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Before they can “Play it on the Red,” the old grass surface has to go.

The official start of Eastern Washington University’s Red Turf project will take place with a “turfbreaking” ceremony on Saturday (June 12) at 5 p.m. at Woodward Field on the EWU campus in Cheney, Wash.

On hand will be former Eagle and current Tennessee Titans star Michael Roos, who along with his wife Katherine Roos kick-started the project with a $500,000 pledge. They will join several EWU administrators and others for the ceremonial uncovering of sod. The public is invited to attend, and information regarding contractors, project timelines, a 24-hour web cam and other details will be announced at that time.

MrTitleist wrote:Quick sidenote: How pathetic are you that you'd watch a 24 hour webcam of turf being laid? Is paint drying getting too boring?

(you is you in general, not you specifically.. whomever you are.)

dbackjon wrote:How long of a period will the sod removal take?

polsongrizz wrote:

dbackjon wrote:How long of a period will the sod removal take?

I thought "The Red Stain" took about a week, start to finish???

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:

polsongrizz wrote: I thought "The Red Stain" took about a week, start to finish???

Well sometimes shit goes horribly wrong and it can take 9 months, like in your mom's case.

BlackFalkin wrote:The Red turf is gonna be sweet. I think they might dig up the track too and replace it with a black one.

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:

BlackFalkin wrote:The Red turf is gonna be sweet. I think they might dig up the track too and replace it with a black one.

Take it out and leave it out. But that's probably not gonna happen.

polsongrizz wrote:

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:
Well sometimes shit goes horribly wrong and it can take 9 months, like in your mom's case.

Not bad but not a home run...I give it *** out of *****.

And BTW my mom loves me, so there...

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:

MrTitleist wrote:Quick sidenote: How pathetic are you that you'd watch a 24 hour webcam of turf being laid? Is paint drying getting too boring?

(you is you in general, not you specifically.. whomever you are.)

I believe the purpose of the 24 hr web cam is that people can view it from wherever on the web on occasion to watch the progress. I doubt there's many if any people out there that pathetic they would watch it 24/7.

Although I think a daily photo blog (one photo a day from the same spot, and maybe a second one featuring a particular process or step) would be cooler, a web cam requires less time/personnel.

Grizalltheway wrote:

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:
I believe the purpose of the 24 hr web cam is that people can view it from wherever on the web on occasion to watch the progress. I doubt there's many if any people out there that pathetic they would watch it 24/7.

Although I think a daily photo blog (one photo a day from the same spot, and maybe a second one featuring a particular process or step) would be cooler, a web cam requires less time/personnel.

I know of one. His name starts with "b" and ends with "n"

Grizalltheway wrote:Bingo

BlackFalkin wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:Bingo

If I were you, Id spend my day thinking about BlackFalkin too.

BlackFalkin wrote:

Grizalltheway wrote:Bingo

If I were you, Id spend my day thinking about BlackFalkin too.

Week of June 14th -- Excavation work and removal of grass field is scheduled to begin. A webcam monitoring the progress of the project will be made available to the public at http://www.goeags.com.

July-August -- Installation of Red Turf scheduled.

Spet. 3 -- Project is expected to be completed.

Texas State becomes one of the first NCAA or NFL teams to use FieldTurf Duraspine PRO. Texas State joins the New England Patriots, Sacramento State and the University of Arizona as organizations that have opted for the latest in innovation from the world leader in artificial turf

Screamin_Eagle174 wrote:
As far as sod removal goes, they didn't go into a whole lot of detail, but it'll start on Monday and I'd imagine it wouldn't take more than a couple days or a week tops.

http://goeags.com/genrel/releases/10atJ ... rfbreaking

The excavation and prep work will be performed by Pauletto Trucking and Excavation in Spokane, which was also a sub-contractor for the Sprinturf field that was installed in 2005 at Gonzaga Prep High School in Spokane.

Stephen Pauletto said his company will remove 18 inches of sod and dirt before beginning the prep work, which includes a sophisticated drainage system and 12 inches of granular sand with a coating of gravel. He said that process, including highly-technical laser leveling, will take about eight weeks prior to the installation of the actual turf.

The projected completion date is Sept. 3, with the inaugural game on the red turf taking place Sept. 18 versus Montana, with kickoff scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Pacific time.

A 24-hour web cam is expected to be available for viewing starting Tuesday (June 15), with a link provided at http://www.goeags.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Other contractors involved in the project include Coffman Engineers and Geo Engineers, both based in Spokane, with financing of the project provided by U.S. Bank and approved by the EWU Foundation and EWU Board of Trustees.

More than $1 million has been pledged toward the project, EWU Vice President for University Advancement Mike Westfall said at the “turfbreaking.” Besides Michael and Katherine Roos, other major contributors to the project include a trio of former Eastern students -- Colin Cowherd (now an ESPN national radio/TV broadcaster), Tim Bradbury (a President for American City Business Journals and former EWU football player) and Jim McElwain (now offensive coordinator at Alabama and a former EWU football player and assistant coach) -- as well as the Rockwood Clinic.

In addition, Eastern Hall of Famer Dick Zornes, a former EWU football player, assistant coach, head coach and athletic director, spearheaded the “Play it on the Red” fund-raising effort involving former Eastern players. More than 35 former players have made pledges thus far, as well as another 79 individuals and businesses.