The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO

Pittsburg State Sports

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June 13, 2012

Installation of new turf starts at PSU's Carnie Smith Stadium

From staff reports

PITTSBURG, Kan. — Excavation work began Wednesday on Pittsburg State’s turf project at Carnie Smith Stadium.

Crews began to remove the rubber infill from the existing FieldTurf surface, which is being replaced after 10 years of use.

“The average life expectancy for this type of artificial turf is about 10 years,” PSU athletics director Jim Johnson said in a press release. “The colors begin to fade, the fibers begin to break and the rubber infill begins to move from the center of the field toward the sidelines. It’s just the natural progression of time.”

Mondoturf is being installed, and the project is scheduled to be completed before the Gorillas open preseason camp on Aug. 9. The $500,000 project is being funded with private donations.

“We visited a number of facilities and feel like Mondoturf stood out from the rest,” Gorillas football coach Tim Beck said. “The look and feel of their turf is just different. We believe Mondo offers a great product, and we look forward to having their surface on our field.”

Johnson said about 60 percent of the current infill will be reused on the field, and the rest will be used by the company on other projects.

And, some of the old artificial surface will be relocated on the PSU campus, such as baseball and softball hitting cages and throwing areas for the track and field athletes.

The stadium will be closed to the public during the installation.

“We have a lot of community members who use the stadium in their daily walking routine,” Johnson said. “By closing the stadium we’re hoping to cut down on the installation time and provide a safe working environment for the turf crew. We know it will be an inconvenience but we think everyone will be happy with the end result.”

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