BOISE, Idaho — Nine seasons of football left the old turf dull and faded.
"Our old turf was at its life expectancy. We were over nine seasons in," said Boise State's Bob Carney, Senior Associate Athletic Director, Strategic Planning and Capital Projects.
Now introducing: the new blue turf-- priced at roughly $635,000-- but Carney says was funded mostly from donations. The turf is now fully installed and ready to be unveiled to the public.
"I think it really enhances you know kind of what we're doing and just the atmosphere for game day," said Carney
Crews have been working for weeks to carefully replace and expand the turf, which features a new edge-to-edge design. But with some major first-of-their-kind events coming up, Carney hopes their work won't be in vain.
The new turf is the same brand as the last turf, but it features some upgrades: a tighter knit, shorter cut, a new font matching the lettering on players' jersets, and it now stretches farther to the stands. The new turf looks to be a more vibrant, royal shade of blue than the last one, though a Boise State rep said it's technically the same hue as the old turf.
"You might notice a little color difference, it's actually the same exact color, it hasn't been out in the sun,"
But Albertson's Stadium is not only hosting new turf this summer. It's also hosting Garth Brooks and his fans. Twice.
"I'll be a little nervous when we're doing our load-in uh ya know just to be truthful with ya," said Carney.
But those nerves led him to do his research.
"I've been to two of the venues now where Garth Brooks has done is concert... met with my counterparts there," said Carney.
They'll be using a product to help keep the new turf safe, including a plastic material designed to disperse the weight of the crowd evenly across the field.
"I don't think we'll have any issues. Of course it's a little nervewracking when you put in a brand new field, then you cover it for a concert," said Carney.
Depending how Garth Brooks goes, this may not be the last concert "on the blue."
"Yeah I think it'll be a good model, and we can show people what we can do. And I'd love to have an annual event or semiannual come in," said Carney.
