Natural grass would be better than turf, but the problem is natural grass does not grow at the bottom of a canyon. It needs sunlight and air movement (CO2) to flourish. In the original Astrodome they thought they were going to grow grass under a glass roof. They couldn't; so they had to invent Astroturf as the only minimally acceptable option after they built the building. In NRG they thought they could grow grass with a retractable roof. They couldn't. So they invented the movable tray/grass farm system. But it sucks. It would still be nice to have an open roof for night games but it takes a lot more open space and sun exposure to actually grow real turf. It still astounds me that retractable baseball roofs don't open to center field, like fan to get the most sun exposure to the South. But Minute Maid does have a greater width/depth ratio than NRG. ( I was always puzzled too that the architects of the original Texas Stadium couln't predict that the hole in the roof would play hell with TV.)
My understanding was that there was always a plan to have a moveable roof on there... but they simply either didn't have enough money, or had no idea how to install it using early 70's technology... so they left the hole there. But it wasn't their initial intention to have a roofed stadium with a hole in it. Also, in regards to your original post, was it proven that grass WOULDN'T grow in the Astrodome? I know it died after they painted the panels that are directly over home plate (so OF's could stop losing the ball in the sun), but they were planning on using a strain that "could" have worked, had it not been for the painted panels (from my understanding... they could have just been proven wrong, and the grass would have died anyways).
This statement would be true if only if it were not totally false. I mean aside from the fact that every player survey of which fields really do suck, aside from the fact that the players like Andre Johnson who has played on the field for a decade actually disagree with that opinion, aside from all the facts, your opinion may have merit.
I believe Carl Spackler should be consulted. Bluegrass, Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia.
I think that they were able to grow grass in the Astrodome as originally envisioned. It's just that the glare through the clear glass roof caused havoc for outfielders trying to catch fly balls. So they painted the glass. But then light couldn't get through and the grass died.
They could play a few games on it, take it home and just get stoned to the bejeezus belt that night on this stuff.
Sunlight is not the problem. They have 3 fields that are in the sun for the entire week/weeks before a game.
Didn't realize players around the league don't like Reliant's grass. Clowney also blamed the field for his injury?!? Seems a change would've already been made.
What did he blame his concussion and hernia on? I would not be surprised if the dude just needs something to blame so he doesn't seem injury prone. Maybe there is a reason guys with his massive body aren't in the nfl.
It doesn't surprise me that you'd think that way. I mean, there's no legitimate reason to think like that, but the world needs all types I suppose.
The push-back on the field is kind of strange to me. Bringing in and taking out pallets of "natural" grass just doesn't seem like the ideal situation. But I guess since Andre Johnson hasn't torn his ACL yet, I guess this is a non-issue.
http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/09/12/florio-nrg-has-the-worst-turf-in-the-nfl/ Worth a listen, it doesn't start till halfway through. I guess we can add Rodney Harrison to the list of players saying that Reliant's turf is garbage. Time for more hand waiving in order to dismiss it.
Harrison said he was slipping in the Super Bowl but that was a different field than the trays. It was the same kind of one time use field they seem to always have at the Super Bowl when grass fields are used. It seems like Florio needed a quote for his blurb and his NBC pal Harrison gave him one. That said the field does need to be looked at.
↑ ↑ ↑ <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>NFL needs to address crappy field conditions in Houston, Denver, and anywhere else they may be <a href="http://t.co/9BvdjfWAfS">http://t.co/9BvdjfWAfS</a></p>— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) <a href="https://twitter.com/ProFootballTalk/status/510443017283862528">September 12, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>NFL spokesman said independent field experts make sure every playing surface meets NFL standards on a regular basis. (more)</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/509854084325580800">September 11, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>NFL spokesman said NRG Stadium's field was cleared for play after being evaluated on Saturday as part of normal procedures.</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/status/509854115686395904">September 11, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
With as many seams as are present on the field, and how many people are stomping around on them, it's inevitable that people will get hurt. The field and roof are two failed ideas.
Considering the "bargain" we got compared to how much stadiums cost to build today, I would say the chump change to make it retractable was worth it. The field can be changed to artificial if needed, so not sure why that is a fault of the roof.
Inflation is not a good defense of the waste of money that was the roof. (which apparently increased the cost quite a bit) Apparently it can't/won't, at least not full time. I didn't blame the roof for the field, it's just another failed idea.
