Deseret News | Utah Utes football: New FieldTurf for Utah stadium should boost 'wow' factor

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Utah Utes football: New FieldTurf for Utah stadium should boost 'wow' factor

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WOW!!!! | 12:07 a.m. May 30, 2009

With a new turf, we will be unstoppable! Now if we could only get some PADDED CUSHIONS on our statium seats, we could almost fill up our statium with eagier fans! GREAT IDEA HUN?????

GO UTES!!!!!!!!!!

ALMOST? | 4:21 a.m. May 30, 2009

"we could almost fill up our statium with eagier fans!"

ALMOST?

You need padded cushions and new turf to "almost" fill a stadium that holds around 45,000 people...? I would have thought going 13-0 would do that. Guess it really isn't easy bein a Ute

When... | 4:43 a.m. May 30, 2009

...will the south end zone expansion begin? Complete the bowl!

Comments continue below

South end zone | 4:47 a.m. May 30, 2009

Complete the bowl. More seats = more ticket sales = more money.

to WOW! | 8:44 a.m. May 30, 2009

You're a jealous little cougar fan and it shows through.

Utah has had FAR more success in the past decade. BYU still has more fans in Utah because of their affiliation to the LDS church, but Utah is the program that college football fans think about as THE BCS Buster and the top non-BCS program out there.

This field improvement and state-of-the-art weight room will make it even easier for recruiting and I anticipate that Utah will widen the gap in talent between itself and the rest of the MWC. Since the Y focuses only on those who want to live the honor-code, their pool of candidates is much smaller. Utah will continue to attract the top talent and play in top bowl games.

True Ute | 9:01 a.m. May 30, 2009

What we really need is a seating expansion. With the past, present, and future successes of the football program, seating capacity at Rice-Eccles is ridiculously small!!!

PLEASE EXPAND RICE-ECCLES STADIUM!

Capacity | 9:10 a.m. May 30, 2009

Didn't Utah average more than stadium capacity in attendance last year?

David in New York | 9:18 a.m. May 30, 2009

Unstoppable? Won't your opponents be playing on your new turf too? Oh yeah, that's what I thought. The Utes are gonna blow this year. You'd be wise to drop any expectations this year.

Ute Fan | 10:12 a.m. May 30, 2009

Almost fill the stadium?? I guess you weren't around last year when the stadium was OVER capacity for most games. This year once again season tickets will SELL OUT before the season even starts. Get a clue!!

hum... | 10:27 a.m. May 30, 2009

It is funny to me to read the comments about BYU's new grass, and then to come over here and read the comments about Utah's fake grass. Ute fans are giving BYU fans crap for being excited about their new grass and saying that the new grass wont help win games for BYU. In the mean time, Mr. Wow is saying you will be unstoppable on your new grass? Your new fake grass looks great, but I would take real grass any day. Also, it is in your best interest to not expand your stadium, that would just create more empty seats and look worse for the program. Congrats on last year, but don't be disappointed when you only win 8 or 9 games this year

utah_man18 | 12:37 p.m. May 30, 2009

Why is somebody from New York posting on this article? Go watch a Yankees game and leave college football to us out in the west.

Ya Certain? | 12:54 p.m. May 30, 2009

I'm pretty sure that, donation or not, I would NOT make Alex Smith the poster boy for MY strength and conditioning room. That skinny dude looks like he wandered in from the before side of a Jack Lalane ad.

Sharp field | 12:54 p.m. May 30, 2009

The new field looks sharp. I can't wait for the season to get here!

CougarKeith | 12:56 p.m. May 30, 2009

Congrats on the new field Ute's, I noticed some of you commenting on "Completing the South End Zone and Completing The Bowl" I have a comment on that. You have to first fill your stadium to generate the necessity to need more seats put in your stadium. It's called "Supply & Demand". If you are selling out all your home games, then you need more seats, the problem is YOU DON'T DO THAT!!! On the other hand the Cougars have a 61,0000 seat stadium and it's sold out over and over and over again, they should possibly consider adding seats! Sell your games out first, then you will see your school close the bowl with more seats in the South End Zone! That's my take on it. Congrats Utah Ute's on the new Fake Turf, it's great!!! Honestly 15 years is a long life for artificial turf! Good deal. I am from Buffalo, and they used to replace their's like every 6-8 years at a cost of about $1,000,000 so you are getting a good price too!

re: hum... | 1:38 p.m. May 30, 2009

It is even funnier to me that you believed Mr. Wow was a Utah fan...

