Real Grass Being Laid Down in M&T Bank Stadium
BALTIMORE (WJZ)--After 14 years, the Baltimore Ravens are going back to their roots, literally.
As Marcus Washington reports, this morning the process of changing M&T Bank Stadium's turf from artificial to natural began.
This move is nothing new for the Ravens.
The first turf was natural, changing in 2002 to artificial.
"Real football should be played on real grass," says Don Follett, Director of Fields and Grounds at the stadium.
He says the entire process of laying down real grass will take two days.
Each roll of sod is about 42 inches wide and 100 feet long. Crews will lay the first half down today and the remainder on Wednesday.
"In about three weeks we'll start cutting grass and in about four weeks we actually 'aerify' the grass and poke some holes in it," said Follett.
Follett says the sod-- which came in 12 truckloads from a farm in North Carolina—is softer, allowing players to easily maneuver.
He adds that there is no study that players will experience less injuries.
"Real grass verses the artificial turf, the injury rate is about the same," says Follett. "There is not a whole lot of difference, but the player's perception of the real grass, they like it better."
Officials say the artificial turf will remain along the outer perimeter of the field.
