Spartan Stadium could be a little fluffier in the future.
Athletics officials announced Tuesday plans to study whether the stadium’s field surface should be changed to natural grass when the existing artificial turf reaches its life expectancy by the 2002 football season. Officials hope to decide what type of surface will be installed by Jan. 1.
“We’re taking a serious look at installing natural grass in Spartan Stadium,” sports information director John Lewandowski said. “It’s at the critical stage where we must evaluate what we should do.”
The turf in the stadium, laid in 1994, has a usable life of six to eight years, and as its end comes closer, it’s time to rethink what would be best for MSU athletics, Lewandowski said.
Spartan Stadium is used about 180 times a year for football games, field hockey practices and games, summer athletic camps, intramural sports and marching band practice.
Because so many different campus groups use the stadium, all their needs will be considered in the decision, Lewandowski said.
“We know whatever decision we make will not only impact athletics, but the band and field hockey,” he said. “It’s an issue for several units on campus.”
Replacing the turf with new artificial grass could cost up to $1 million, Lewandowski said. The cost of growing natural grass is undetermined at this point because of the different growing options available, he said.
MSU will begin analyzing these different options, which include installing regular sod or using special planting module sections of grass, he said.
If MSU chooses to grow its own grass, it would be planted this spring and transplanted to the stadium after spring 2002 to be ready for use by that fall. If officials stick to artificial grass, construction would be completed during the off-season of 2001.
In either case, Spartan Stadium shouldn’t be out of commission for long, Lewandowski said.
And Lewandowski recognizes athletics officials could get a plethora of public support for natural grass. Many people think playing on artificial turf leads to more injuries than on grass, although there are no scientific studies to back the theory, he said.
But when it comes to recruiting, it may not matter that those perceptions are false.
“There’s no evidence that supports an accelerated injury risk on turf,” he said. “But that is the public perception, and in recruiting, the public perception is reality.”
James Crum, an MSU crop and soil science professor and turf expert, said artificial turf can lead to some minor injuries that don’t regularly occur on grass, but turf is not more dangerous.
“There’s no conclusive evidence that artificial turf causes more injuries,” he said. “It leads to different kinds of injuries. Players much prefer natural grass. It’s softer and causes fewer abrasions.”
And despite officials’ efforts to study turf options, several MSU football players have already made up their minds about a new playing surface.
“Grass, grass, grass,” junior wide receiver Herb Haygood said. “It’s much softer, and you don’t get marks all over you. When I first came here I had a hard time with the turf, but now I just pick my knees up higher.”
However, Haygood said the quality of the grass can make or break its benefits.
“The grass at Missouri was terrible, but at Iowa it had a fast feel,” he said. “It was cut shorter. That’s important.”
Sophomore running back T.J. Duckett also voted in favor of grass.
“I guess I don’t really have a preference, but grass has a more football feel to it,” he said.
If MSU does switch to grass, a study would be done on proper maintenance programs, Lewandowski said.
Maintenance could be costly and more time consuming than artificial turf, Crum said.
“Maintenance would be more intense with natural grass,” Lewandowski said. “You don’t have to mow, fertilize, irrigate or prevent pests on artificial turf.”
State News sports general assignment reporter James Jahnke contributed to this report.
Krista Latham can be reached at lathamkr@msu.edu.
