College Bowls Xtra


NEW TURF: West Coast Turf employees install turf at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale on Tuesday. The company is laying 90,000 square feet of new grass for the BCS national championship game on Monday. Toru Kawana Tribune


NEW SOD INSTALLED FOR TITLE GAME


By Dan Zeiger and Jack Magruder Tribune


January 3, 2007


Ian Johnson's game-winning two-point conversion in the Fiesta Bowl instigated another conversion.



Eight hours after Johnsons run gave Boise State a dramatic 43-42 victory over Oklahoma at the University of Phoenix Stadium on Monday, workers began the two-day job of adding another layer of turf to the field for the BCS national championship game Monday.


By today, West Coast Turf is expected to complete the installation of 90,000 square feet of a hybrid Bermuda sod that was harvested from the companys Scottsdale farm.


The sod, which is one-inch thick instead of the traditional one-half inch thick, is being laid in rolls that are 50 feet long and 3 1/2 feet wide.

The stadium, which opened in August, has played host to 12 Cardinals games, including exhibitions, several high school playoff games and the Fiesta Bowl band championship prior to the Fiesta Bowl game.


The field was resodded between the hash marks to replace worn turf before the Fiesta Bowl.


The Scottsdale company has installed new turf for the Insight Bowl the last two seasons, supplies turf for the Diamondbacks and other major league teams, and has sodded seven Super Bowls, according to its press release.


"We have installed sod right on top of the baseball field at Chase Field for the Insight Bowl for the last few years, and that worked out great," West Coast Turf spokesperson Danielle Marman said.


"This is the championship. The field needs to be in top condition so it will look great for TV and provide a solid foundation for the athletes to perform on."