New turf in the Dome

[Newsbreaker]

Re: New turf in the Dome

I think the folks at the Physical Plant would scream bloody murder if those hours were taken away from them.

I seem to remember that picking up the current turf takes 4-6 hours, so 8-12 is a significant addition...but if you plan strategically so that it goes down in August and stays down until January, it's maybe not so bad.

[06panther10]

Re: New turf in the Dome

Thats my problem with people saying how hard it is to take the surface on and off. It only has to be done maybe 1-2 times per year.

[UNIpanther99]

Re: New turf in the Dome

Exactly... Especially now that there is a basketball arena. Put it down after indoor track is done and leave it down until we win the FCS Playoffs every year!

[Newsbreaker]

Re: New turf in the Dome

Exactly... Especially now that there is a basketball arena. Put it down after indoor track is done and leave it down until we win the FCS Playoffs every year!

There are of course other events in the dome...I think they do some wrestling events in there, the occasional trade show of some kind, etc etc.

I know they were once very concerned with being able to do concerts and the like in there, but honestly, they just aren't doing anything to get acts big enough to utilize the larger building into town, so that's really not a concern that should stop anyone from doing anything.

Even assuming you put it down in summer, remove it ONCE during the season for some special event, then put it back down until football is over, put it down an additional time for spring football and pick it back up afterwards, that's only 3 applications per year, and certainly not prohibitive.

[Panthers to the Bone]

Re: New turf in the Dome

http://www.vpaf.uni.edu/unidome/home/calendar.asp

This is the UNI-Dome calendar of events. They don't have any updates beyond Commencement, but there are several events in the Dome throughout the non-Indoor season. Also, there may be years like this year that don't allow the track team to go outside, and thus they must run inside. Or, what if there are days where there is lightning outside, and the team can't practice outside. It's very easy to say that once the indoor season is over, the turf should be down the rest of the year, but I don't think that it would work with the Dome. UNI does a great job of bringing in events, whether it be the Youth Wrestling event (annually), basketball camps (yes, UNI has their basketball camps in the Dome as they need as many courts as possible), trade shows, etc...

IMO, the next turf that is added to UNI will need to be easily stored, and easily laid down. I'm all for field turf, but I also know that UNI hosts alot of events that would need the Dome to be available for their events, and thus would require the switching of the turf/floor.

This is just my two cents...

[Big_Al]

Re: New turf in the Dome

Kinda speaks to the need for a full-time football practice facility. That way, you could leave the Dome available outside the playing season.

So FieldTurf, storage building & practice facility. I think the cost just jumped from $2-3 million to $3-4 million.

[in_the_stands]

Re: New turf in the Dome

Hard to imagine you could build any kind of decent practice facility for that kind of money these days. The cheapest would be a small dome like Iowa's, but we've been the inflated route before.

[UNIpanther99]

Re: New turf in the Dome

If new turf is cost prohibitive at this point, I would definitely settle for a fresh new paint job on the current turf... Purple endzones and "new" logo in the center?

[Big_Al]

Re: New turf in the Dome

Inflatable domes are still fairly common for practice facilities. Very cheap for the amount of space you need to cover a regulation field. Likely a million or less. It could be the MINI-Dome!

[in_the_stands]

Re: New turf in the Dome

I'd guess if you walked into the UNI athletic offices and whispered "inflatable", half the people would run in terror, and the other half would be looking for weapons.

[Big_Al]

Re: New turf in the Dome

Ha! Fair enough. However, those practice bubbles are very popular around the country and have a proven track record. The air-supported arena (like the UNI Dome used to be) was and is a novel concept.

[clenz]

Re: New turf in the Dome

I don't know what the ISU practice facility is, air or beam, but when I went to the ISU camp my SR year of HS it was extremely nice. UNI could only benefit from it

[in_the_stands]

Re: New turf in the Dome

Well, Iowa just spent a zillion dollars on football facilities, and didn't replace their dome, so it's probably safe to say they're satisfied with it. I believe they've also had a couple of deflation incidents over the years, though obviously not as serious for them as the UNI-Dome problems were for us.

Does ISU's practice facility also have a track? Seems like I saw a pic of an indoor event there, and wherever it was, it looked nice.

[BCPanther]

Re: New turf in the Dome

FWIW- The facility in Ames does not have a full track, just two or three lanes and is rigid rather than air supported...

[PantherInsider]

Re: New turf in the Dome

Well, Iowa just spent a zillion dollars on football facilities, and didn't replace their dome, so it's probably safe to say they're satisfied with it.

Actually, they aren't. They are looking to replace it at a significant cost. It's getting decrepid and they are not really able to punt or kick in it. It is 23 years old.

BTW, I think absolutely everyone would love a switch to field turf if it is feasible to keep Dome events as they are now. It is not a costly surface--the issue is removal and storage.