DALTON, Ga., Jan. 14, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- After five months of constant use, the University of Hawaii Warriors aren't the only ones to highly recommend their new FieldTurf artificial grass. The FieldTurf installation at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, USA has been awarded the coveted "FIFA recommended" status.
Aloha Stadium, also home of the NFL Pro Bowl every February, becomes the 20th FieldTurf surface to earn FIFA approval. Other FieldTurf installations that are FIFA Recommended include The Tokyo Dome in Japan; Seahawks Stadium in Seattle Washington; Frank Claire Stadium in Ottawa; Luzhniki BSA Olympic Stadium in Moscow; Weingart Stadium, East Los Angeles College; St. John's University's Belson Stadium, New York; and Fanny Blankers Field in Almere, Netherlands. FieldTurf now has FIFA Recommended fields installed in 10 countries.
"We're very proud of our latest FIFA recommendation at Aloha Stadium. But more importantly, FieldTurf was the perfect solution for the University of Hawaii," said John Gilman, FieldTurf CEO. "It's a field that's constantly busy and sees all types of inclement weather. According to several coaches, the Warriors football team was suffering an unusually high number of injuries on their old Astroturf surface, and we're confident that the safety benefits of FieldTurf will be evident immediately. Plus, the players love playing on the surface. The feedback has been incredible."
"We've always been, 'play anyone, anywhere.' But we've had some serious injuries on the old Astroturf," said Ronald Oyama, head coach of Kaimuki High School Bulldogs. "In Tonu Mamea separated his shoulder when it got jammed into the turf and another one of our quarterbacks, Bradon Moore, had his arm broken because it got planted wrong in the turf."
UH football coach June Jones was a vocal proponent for the surface. He blamed several injuries of Warriors players on the AstroTurf. "It's going to benefit everyone," Jones said. "All the high school kids and the college teams, and the Pro Bowl players. Plus, it's going to open up a whole new potential for revenue making for the state in (international) soccer and other things."
Hawaii High School Athletic Association executive director Keith Amemiya also believes injuries will decrease on FieldTurf. "From all indications, playing on FieldTurf rather than a harder artificial surface is a very big step in the direction of safety."
FieldTurf is a privately held company based in Montreal that also offers a full range of sports, stadia, golf, landscaping and playground artificial grass solutions. For more information on FieldTurf, please visit www.FieldTurf.com, or call (800) 724-2969.