Maybe its just ignorance from you, but for the rest of us that have a brain, that was clearly a BYU fan's pathetic attempt at being funny...

And real grass just makes the players slower...and we all know BYU needs this real grass to hopefully even out the speed a little bit, because we see what happens when they play fast teams...

congrats on having a bigger stadium though...I would brag about that too if I had nothing else

Ernest T. Bass | 1:48 p.m. May 30, 2009

Brocno is so neat!

Gretzky | 2:02 p.m. May 30, 2009

copy catting the cougars...outstanding...fake turf to boot...wow. can't even fill the stadium unless the cougs come to town. sorry and pitiful ute fans....

re: hum.... | 2:11 p.m. May 30, 2009

i doubt we are going 13-0 again..it would be nice.. but the artificial turf that utah has is 10 times nicer in appearance.. plus i believe that running on the field turf is easier than running on grass. its good that the MWC is getting some recognition for top 25 teams... and as far as the stadium being empty if we expanded? i havent missed a home game for over 7 years since 2002 and its only gotten better because more people are showing up.. and yes i would still show up to support my utes if i was the only one in the stands. regardless of that..both fields look good but the utes did need a new turf afer RSL came in and messed it up with the soccer lines. November 28th cant come soon enough. GO UTES!!!

Ute fan | 2:55 p.m. May 30, 2009

Coogie fans running attendance smack, nice. That's so 1990's. 93% renewal rate for season tickets and 2000 seat requests. Get a clue coogies, your time is over. Get used to it.

Re: Gretzky | 4:27 p.m. May 30, 2009

"Copy catting the cougars"? The Utes would have to cut their fast, quick athletes and replace them with slow, unathletic grazers to copy cat the kewgs. The kewgs install slow natural grass in their stadium as an attempt to equalize the playing field with quicker, athletic teams!

Welcome to the 21st century where the Utes are the dominant program in Utah and the only Utah team recognized on a national level.

As far as attendance, Utah averaged more fans than seating capacity last year, did the kewgs (no). Your kewgs coming to town was overshadowed by visits from Oregon State and TCU. BYU is no bigger than Wyoming or New Mexico in this football era. The 1980s are a very distant memory.

who gives a crap | 5:28 p.m. May 30, 2009

People get all worked up over a short 3 1/2 hour game that does not really mean much. Cool both schools got new grass/turf...Great we know there is a game between the two schools in Nov.

Love both schools. They produce wonderful smart people who will help the world in many areas. Great accounting school, great law school, great medical school, ect...

Attendance | 6:14 p.m. May 30, 2009

The Utes surpassed capacity on every game last year.The attendance has been strong the past couple of seasons. And the program is attracting elite athletes, combined the coaching staffs ability to coach up all of the players they've requited. The team can't go undefeated every year but the team will continue to be the top tier of the conference and seats are going to be hard to find. I think they will monitor attendance this year and decide its time to expand. GO UTES!

Attendance | 6:20 p.m. May 30, 2009

Sorry for the misspell,... "requited" was ment to be "recruited" as I'm sure you guessed. I'm using my phone to type my comments.And didn't proof before sending. D'oh!

Henry Drummond | 6:47 p.m. May 30, 2009

I was hoping for Smurf Turf.

Sooo glad | 8:17 p.m. May 30, 2009

rsl got out of there before they put in this turf!

UTE FAN | 9:58 a.m. May 31, 2009

Nice field ! now cant we get rid of the little league uniforms , arena league as well ,traditional would be nice !!!!!!

bigutefan | 11:53 a.m. May 31, 2009

Why, oh why, can't the Utes get the color red to match? The helmets don't match the uniforms, now the stands in the stadium don't match the end zones. Is it that hard to find a shade of red and make it universal?

