The Saskatchewan Roughriders, in partnership with the City of Regina, are pleased to announce that Taylor Field will see the installation of new turf for the 2007 CFL season.
The 2007 Turf Replacement Plan will be cost shared by the City and the Roughriders. It will bring forth numerous benefits not only to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, but to all local amateur sports organizations who utilize the facility. The plan will include consultation and input from those organizations.
�The City of Regina is extremely pleased to commit $600,000 towards this project,� said Mayor Pat Fiacco. “Taylor Field is a vital facility in our community, not only serving the Saskatchewan Roughriders and numerous local amateur sports groups but also contributing to our local economy through the many events it hosts. This is an investment that will benefit the entire city.�
“I would like to thank the City for its continued hard work and cooperation to make Taylor Field a top rate facility,� said Roughrider President/CEO Jim Hopson. “The installation of new turf is an exciting venture, and would not be possible without the City’s support.�
The City of Regina has committed $100,000 for design work this year and $500,000 for the purchase and installation of the turf in 2007. The Saskatchewan Roughriders will contribute matching amounts towards the project.
The new turf will have a rubber infill, and will be more like natural grass and less abrasive than the artificial turf now used. By the start of the 2006 CFL season, six of the other seven CFL stadiums will be using this type of artificial turf system.
The new turf will be installed at Taylor Field in the spring of 2007.
Didn't they get new turf about 5 years ago? I'm surprised they aren't trying to make the current stuff last until the asphalt starts showing through - like the last stuff they had.
thats the dif between the riders organization of old and this one. It seems that this one wants to make money, and be the most entertaining event possible.
The old stuff (the stuff before the current turf) was HORRIBLE. I had to practice and play there for one game (99 senior bowl) and it was junk. all the lines were raised, every different color was a different piece of turf, it was like concrete, absolute horrible. The stuff they have right now isn’t even that bad, in my opinion, compared to that old stuff at least.
Yes, its difficult to attract quality players when you are playing in a parking lot and the other teams have modern stadiums. Now if only they could do something with downtown Regina.
In the long run, natural grass would cost more to maintain, with the crazy weather that hits Regina. The turf will obviously last longer, yes, it's a lot of money initially, but you will save the trouble of yard work. Commonwealth Stadium gets grants to maintain their field because they have various track and field events, (ex. world track and field championships, 2002) Come late fall, that field gets hard and frozen, which obviously players do not like.
sambo42, I agree that grass (when properly maintained) is a nicer playing surface until about the end of September than even Field-Turf. However it is not that much nicer or superior. Field-Turf does far outshine natural turf as soon as it starts to rain or get cold. I remember watching one game in Winnipeg when they had a douwnpour of rain. 5 minutes after it stopped, the field was nearly undistinguishable from dry. Grass would have been a mud-bowl and ruined the excellent game that followed. I prefer to watch players who are not worried about getting injured at any time of the year. If they are playing on solid footing they are not tentative. The Grey-Cup in Edmonton several years ago showed that. Players were sliding all over the place and could have easily twisted an ankle or knee. In fact Avery could not stand up and it cost EE the game. I want Field -turf!
New stadiums for Winnipeg, BC and Hamilton? I must really be out of the loop.... especially to not have heard that Edmonton was contemplating changing their turf....
well, Hamilton fans want one, but their aren't any plans yet for one. But their are plans for ones in WPG and BC (cuz they are trerring down BC Place after the Olympics)
You can’t tear something down if you don’t have a new place to play. There is no new Stadium planned at this time. If they woke up tomorrow and decided to build one it would probably take a year to find a location, and 3-4 years to build it.
If it is those rubber pebble like turf, you will enjoy playing on it! After the Lions got the new turf for BC Place, many players commented on the talk shows on how nice it is and how much less their bodies ached after a game.
yes greenandwhite it is exactly like that stuff at u of r. At least I am pretty sure that U of R has that field Turf. Only probalem with that stuff is the pellets get in your shoes.
I found that at the turf at the U of R your feet stick too much to the turf, and is very easy to blow out a knee, and as a matter of fact a player on our team did blow out a knee when we played there. Personally I hated it, but I am sure that others like it.