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Texans/NRG field being changed to artificial surface for remainder of 2015

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Mark Berman ‏@MarkBermanFox26
Rick Smith: NRG Stadium to use artificial surface 4 rest of 2015 season: "Kansas City Chiefs organization expressed some concern last week"

Rick Smith says move to artificial surface at NRG is because field during preseason & last week was "just not up to historical standards"

Texans execVP/GM Rick Smith says team will work w/Harris Cty Sports&Conv Corp(landlord)& SMG 2find solution so NRG can return 2natural grass

Rick Smith on changing NRG Stadium 2 artificial surface:"We'll install an(upgraded)Astroturf surface very similar 2the surface SMG has here"

Rick Smith on using artificial surface:"It's our responsibility@ the club level as well as the league2protect players from unnecessary risk"

Texans exec VP/GM Rick Smith artificial surface to be used at NRG Stadium will be upgraded from 1 stadium uses for high school/college games

Rick Smith on problems with field: Condition of trays,installation process the nursery. "We were not necessarily confident it would improve"

Texans executive VP/GM Rick Smith says team 2use Astroturf-type surface for remainder of season.Says has not performed properly this season

Texans executive VP/GM Rick Smith says surface at NRG Stadium being changed from natural grass to an artificial surface.​

John Harris@jharrisfootball
Field turf is a comin'​


Jayson Braddock ‏@JaysonBraddock
"It was a little bit more uneven than normal." Smith on the field week 1 2015 as opposed to the past.

"After the game last week" On when Rick Smith first start contemplating the decision.

Texans will play on an artificial surface for the remainder of 2015 but Rick Smith says the hope is to find a better tray system.​

Rick Smith "We hope to find a solution to the tray system so that we can continue with that moving forward."

Rick Smith: "The decision has been made to change the surface from natural grass to an artificial surface."​

Tania Ganguli ‏@taniaganguli
This is only a change for the 2015 season. The Texans want to go back to grass, but don't want to jeopardize player safety.

Smith says visible seams don't necessarily mean the surface is uneven. Says that's a misconception. #Texans

"Yes, the Kansas City Chiefs expressed some concern last week," #Texans GM Rick Smith says of the field.

#Texans GM Rick Smith said the condition of Sunday's field prompted the change. "We weren't ... confident that it would improve."

The #Texans will switch to field turf for the rest of the 2015 season. They sent a letter to the NFL yesterday informing of the change.​

Houston Texans ‏@HoustonTexans
Smith: "We weren't confident that the field would improve, and that's the reason we are making the change."​

Smith: "Our field has tested very well in the past. That has not been the case this year."

Smith: "The decision has been made to change the surface of our field from natural surface to an artificial surface."​

Deepi Sidhu ‏@DeepSlant
Smith also stated that while turf is for rest of 2015, they are looking for a better solution to the grass tray system for future. #Texans

Smith says the decision to switch to turf came after Week 1 opener vs. KC. #Texans

"Our field has tested very well in the past," Smith says. Feels consistency in field surface was lacking this year which drove decision.

Turf will be installed for the team to play on for the remainder of 2015 season. #Texans

Rick Smith announces that the decision was made to change surface of NRG Stadium from natural grass trays to to turf. #Texans​
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For the rest of the season. According to Rick Smith, they're still hoping to find a better natural grass system in the future.
 
Held out until the Hartmann lawsuit was settled. It cost the Texans org the best of Clowney. (Hope settling the lawsuit was worth it.) I wouldn't count on the turf ever being replaced. Atleast the field wont be torn up after Friday/Saturday night games.
 
Is it going to be the turf system they already have for high school and college games or are they going to get something else entirely?

What I've found so far hasn't really been clear on that.
 
Watching Rick's presser, I got the impression that the league had something to do with this.

Just my impression, but...


And for those wondering about medical implications, Dr CND has done some research on grass vs. field turf and he prefers grass for injuries. I'm sure he'll add his thoughts when he's able.


And this: http://www.texanstalk.com/posts/2452862/
 
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I was never a fan of astro turf, I liked the fake grass or whatever it is they use in Baltimore though.

Good to see we are at least trying to upgrade
 
paycheck71 said:
Vandermeer on 610 just now - according to an NFL lower extremity injury research done over a few years, NRG field safer than most fields in the NFL. So, please stop pumping the nonsense that this cost us players.
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Exactly. Those who have been cheering for this for years have been hoping for looks over player health.
 
Dale thought same as me...

