New England Patriots putting in new field turf at Gillette Stadium

When I read the press release from the New England Patriots I was a little surprised. From a press release yesterday on Patriots.com there will be a new field turf being placed down on Gillette Stadium. According to the press release from Patriots.com it states " The New England Patriots, the New England Revolution, and FieldTurf have jointly announced that Gillette Stadium will be resurfaced with FieldTurf Duraspine Pro, the new standard in artificial turf and the latest turf innovation from FieldTurf."


According to the press release, the field will be ready for The New England Revolution opener against Toronto FC on April 10th. The New England Patriots started using FieldTurf shortly after the New York Jets game in the 2006 season. I think I read awhile back that the turf had a shelf life of 10 years.


To be honest I am glad the New England Patriots are changing the turf. I actually hope this surface is more like real grass than what they currently have. I think the turf right now is actually too fast of a surface and reminds me of playing in a dome. What gives me hope about the surface is information from the press release. The press release states "the field is designed with international soccer in mind and is expected to meet and exceed the tenets of FIFA's 2 - star rating system."


Also, I wanted to give a quick update on the Vince Wilfork situation. He has been given the "franchise tag" by the New England Patriots. According to a press release by the New England Patriots, the organization placed the franchise tag on Wilfork and will continue to work on a long term deal.