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JRS/Hard Rock Stadium Renovations, Phase II....

Looks like the turf is having some issues. This new grass is supposed to be so resilient but it looks like it is having a tough time with all the shadows. Yesterday they brought out the artificial lights so we will see if this helps.

091920161733_l_zpsx0jmhgg3.jpg

They said going in that with this type of grass the shade and shadows would be an issue and that they would need to use the artificial lights to supplement the sunlight. Using the lights is not unexpected or due to a new problem they didn't anticipate.
 
Well, that's not very encouraging.
Hopefully it's just a "best practices" sort of thing and not some unexpected issue with the grass not growing as planned.
Ross definitely wants/needs the stadium to be in tip top condition for the first home game!
 
Looks like the turf is having some issues. This new grass is supposed to be so resilient but it looks like it is having a tough time with all the shadows. Yesterday they brought out the artificial lights so we will see if this helps.

091920161733_l_zpsx0jmhgg3.jpg

It also had no time to real grab root. Having put down sod in my yard several times sometimes the grass looks like solidly attached but with a little pull you can lift the whole thing out. I think the average for shallow root is like 2 weeks and for deep root somewhere like 4-8 weeks (depending on what grass).
 
Not entirely true. The lights are there for an assistance but the grass is still supposed to thrive in the shade conditions.

The Platinum TE strain of Paspalum, more expensive than the Bermuda grass, was developed to tolerate shade and withstand the traffic of sports activity.

Available for less than 10 years, it has been most widely applied to golf courses throughout the world. It has been used successfully at Marlins Park since 2014 after two varieties of Bermuda grass didn't cut it, so to speak, due to light limitations with the retractable roof.

"For us it's been by far the most successful one," Claude Delorme, Marlins executive vice president of operations and events, said of the switch to Paspalum. "It's been a significant change since we did that. The first two years it was our No. 1 issue with the ballpark, the condition of the sod and adapting to the shade resistance."

Football is tougher on any grass field than baseball or golf, particularly in a stadium shared by the Dolphins and the University of Miami. The Dolphins' stadium will be the first in the NFL with Platinum TE.

Boyan's crew observed how the field at Marlins Park held up to the Miami Beach Bowl played there the past two years. The Paspalum grown for the Dolphins also passed safety tests mandated by the NFL for holding up to players making football moves.

"I think it's a quality grass. It's something that's firm enough for the players for traction and soft enough for safety," Boyan said.

The Dolphins' new field was trucked in from a sod farm in Alabama that has been supplying sod for the stadium for a number of years. It was grown on plastic through a process that was also used with the previous Bermuda grass turf, which creates a more dense root system that provides for firmer footing for players, even in the rain.

"You've seen in the old days where a lot of chunks of grass would come up. We don't have that," Boyan said.

The Dolphins already are practicing on Platinum TE Paspalum at their training facility in Davie. It is used for the field farthest away from the stands, while the nearer field has Bermuda grass.

To ensure that the new turf thrives despite more shade at the stadium, the Dolphins purchased 13 banks of grow lights from a firm in the Netherlands. The lights are used extensively in soccer stadiums in Europe and South America that have similar shade canopies, as well as in some retractable-roof stadiums in this country. The Marlins use some lights to help promote growth in the outer reaches of the outfield that get limited sunlight during parts of the year.

The Dolphins' grounds crew tested the lights on sod covered by a tent during the past year and found they helped augment growth and keep the grass healthy. Dolphins owner Steve Ross gave the OK to acquire enough mobile lighting units to cover 30 to 40 percent of the field at a given time.

"We want to make sure we have a top quality field," Boyan said. "With the switching of the grass, we think the players will like the type of field they're playing on. They're practicing on it in Davie, and the response so far has been very good."


---------- Post added at 02:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:11 PM ----------

http://legacy.weather.weatherbug.co...er/Camera/Camera.aspx?stat=PROPL&camera=PROPL
 
Hopefully that side of the stadium will be redone at some point. I always hated that bubble and the multicolored windows.
 
yeah, not sure what else anyone could ask for in a football venue. the place looks awesome.
 
Not entirely true. The lights are there for an assistance but the grass is still supposed to thrive in the shade conditions.



---------- Post added at 02:12 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:11 PM ----------

http://legacy.weather.weatherbug.co...er/Camera/Camera.aspx?stat=PROPL&camera=PROPL

Thrive? No. Tolerate? Yes. If that were the old bermuda grass, UM would be playing on dirt. See below. Grasses always prefer direct sun, but it's something that this Platinum stuff can take all that abuse in the shade and not just die out.

BaHBHzS.jpg


Of all the things on this team, I'm least concerned with the landscaping crew. :lol:
 
Art with that football? Dolphins' stadium vibrant with color


MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — A huge bust of Hall of Fame Dolphins coach Don Shula that appears to be chipped from a stone and brick wall. Splashy swirls of graffiti spray-painted two stories tall along half a football field. A photo of Miami's cityscape at night, reimagined with layers of texture and colors.

These and many other works of original wall art await football fans at refurbished Hard Rock Stadium when Miami opens its home NFL season Sunday against the Cleveland Browns.

The project to install large, eye-catching pieces of color and design throughout the stadium resulted from a visit last year by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross to Miami's Wynwood neighborhood, which is known for its vibrant street art, said Jessica Goldman Srebnick, CEO of Goldman Global Arts and curator of the stadium's works.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...itzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomnfl-topstories
 
aside from the stuff about ex players etc, sounds like a pile of pretentious crap.

More "Bah, humbug" from our resident gloom-merchant.

Having taken the time to visit the website showing the various Works, it looks amazing. So many stadia, (none more so than the Aviva Stadium In Dublin, Ireland) are built with all the focus on the skin and the field area, with no thought or Budget on the common spaces, which are generally drab concrete hangars.

Nice to see the owner has different ideas about the fan experience and is supporting artists. Fair play to him.
 
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