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Stadium Gets a New Carpet
Of Not-Yet-Green Grass – The New York Times | April, 1994
[dropcaps]E[/dropcaps]ast Rutherford NJ, April 14 – The artificial turf that wrecks the knees of running backs, separates the shoulders of wide receivers and leaves quarterbacks with bell-ringing concussions is being overlaid at Giants Stadium with a cushiony layer of natural grass for this summer’s World Cup.
By Saturday afternoon, the $1 million carpet of Bermuda sod should cover the entire floor of the stadium. Once the grass is in place, the next project will be coaxing it to grow.
There was a distinctly brown hue to the dormant Bermuda grass unveiled today at a news conference that featured Governor Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey kicking a soccer ball while wearing a sensible pair of heels. Bermuda is a Southern grass used frequently on golf courses and football fields, and the trick for World Cup agronomists is getting it to grow in a Northern climate.
Trucked From North Carolina
The Bermuda grass is being used here so Giants Stadium, the host of the World Cup semifinal, would have the same turf as the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, where the other semifinal and the final will be played. This particular Bermuda sod, all 112,000 square feet of it, was trucked in rolls from North Carolina, after the harsh winter stunted grass that was to have been provided by a sod farm in Virginia. Installation first required an 11-inch layering process of synthetic fabric, plywood and sand that is designed to facilitate drainage and prevent damage by fertilizers and pesticides to the the artificial turf below.
Bermuda grass is known for its toughness, durability and quick knitting, which will be of prime concern for the seven World Cup games to be played at Giants Stadium in June and July. Unil the ground temperature reaches 60 or 65 degrees, however, Bermuda grass will not begin to take root, installers said today, so blankets may have to be used to cover the turf and keep it warm.
The Bermuda turf should begin developing its lush greenness the first two weeks of May, installers said. An exhibition match between Greece and Colombia, 2 of the 24 World Cup finalists, will be held at Giants Stadium on June 5. Ticket prices and availability will announced a week from Monday, World Cup organizers said.
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