Dale Robertson ‏@sportywineguy
When BOB said earlier this week there might be more deals coming down, we had no idea Texans were thinking about trading their field.

First time I asked BOB about the field after he got here, he stuttered and stammered. He obviously hated the field when he was w/Pats.​

Wes Welker blew out his knee here in the final game of the 09 season. BOB was his offensive coordinator.

It's unclear to me if the Texans will use the SMG field for Tampa Bay game or if new field will be installed. Does Academy have it in stock?

Somewhere, DeMeco Ryans smiles ruefully. He tore his Achilles tendon twice on the field, once as a Texan and last year as an Eagle,

It sounds very much like the NFL totally mandated this change. Like immediately. Smith is on NFL's Competition Committee.

Smith: Let's get with county, SMG and get back to higher performance. Change isn't related to cost.

Smith: Chiefs organization expressed some concern last week. Last week a little more uneven than normal. Didn't perform at historic level.

Smith: We want the best for our players.

Smith: We weren't necessarily confident it would improve. So the change will be made.

Smith: Grass is supposed to be safer. NRG field not this year.

Smith: We're seeing seams this year much more so than in the past.

Smith: Installation and performance of field has not been up to historical standards,

Rick Smith said the decision was made for the health of the players. Will be done for rest of season.

Rick Smith: Decision has b een made to switch to artificial surface. The grass is gone!​
 
Can't see how they'll be able to go back to grass after this. The big reason the field looks like **** by week 3 is b/c the grass can't grow in the stadium due to not enough sunlight right?
 
Mr teX said:
Can't see how they'll be able to go back to grass after this. The big reason the field looks like **** by week 3 is b/c the grass can't grow in the stadium due to not enough sunlight right?
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That's my opinion. Reliant/NRG isn't like the dome with it's huge plexiglass panels (that worked fine for letting sunlight in before they painted them to cut the glare). It's more like a giant arena with a sun roof that opens sometimes. the angles are bad and even when you leave the roof open you only get so much sunlight for a small portion of the day and over just one section of the field. The other side gets nothing.

For as long as people have been bitching about the tray system I've been one of those people and you would think that now I'd be happy but I'm concerned about this plan. I wanted more consistent modern artificial surface of a permanent nature along the lines of Field Turf. I never wanted them to play on an Astrodome-like fake grass carpet over concrete. I feel like this is maybe the wrong move but in the right direction. I hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.
 
All this talk about it not being up to par this year makes me think this is something that has been gradually getting worse as time went by. In the beginning there was the aesthetic issue which for purposes of playing football and health is meaningless but many of us started picking up on from the first year. It didn't hold up well. Then they've had issues with how the trays have been assembled and with gaps forming around the edges. We've been all over that and how it could cause a problem. Conscientious efforts to assemble the system as tightly as possible help and they've brought in soil to fill areas that have lost it from play or being moved around. Over the past couple of years it seems like they've been battling this problem a great deal.

I imagine (and that's all I can do because I'm not involved at all in this process) that the trays get old. It's a 13 year old system and I bet the trays are turning to crap right before their eyes. they've bought more of them over the years I'm sure but it's just a bad idea to take the thing apart and then put it back together again so often. Wear and tear is unavoidable.
 
Hervoyel said:
Is it going to be the turf system they already have for high school and college games or are they going to get something else entirely?

What I've found so far hasn't really been clear on that.
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Hasn't been clear to me, either. But I'd a$$ume it's the high school system.
Hervoyel said:
That's my opinion. Reliant/NRG isn't like the dome with it's huge plexiglass panels (that worked fine for letting sunlight in before they painted them to cut the glare). It's more like a giant arena with a sun roof that opens sometimes. the angles are bad and even when you leave the roof open you only get so much sunlight for a small portion of the day and over just one section of the field. The other side gets nothing.

For as long as people have been bitching about the tray system I've been one of those people and you would think that now I'd be happy but I'm concerned about this plan. I wanted more consistent modern artificial surface of a permanent nature along the lines of Field Turf. I never wanted them to play on an Astrodome-like fake grass carpet over concrete. I feel like this is maybe the wrong move but in the right direction. I hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.
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So, is that what the high-school artificial turf system is? AstroTurf?
 
Someone forward the FO the system that uses grass and the fake light to grow it (mentioned in that other turf thread)
 
Marcus said:
Hasn't been clear to me, either. But I'd a$$ume it's the high school system.


So, is that what the high-school artificial turf system is? AstroTurf?
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There are multiple types of FieldTurf for different wear/expense/installation. What they have is a fairly low end system designed to be rolled out. Top of the line FieldTurf has a whole lot more underlayment. Doubt we can have that one since the field still has to move in and out.

