence Park.

Linder expects the new field will be completed by early August. A touch-the-turf party is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 5 to provide area residents an opportunity to inspect the synthetic surface and meet UNA football and soccer coaches and players.

Linder said the new turf is state of the art.

"It's going to be a very safe field that you don't have to water, mow or paint the lines," Linder said. "You can be on it 24 hours a day and never have to worry about killing it."

After the UNA field is covered with the synthetic grass, 640,000 pounds of rubber pellets will be spread over the surface, leaving 1/4 inch of turf exposed, Linder said. The rubber, which will be more than 2 inches thick, will provide a cushion when players fall.

Bob Thomas, vice president of marketing and sales for ProGrass Turf, said the product is similar to natural sod. "I like to refer to it as synthetic grass," Thomas said.

Ragan Clark, Alabama sales representative for ProGrass Turf, cites several schools in the state, including Jacksonville State and Troy universities and Prattville High School, that have athletic fields covered with the company's synthetic turf.

The work at UNA is part of $1.25 million renovation project that includes additional parking for Mark D. Lane Field and the Flowers Hall Annex, lights, scoreboard and bleachers for the soccer field and new sod for the field where the Pride of Dixie Marching Band practices.

Linder said the walking track will be open to the public.

Dennis Sherer can be reached at 740-5746 or dennis.sherer@TimesDaily.com.