Will | 5:23 p.m. May 31, 2009

To all the cougs who think we can't fill our stadium we averaged 101.2% capacity for our home games last year.

p.s. 48-24

UTE ALUM | 8:36 p.m. May 31, 2009

THAT FIELD OFF THE HOOK!!!! GOOOOOOO UTES!!!!

NO! | 9:58 p.m. May 31, 2009

Some of us like the South End Zone just the way it is.

BIGCOUGFAN | 10:10 p.m. May 31, 2009

being a cougar fan, i must say that is a good looking field and a nice hall of fame!!! congrats on that!!! The COUGS have had those facilities for about six years now!! so its about time that the team up north gets them.

Sad CougarKeith | 8:37 a.m. June 1, 2009

Sorry Cougar fans, but the Utes averaged OVER a sellout last season. You know the year when the Utes went 13-0, killed BYU by 3+ touchdowns, and beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. You know the year when Kyle finished Donko's goal of "Perfection."

Pretty good that the Utes can afford to redo their own field, while also paying for the LES renovation with our BCS winnings.

Take your handout and keep quiet in the bubble Cougs.

Attendance | 8:40 a.m. June 1, 2009

Having been to many games at LES and the Marriot Center, here are some common mistakes when factoring BYU attendance:

Grandma and Grandpa knitting and reading should not be counted in attendance.

Dad, Mom, and all 10 kids out for family-home-evening should not be counted in attendance.

BYU coeds looking for a husband instead of watching the game should not be counted in attendance.

Face it, LES fills up quicker for a Miley Cyrus concert than for a BYU football game. Lets not overstate that fact BYU fans.

re: BigJealousCougarFan | 8:42 a.m. June 1, 2009

Easy there. It takes money to build new facilities. And since the Utes have to continually send handouts down to the lowly members of the MWC who can't get into the BCS, it took a little longer than it would have were they able to keep the winnings they generated.

The "team up north" is funding the current renovation at LES. That is embarrassing.

Dutchman | 8:52 a.m. June 1, 2009

Expansion? Absolutely! But, I would rather see a deck and more suites on the east side than close the bowl. A deck is a lot more impressive than more cheap seats in the end zone. I went to the Sugar Bowl in January. Great Ute crowd who paid a minimum of $130 per ticket. Other tickets cost a lot more. BYU was "giving away" tickets to the Las Vegas Bowl for $15 just to get their fans to attend.

Truth | 10:44 a.m. June 1, 2009

The Utes perfect season and BCS win gave them a lot of money so they can afford a new state-of-the art playing field etc.

The Utes perfect season and BCS bowl win also gave other MWC schools money so in reality the cougars could afford some grass for their field too.

The cougars dismal bowl appearance did absolutely nothing for the MWC or for the others schools in the conference...again.

So if I am looking for a program with value and not just propoganda on BYU-TV...I like the Utes.

If I want a team with a vapid coach (Bronco will NEVER be LaVell Edwards status), self-important players and lame t-shirt mottos...I like the Cougars.

Some teams (Utes) are productive and some are just excuse makers.

UTAH's Schedule this year.. | 11:03 a.m. June 1, 2009

What a freakin' joke. Play someone decent and you will get a bowl bid. I guess we will have to wait for BYU to make that mark this year. You play 3 difficult teams and thats it. it will also take some time to get back your defense and offense. I am rooting for the Utes but Bleed Blue but at the same time the MWC needs to be playing bigger teams and show we can compete. Lets go both team and kick some trash

Wannabees | 11:30 a.m. June 1, 2009

Notice players and coaches don't comment and talk trash on these threads, only neverwere's and wannabees.

Get some class. Stop talkin' trash.

puts the student-athlete first | 11:35 a.m. June 1, 2009

"It's part of a big picture, he added, that puts the student-athlete first."

So, where is the "hall-of-fame" study hall for the "student" athlete?

Real Grass for the Cougs... | 1:25 p.m. June 1, 2009

Of course the zoobs like the real grass down south, what would they have to water in late November, the night before the Utah game, if they didn't.