OzzO said:
Someone forward the FO the system that uses grass and the fake light to grow it (mentioned in that other turf thread)
Click to expand...

It's NOT THE TEXANS' Stadium. They don't get to throw in a permanent system.
 
Marcus said:
Hasn't been clear to me, either. But I'd a$$ume it's the high school system.


So, is that what the high-school artificial turf system is? AstroTurf?
Click to expand...

A better version of it with a bit more padding on the back side of it but essentially "yes". It's a big carpet rolled out onto the concrete floor. I've never been on it but I walked on the Astrodome turf once and it pretty much felt like carpet on concrete. I hope this stuff is as much improved as we would hope seeing as how much time has passed since Astroturf first came about.

I wonder if there's any significance to the fact that I can't seem to stop typing "Astroturf" as "Astroturd"?

This does not bode well. I have a "Be careful what you wish for...." feeling about this.
 
I'm positive that at one point the Reliant Stadium crews laid the Astroturf carpet over the grass trays. I know I remember that happening at least once. If they plan on leaving it in place for the rest of the year I wonder if that's what they're going to do? Probably not. I bet they still have various things booked through the year that will require it to go back down to concrete.

Wish they had been more specific.
 
paycheck71 said:
Vandermeer on 610 just now - according to an NFL lower extremity injury research done over a few years, NRG field safer than most fields in the NFL. So, please stop pumping the nonsense that this cost us players.
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Let me begin by first saying that I believe that the ultimate field is a correctly cut, correctly watered, well-kempt, consistent ground and grass surface. That being said, I don't believe we have that.

The "NFL lower extremity injury research" that Vandermeer refers to is a review performed by the National Football League Injury and Safety Panel, published in an article published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine in 2012..........An analysis of specific lower extremity injury rates on grass and FieldTurf playing surfaces in National Football League Games: 2000-2009 seasons.

I've read this paper in its entirety , and to call this valid research is quite ingenuous in that it simply logs in numbers and types of injuries, and then divides them by field surface. There have been several other large analyses of injuries incurred on the various surfaces that have shown conflicting results with no differences in rate of injuries, especially knee injuries.

A legitimate research study would account for the many existing variables and most preferably be prospective. No attempt has been made to this end by the NFL to date. In fact there is no existing analysis of injuries broken down by stadiums that has ever been published. Nor has any update data been accepted for publication since the 2012 article that stopped at presenting already 5-year-old data.

Conditions of the fields were not accounted for. Weather conditions were accounted for in a relatively haphazard manner. Shoe-surface interaction was not accounted for in this study and was a variable that could potentially have had the greatest impact on this these results. There are specific cleats that should be worn for a given field surface type, most teams make suggested guidelines, but do not closely monitor or mandate specific foot ware for specific games/conditions.
 
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infantrycak said:
Exactly. Those who have been cheering for this for years have been hoping for looks over player health.
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I'm sure some people have, but not me. I have concerns about the seams. Yes, artificial turf is tougher on players, especially their legs. But you are arguing friction coefficient on things like sharp cuts vs. a freak accident where a player steps into a hole on the field. There's not one little doubt in my mind that Clowney's accident was of the latter sort. That doesn't necessarily mean artificial turf should be the answer, but they have to do something besides that tray system that leaves seams and unevenness. And any question that there are seams is answered now with the Texans admitting it. If they can't do grass correctly, an even field is more important than it being grass.

Maybe they should build a stadium that's oriented east-west and lets sunlight in to grow grass. Seems like something that would be involved in the proper planning a football field. Idiots.
 
Well, if I'm not mistaken, the decision to go with the artificial turf for the high schools was made last last year.

So, has there been any feedback, positive or negative, from the high schools after they played on it?

Regardless, this is a pretty significant development to take place in the middle of the season. Something dramatic must have happened to bring this about, condsidering all the turf issues that been discussed ad nausem in previous years, going all the way back to year one.
 
Supposedly, they will be using an upgraded Field turf system than the one currently used for High School and College games at NRG.
 
