William and Mary Field Hockey Renovates Busch Field with AstroTurf 12™

Courtesy of The College of William & Mary's Official Athletics Website
May 5, 2009

WILLIAMSBURG - The William and Mary field hockey program will play on a world-class surface starting next fall, as the Tribe renovates Busch Field this summer with AstroTurf 12™. The renovation of the 20-year old facility includes a total revamp of the field, underlying pad, and drainage systems to create a competition surface that ranks alongside that used at the U.S. National Training Centers in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Chula Vista, California and that used at last year’s Olympic Games.

The original e-layer pad and AstroTurf surface were torn out in late April. The sub-base was re-graded and paved in porous asphalt. When the paving is completed, new AstroTurf 12™ will be installed on top. A new drainage trench and a state-of-the-art watering system will also be installed. The system is fully automated and eco-friendly, drawing water from a brand new well and the run-off draining back into the same source. Additionally, the backstops and netting behind the goals will be replaced, and the fencing on the north side of the field that separates the concrete walkway from the field itself will be replaced with a new decorative fencing.

AstroTurf 12™ is the premium surface for field hockey in the world. General Sports Venue, the exclusive U.S. licensee of all AstroTurf/GameDay Grass synthetic surfaces will serve as contractor for the installation. The College of William and Mary continues to embrace superiority in the field hockey program’s success by selecting this Olympic standard product. This past season the NCAA Division I Field Hockey Final Four was played on AstroTurf 12™ and thirteen of the 16 teams in the tournament play their home games on this surface.

AstroTurf 12™ is a short-pile, knitted nylon product recognized worldwide as the preferred surface for field hockey pitches, which require high degrees of planarity, extremely tight tolerances and sophisticated drainage systems. Endorsed by the International Field Hockey Federation (FIH) and USA Field Hockey, AstroTurf 12™ provides uniform traction and consistent footing, is UV resistant, has a low-glare surface and reduces watering and maintenance costs. AstroTurf 12™ has a storied reputation as the best surface, bar none, for field hockey. It started in the summer of 1976 in Montreal at the Olympics and for decades, from Argentina to Europe, from the Indian Subcontinent to South Africa – and throughout the U.S. and Canada – AstroTurf has been the surface of choice for hockey clubs, school programs, tournaments and organizations.

Busch Field was built in 1988-89 thanks to a generous grant from the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Corporation, and officially opened in June of 1989, and dedicated on November 1, 1989. The Tribe field hockey team first took the pitch on September 30, 1989, with a 7-0 victory over American, and began holding all of its home contests on the field beginning in 1990. Overall, the Tribe is 123-60-2 (.670) on Busch Field, and has posted a winning home ledger in 18 of 20 seasons. Busch has hosted the CAA Field Hockey Championships three times, in 1993, 1998, and 2004, and the Tribe is 46-25 (.648) in conference play.