How soon they forget, I remember quit well when the zoobs didn't fill their stadium until they started winning, say all you want about the Utes but every year they get better until they reach the peak and then start over again.

TDS only beats average teams (sometimes they have to live right on and off to do it too) and only beats a conference when they are down, what has TDS really accomplished in the last 20 plus years?

Ya know, us Utes and you zoobs might just get along if you would just invite us to the same parties that cost you your 5-star athletes, sounds like a great place to hang, get something to drink and do who knows what else that is against the honor code!

Any shade | 1:29 p.m. June 1, 2009

Any shade of RED is better than blue!!!
Go UTES!!!!

SW Michigan Ute | 1:32 p.m. June 1, 2009

We put the same turf in at Lakeshore High School last year through some generous contributions and massive fund raising. The kids love it, the field can be used in any weather, and will always be a consistent surface. Living in Big-10 country, it was great to see the UTES kick U of M.

Go Utes!!!!

Re: Wannabees | 3:00 p.m. June 1, 2009

SOOOOO um which were you a neverwere, a wannabe or just someone with too much time on their hands and an inability to contribute pertinent information to a blog.

I am glad the Utes and cougs got new turfs...I wish I could play around on it. I am thinking the artificial style will not freeze as readily as the natural turf. I remember palying on the old UTE astro turf (During High School playoffs) in the eighties in the cold and when you went down it felt like hitting carpet laid over concrete and the "rug" burns were delightful. I also remember the summers at Ute football camp on the Ute astro turf with Jim Fassel and it was like playing on hot asphalt in tin foil bowl. When he said "take a knee" it burned baby.

BYU football camp never let us in the stadium but the practice fields were a nice natural turf, Helaman halls cafeteria fed us well, the indoor facility was fun with a nice big track and we always tried to sneak into the EFY dances. BUt no pads like the Ute camps.

There's your other category..."has beens"...but I loved it.

Utah Mann | 5:17 p.m. June 1, 2009

To all ignorant coug fans. The Utes averaged more than a sell out last year. Translation....the stadium is sold out. I know they only teach religion courses at YBU but come on guys!!! Even if our stadium only seats 45000, at least we have 45000 wild and roudy fans jumping up and down and making noise. Every other year when I make the trip down south to LES I am amazed at how QUIET your stadium is, full of 70 somethings and little kids. I will give the fact that your stadium is bigger however ours is much louder with a better football atmospher. Rice Eccles is about 250 tickets from being SOLD OUT for 2010. I believe the expansion talks will start as sson as the season starts. One of prominant alumni will step up and donate a HUGE lump some of money to get the project going. Can't wait till football season. GO UTES

Biff the Ute | 8:01 p.m. June 1, 2009

WOW!!! Awesome!!! That's what winning two BCS bowls will do for ya!

Go UTES!!!

Amazing... | 9:37 p.m. June 1, 2009

Kyle can't be original, has to copy Bronco's every move.

DUH | 9:54 p.m. June 1, 2009

Lot of litte minded comments from little minded people. This starts my day with a chuckle, but also some sadness for the mean spirited people who make such comments.

Anonymous | 1:03 p.m. June 2, 2009

We paid for BYU's grass with our BCS money. Just like we will be paying for everything else that they want to improve on because they can't win their own bowls games and get the big payoffs.

Anonymous | 11:18 p.m. June 2, 2009

Wow that field looks great in the stadium that the Olympics built.

zach | 11:05 a.m. June 3, 2009

honestly is this what the Utah and Byu rivalry has come to? Talking smack about the playing surface. As a Ute fan I am stoked about getting a new surface, it sounds like it will look pretty cool. For all BYU fans posting on this story, are you seriously going to talk trash about a new turf and attendance? Even you have to admit this type of trash talk is pretty pathetic.

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Tom Smart, Deseret News

A visitor surveys the items in the new Hall of Fame display for Utah football, which is almost complete. The Hall of Fame is located on the north end of the Spence Eccles Field House, the Ute's indoor practice facility.

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