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WSU Football Martin Stadium Update: New Field, Crimson End Zones Down

By Josh Davis

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Martin Stadium is looking better by the day and finally the long-awaited crimson end zones are down!

Washington State hasn’t released any numbers but the cost of the turf itself is thought to be between $750,000 to $1 million, which is the general price of most FieldTurf surfaces in an American football stadium.

Not sparring any expense (as A.D. Bill Moos has been known to do recently), the Cougs are going to a rare type of FieldTurf called Revolution Fiber. The Seahawks and Sounders used the surface at Century Link Field in Seattle for the first time in 2012 and both have given rave reviews.

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The field received a FIFA 2-Star rating after it’s installation (learn more about that here), which is to say that it is accredited as the most-lifelike grass simulation surface in the industry today. At this point, only the Seahawks and New England Patriots of the NFL, along with the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the NCAA use this surface. Here’s the description by FieldTurf.com:

"The FieldTurf Revolution system is built with the FieldTurf Revolution fiber and is the result of innovative science, engineering and technology that will provide a playing surface that features a soft and strong monofilament fiber. A proprietary fiber polymer formulation resists splitting and degradation and includes an industry leading ultraviolet inhibitor technology. A state-of-the-art extrusion process provides intricate concave and ridged construction to eliminate breaking points in each fiber blade.Specially sized cryogenic rubber particles and washed silica sand granules are layered, in a patented installation process, surrounding the FieldTurf Revolution fibers. This provides player safety and outstanding durability and longevity. The FieldTurf system is the only turf product in the world with independent long-term and real-life safety data backing up its claims."

Back in 2000, Washington State joined Nebraska as the only two teams in America to play on FieldTurf fields, which was cutting-edge technology at the time. Now the Cougs are back on top in that regard with this surface.

Interestingly I found out a few months ago on a stadium tour that because of the events that take place in C-Link (MLS soccer, MotoCross, NFL football and live concerts/events), the stadium is required to update (or upgrade) their turf out once every four years. That gives them two-more seasons on this surface, but to put it into perspective, Martin Stadium hasn’t been updated with a new FieldTurf since 2006. That seems about right considering the events that take place, but it’s still been awhile and was badly in need.

Via the twitter timeline, here are some before and after photos for you guys! Go Cougs!

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