This is good stuff, and I’m wondering now specifically if there is a higher or lower occurrence of hamstring injury on field turf or grass. I initially thought with you about the knees and ankles being a bellwether for this discussion, but Hamites too, could be a factor.

In the end, though, the grass we have looks like spit, so I’m all on board to rip it out and put in the turf

Rockne wanted turf but had to settle for grass because turf wasn’t invented yet.

The priority is to be on par with (or better than) the best, and the surface in Notre Dame Stadium simply hasn’t been living up to that standard. Despite all the nostalgia for the 20th Century – and, boy, was it a good century for Notre Dame football – let’s move into the 21st.

C’mon people, it’s right there in the name: God, Country, Notre Dame Grass Field. I don’t understand why this is so difficult.

Classrooms, student centers, labs, music halls, dining areas, faculty offices, and more that doesn’t require specific weather and soil conditions to function?

I mean, if you want ND to focus on growing a 120 x 53.3 yard patch of grass, I guess that’s cool.

From what I have seen on other fields with turf (my high school and Big House) that I’ve been on, the crowning is consistent. Particularly you will need that for proper drainage as well so water runs down to sidelines

The last stadium expansion exacerbated this issue, raising the height of the outside walls and making it more difficult for direct sunlight to reach the field. Adding 3 new buildings on the east, west and particularly the south sides of the stadium as part of the cross-roads project will cast long shadows on the grass as the days get shorter. Remember – the sun is only as strong on October 21 as it is on February 21.

There is a way to run a heating system under the grass field (along with much, much better drainage), to heat the field to a fairly constant temperature through October and November. It is not inexpensive but the technology is not all that new or difficult.

What I do not know is if a field turf field has to be less crowned than a grass field. If you have been on our field know what I mean – if you are sitting on one sideline you cannot see the feet of the people on the other sideline because the field is crowned from the middle of the field to the sidlines. The crowning from the middle to each end zone appears even more severe – a runner running to an endzone is literally running down hill. I know this is true on every field, but do not know is the crowning is any less severe with field turf.

Yeah, that’s generally why I’m in the “it’s all cosmetic” camp. I think there is nothing more beautiful than a well manicured grass field, but if that isn’t possible at ND for whatever reason, then to hell with it.

But then again, I haven’t run the defensive numbers yet, so maybe I’ll be swayed!