I don't believe for a minute that the Texans voluntarily approached the League for the change. The League finally grabbed Smith tightly by the balls and told him he had the option of changing the field immediately and being allowed to leave them with him at the stadium, or he could stay and they would take them back to New York for further "discussion."
 
eriadoc said:
I'm sure some people have, but not me. I have concerns about the seams. Yes, artificial turf is tougher on players, especially their legs. But you are arguing friction coefficient on things like sharp cuts vs. a freak accident where a player steps into a hole on the field. There's not one little doubt in my mind that Clowney's accident was of the latter sort.
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IMO there is not one shred (yes I know, unfortunate word) of evidence to say Clowney's injury had anything to do with the field. It was in the middle of a tray, not at a seam and when we aren't arguing this field we've seen similar injuries on every surface in the league. Who was that knucklehead LB who jumped up celebrating a sack and came down awkwardly? - done for the season.

Smith said there was something new with poor testing this year. Love to have more detail on that.

But until the field starts polling with players (done every two years) in the lower half of grass fields (which generally rank higher than turf fields) I'm not going to believe this is anything more scape goqting for every day NFL injuries. Actually or if someone can show increased injury incidence at NRG. There's 12 years of data. If this is a system design problem then it should show up in the data. Otherwise it just shows up on TV.

Someone want to really tell me this is safer?
173840-0-600.jpg


Or how about the cold weather grass fields where nothing grows/recovers for the last 2 months of the season? There's sand filled divots all over Three Rivers, etc.
 
eriadoc said:
I'm sure some people have, but not me. I have concerns about the seams. Yes, artificial turf is tougher on players, especially their legs. But you are arguing friction coefficient on things like sharp cuts vs. a freak accident where a player steps into a hole on the field. There's not one little doubt in my mind that Clowney's accident was of the latter sort. That doesn't necessarily mean artificial turf should be the answer, but they have to do something besides that tray system that leaves seams and unevenness. And any question that there are seams is answered now with the Texans admitting it. If they can't do grass correctly, an even field is more important than it being grass.

Maybe they should build a stadium that's oriented east-west and lets sunlight in to grow grass. Seems like something that would be involved in the proper planning a football field. Idiots.
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Doh! :hankpalm:
 
The NFL has NEVER presented any data that even breaks down injuries by particular stadiums/fields. It's not like this should be proprietary information. A bit curious after supposedly having this data available over so many years. I know........the NFL League office is trust worthy and capable of controlling safety issues without having to share the basis for their action or share their data for unbiased peer review.:chef:
 
The Texans Talk collective brain came up with a solution, but it would require two things: no non-football events at NRG from August through December (maybe January), and an indoor lighting system on tracks that are already in use at other indoor facilities around the world.

You'd think a billion dollar company would figure this stuff out by now.

arena-kopie.jpg
 
Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Rick Smith
(opening statement) “After cooperation and collaboration with the NFL, the decision has been made to change the surface that we play on here at NRG Stadium from the natural grass tray system to an artificial surface. Our players have always enjoyed playing on natural grass here, and I think if you asked them, they would tell you to a man that they prefer to play on natural grass versus an artificial surface. But it’s our responsibility, both at the club level as well as the league level, to protect players from unnecessary risk. The decision was made in the interest of that. We will install an AstroTurf surface, very similar to the surface that SMG (Stadium Management Group) has here. We will use SMG’s officials, the NFL’s officials, AstroTurf officials to make sure that we install a quality field, and we will play on that for the remainder of the 2015 season. In conjunction with that, we’re hopeful that we can get with the convention corporation (Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation) and SMG and find a solution for the tray system to ensure that we can return to a natural surface moving forward.”

(on what drove the decision to make this switch) “Well, the installation and the performance of the field in the two preseason games, particularly last week in the first regular season game, was just not up to historical standards. Our field here at NRG Stadium has tested very well in the past. We have always been, there’s a perception, I think a misconception that because of the nature of the way the field is put together on the tray system, that when you see a seam, it’s unevenness, and that has just not been the case historically. I’m on the competition committee, as you know, and we watch and really evaluate every injury over the course of a season and the course of our meetings. We’ve studied all those stats. What I will tell you is relative to lower extremity injuries, the injury rate per 100 injuries across the league when you measure that, grass to artificial surface is obviously grass is a little safer. Even our field relative to other grass fields over the years has tested consistently, lower even from an injury rate standpoint. We’ve been very proud of this field and very comfortable with it. Like I said, our players enjoy playing on it. That has not been the case this year. What we need to do is make sure that we find more consistency like we have had historically. That’s the reason why we’re doing it.”

(on what changed with the field) “I don’t know, I’m not an expert in that regard. I will say to you that it could be the condition of the trays, it could be the installation process, it could be the nursery area where we’re storing the field, it could be the weather. I’m not so sure what the reason is. I can tell you that we weren’t necessarily confident that it would improve, and that’s the reason why we’re making the decision.”

