With the new sod in place, cultural practices kicked into high gear, with mowing an important part of the equation.
Painting is the finishing touch in preparing the new grass field for its first event.
Te next step was installing the new synthetic turf, a Field Turf system, around the perimeter of the field. “Tere’s little open space on campus for training,” says Carrick. “Te synthetic turf gives them approximately 33,000 square feet of usable space for outdoor drills, without doing any damage to the natural grass surface. Tere are always more people on the sidelines than on the field during games, too, so they get more wear and tear than the field itself.”
A new feature was added to the sidelines, Price reports. “We installed a fifteen-foot square section of natural grass on each sideline to give the kickers a practice area with the same surface as the field they will be kicking from. We put in a separate irrigation system with small heads to water those areas.”
Field painting technology has improved over the last six years, so, Carrick says, “We’ve gone high-tech with a new painting machine, too. Te stadium field is always televised on game day and it’s also a recruiting tool. We want it to be picture perfect.”
“Practice Like a Pro” Day All construction was finished on April 10. Carrick says, “On April 12, we held ‘Practice Like a Pro’ Day, an event for everyone to see the football team practice on the new grass field. We painted the field in preparation for the event, just as we do on game day.”
It was promoted by UNC as an opportunity for fans to attend an event similar to “open practices the New England Patriots held when Belichick coached that NFL team to six Super Bowls. It will feature multiple periods of action, with an in-stadium emcee providing details on what will happen in each period.” In addition, “following practice, players will be available for a brief autograph session.”
Carrick reports, “Everyone loved the grass, from those who came to watch to the players who not only liked how it looked, but who also said they loved the feel of it under their feet. And the field held up great.”
The Practice Like a Pro event proved to be a huge hit with the fans and everyone loved the grass.
TPI Turf News July/August 2025
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