A day after his players condemned the playing surface at Heinz Field, Steelers President Dan Rooney acknowledged that there is a problem and the Steelers might have to install artificial grass to solve it.
"I don't know if we're ready to do it right now," Rooney said, "because we want to get the statistics on it, make sure it's safe."
Rooney said it's possible the team could install artificial grass such as FieldTurf by 2004. Seattle and Detroit play on it in their new stadiums and 11 NFL teams, including the Steelers, have practice fields made of it.
Also, Major League Baseball plays on it in Tampa, Fla., and college football teams play on it at Nebraska, Kansas State, Oregon, Washington and elsewhere. At the suggestion of the NFL and its players association, FieldTurf will be installed in Aloha Stadium in Honolulu in time for this season's Pro Bowl game. Many high schools in this area have installed it.
FieldTurf is not like the old artificial carpets, such as those that were used at Three Rivers Stadium. The fake grass is longer like real grass and the base consists of shredded sneakers or tires so that it gives, which the old AstroTurf and others like it did not. Most player seem to like FieldTurf.
Rooney publicly conceded problems with the surface at Heinz Field for the first time yesterday.
"The problem I find is that there's so much sand they're putting on, now you're playing on sand. Last year, we found that out in Cincinnati. Now we're having a similar problem here. We just have to look at it," he said.
Heinz Field has primarily a sand base because grass grows quicker in it, it drains easily and it does not freeze the way dirt or mud would. The problem, as Rooney noted, is that the grass roots pull out of the sand much easier, which is why the grass has come up in clumps during games.
"There's more sand on that field now than there was in the beginning and we have to do something about that," Rooney said. "We're bringing experts in. We have talked to the people at Penn State. We're bringing others in, just to find out what they recommend."
Cincinnati Bengals President Mike Brown said artificial turf could be installed in Paul Brown Stadium as early as next year. Rooney said the problems lie with most grass fields in the North.
"Everyone said they wanted a grass field, now they're saying this isn't any good. If you're in the North, you have a problem. I mentioned our division, but I also could mention Buffalo, Washington and all those places if they go to grass. They're having real problems in Giants Stadium."
Rooney said playing four WPIAL championship games at Heinz Field Nov. 22 won't be a problem.
"I can tell you that the number of games on the field is not hurting the field," he said. "Any problem there is a result of how we're handling it.
"We went all out and really tried to do the best we could putting the heat underneath so we get a longer growing season, things like that. The problem is the fields in our whole division -- Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cleveland and Cincinnati are similar in that they're a sandy base and the grass they get is a very specific mix. They put this sand in and that's what happens."
Rooney has talked to NFL officials about coordinating efforts with teams as they search for ways to improve their playing fields.
"They can deal with some of these companies and say we represent all these stadiums and things like that," Rooney said. "They're finding they're going to have to get involved more."
Rooney acknowledges grass surface problem 
E-mail this story 