(on when they first starting talking about making the change) “After the game last week.”

(on the field being a constant topic of scrutiny for the Texans) “Again, I think a lot of that has to do with perception. I don’t know that that’s necessarily reality. In fact, I will tell you with the science that we know and our players, it is not reality. It’s just a perception. We want the best for our players, that’s what all of our decisions are predicated on, on doing the best for our players and protecting them from unnecessary risk and doing everything that we can do to win. That’s why we were able to make the decision.”

(on how they are able to make this change so quickly because it’s a long and expensive process) “It is, but again, we have an artificial surface that’s current. It’ll be some form of that, some upgraded form of that.”

(on if the field is going to be the artificial surface that they already have and use for college and high school games) “No, it’ll be some version of that.”

(on if the Chiefs expressed their displeasure with the field after the first regular season game) “Yeah, I mean we are aware over the years of whatever, whether it’s the public perception or whether it is a club that comes in and they have an opinion about the condition of the field, and yes, the Kansas City Chiefs organization expressed some concern last week. What I will tell you is again, historically speaking, the perception hasn’t been the reality. What I will say to you is as it relates to the field, this year and last week in particular, it was a little bit more uneven than normal, a little bit of discoloration and just didn’t perform at the level that it has done historically. Rather than continue to play on the surface, we decided let’s put the breaks on, let’s go to an artificial surface, let’s get with the county, let’s get with SMG, let’s figure out a solution for our tray system, so that we can get back to a high-performing product.”

(on the field being similar to what is used for the high school and college games here but not the same field) “That’s correct.”

(on what the cost is for the new artificial surface) “I don’t want to get into the cost of it. I will say this to you, I know there’s some innuendo out there that the decision to play on grass versus artificial turf was in some way related to cost, and what I will tell you is that is not the case at all.” ​
 
Haha! Rick Smith.

A few years back his youngest son and mine played on the same kid's league.

So, both of us are at Tully Stadium, leaning over the rail, watching the kids warm up. I offhandedly remarked, "Now THAT'S what you call a safe field." He said, "Yeah," and then he did this double-take at me. We both started cracking up.

He was like, no you didn't just go there with me! But he's pretty good natured and already knew I like to cut up. I had once told him he looked pretty rough so he might ask Cushing if be could borrow that chamber of his. :evil:
 
Alright, after reading that long blurb from Rick Smith about perception vs. reality .....

..... If he hasn't figured out by now that perception IS reality in the NFL.....

....well, maybe it IS time for him to go.
 
Texans Players React To Field Change At NRG Stadium
September 18, 2015 2:34 PM


With the news Friday that the Texans are moving from natural grass to artificial turf in NRG Stadium, players reacted with everything from indifference to veiled disappointment to toeing the party line.

Bill O’Brien said in his press conference that it didn’t matter if games were held in “a parking lot.” The team just needed to play better.

It became a familiar refrain in the locker room.

“We’ll play on concrete if we have to,” receiver DeAndre Hopkins said. “We’re football players — that’s our job — and we’ve played on plenty of fields with turf.”

That was the standard answer, but some players at least hinted at their preferences.

Offensive lineman Brandon Brooks said, despite the tray issues with the grass, it’s still the more popular choice.

“Me personally and the offensive line, I prefer grass, just because it gives more,” Brooks said. “Turf is fine, too.”

Duane Brown said offensive lineman don’t notice the problems as much, since cutting and sprinting aren’t as much a part of their game.

“I’m a lineman, so I’m pretty low maintenance,” he said. “I’ve never had any issues with it. Some people complain about it, but I wasn’t one of them.”

Brooks said he checks the field prior to every game for inconsistencies, but NRG was always the one he paid the most attention to.

“I definitely walk around and test things, but it’s never as intense as it is here,” Brook noted.

Nate Washington’s reaction may have been the most emblematic of the players’ public indifference to the matter. He was just grateful to be playing on a professional field.

“I’ve grown up on worse, totally worse fields, just glass and everything on it so it’s just an honor to be on a regulation field with no debris on it,” Washington said.

“I grew up in Pittsburgh for four years and I was there when high schools would be playing on [the hard turf] every week, especially after the middle of October. That being said, that field was treacherous compared to what we have with the wet terrain up there… Only thing to complain about here was the way it was put together. That’s gone now.”

Still, Washington thinks the grass issue was ultimately overblown and not always one created by Texans’ players.

“It’s just one of those ordeals that other teams might bring up to cause controversy a little bit.”
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