@MattFreeman - I totally agree. Tradition (natural grass) is fine until it comes a (recruiting) liability; and that's what Rock's House was becoming. I'm personally very pleased with the way things ARE.

I'll always prefer the game on natural grass....outdoors. Sun, rain or snow. The game seems to be being played in a laboratory currently.

If they were able to make the grass hold up throughout the season I would have been for keeping it. For some reason when they expanded the Stadium the grass got worse and worse. Then when I saw how bad it was for the USF game in 2011 I said to myself "They have to get rid of the grass" and that was at the beginning of the season. I think the field turf has been a great addition.

Fields at Michigan st and Penn St look to hold up over the course of the season. Ohio St and Michigan had problems with their grass Michigan being drainage issues. I believe the one issue with these stadiums is multiple uses...concerts...graduation...other sporting events that pose a challenge with grass and this is where field turf comes in to meet that challenge.

From the videos and pictures I have to give the whole of the project a thumbs up as to keeping a good amount of the heritage a living compliment to the new construction. And in particular the detailing throughout. Stayed away from going too circus or arcade..

I prefer natural grass, but for whatever reason, the field didn't hold up. I would've preferred the grass/synthetic type field that Green Bay Pack use. But that said, I love the field regardless. It's ND, their field, their budget, and their choice.

The idea that the grass at ND was ever any good late in the season is pure fantasy. I can tell you that by late October in the 1950"s, the surface was more dirt than grass. During Leahy's time the grass was okay but the players were lighter, they only played 4 home games and two were usually in Sept or early October and even then, the grass was thin.

Purdue has a whole college, faculty and research lab to take care of it's grass. Michigan State also has one. That's why they have success.

Last night the Dallas Club had our annual Kickoff party, and Mike Collins, the PA announcer for football games was our guest speaker (btw, he was terrific, and would be a great addition to any ND event). He was asked about the turf, and commented that the last time they changed the natural grass in the Stadium they changed the soil and sub-soil, and only made things worse.

The turf is dog *****

I don't think anyone can argue against natural grass being the preference, but if there's any struggle to maintain it and keep it healthy year round...then you've got to go with alternatives. I'd love to see a strong and resilient natural field at ND but I applaud the top brass making the difficult and unpopular choice to convert it. They put a lot of research into keeping it natural, so I feel like it was a pretty educated decision and likely the right one. It looks great and if the players don't have complaints about it, then I'm all for it. It's a playing surface and the ones that use it have the only opinion that truly matters.

Frankbuz said:

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The idea that the grass at ND was ever any good late in the season is pure fantasy. I can tell you that by late October in the 1950"s, the surface was more dirt than grass. During Leahy's time the grass was okay but the players were lighter, they only played 4 home games and two were usually in Sept or early October and even then, the grass was thin.

Purdue has a whole college, faculty and research lab to take care of it's grass. Michigan State also has one. That's why they have success.

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I recall years ago that the mainteneance crew applied chemicals on the ND field that were the wrong dilution ratio and caused the grass some major issues over the summer then of course into the fall. Then with any year round scheduling for the stadium when and what corrective measure get implemented? Like you mentioned the dedication to success with natural grass is a twelve month endeavor that requires input from many tiers from many experts....year in year out of course.