Work has started on the field replacement at the University of Texas’ Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium, home of the Longhorns football team since 1924. The new surface will be the third FieldTurf surface installed at the stadium since 2009, when the natural grass field was converted back to artificial turf for the second time in the school’s history.
“We’ve played on FieldTurf for over a decade, and their team has been nothing short of exceptional,” said Drew Martin, Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for External Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin. “When we were preparing to replace the field, we reviewed the available options but were confident that FieldTurf still had the best team and product for our program. The work they’ve done on product development and safety research set them apart for us.”
University of Texas officials opted for FieldTurf CORE, the company’s leading system. Built from FieldTurf’s 20-plus years of industry-leading innovation and unmatched expertise, CORE, the first multi-layer dual-polymer fiber ever, rewrites the playbook for sports turf, reinvents the playing field, and redefines the player experience. Engineered for elite-level facilities, CORE is designed to deliver a more realistic, textured, grass-like shape with optimal durability and resiliency.
CORE’s performance and safety is backed by multiple independent certified sources. Labosport, a global leader in sport-surface certification, tested CORE using the rigorous Fiber Performance Index — which measures durability, resilience and softness. The surface emerged with Labosport’s highest-ever Fiber Performance Index score of 90. The system was also tested to 200,000 cycles on the fiber wear test by Penn State’s Center for Sports Surface Research. Unlike imitation blended polymer fibers, CORE backs its performance with results.
“We’re proud and excited to continue to be the trusted surface of the University of Texas,” said Eric Daliere, President – Tarkett North America & Tarkett Sports. “They have one of the most successful collegiate athletic programs in the country and their trust is a demonstration of our unwavering commitment to excellence.”
The new surface will feature a unique center field logo that is composed of a shadowed state of Texas outline under the Longhorns’ logo. The traditional “Texas” and “Longhorns” lettering will be found in the end zones.
In Texas, over 500 programs trust FieldTurf, which includes powerhouse football programs University of Houston, University of North Texas, Texas Tech University and Texas State University to name a few.
The project is to be completed in collaboration with RS Global, an Official FieldTurf Partner based in Farmers Branch, Texas.
