New turf finished at Fouts Field

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Football: New turf finished at Fouts Field

08:35 AM CDT on Friday, August 26, 2005

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

The return of the North Texas football team to Fouts Field drew one step closer on Thursday afternoon when the new artificial surface at the stadium passed its final inspection.

Construction crews began working on the Sportexe Omnigrass surface late this summer and completed construction this week.

UNT and Sportexe officials inspected the field one final time to ensure it was safe for the Mean Green to practice on the surface.

“Once they give us the word that it is OK, we are going to try to get on it as many times as we can,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “With this new surface, you need to get on it some and help pack down the rubber part of it so it is not as slick.”

The Mean Green could begin breaking in the field Saturday, when they are scheduled to scrimmage for the second time during fall practice.

UNT moved its first scrimmage of the fall last Saturday to C.H. Collins Athletic Complex, a facility owned by the Denton Independent School District. UNT officials had not determined Thursday afternoon whether the Mean Green would work out at C.H. Collins or move its workout to Fouts Field, which still lacks goalposts.

UNT’s players are looking forward to working out on the new surface after playing their home games on a harder Astroturf field for the last few years.

“It will be nice,” UNT wide receiver Johnny Quinn said. “We played on it before at Arkansas and Baylor. It’s a neat deal for us. You would get scraped up on the old turf we had, and it was tough on your knees.”

UNT paid for the surface with funds it received from a $2.57 million loan for improvements in athletic facilities approved by the Board of Regents. A total of $665,000 was set aside from the loan to pay for the new turf.

UNT has played on a Sportexe surface at the Louisiana Superdome in each of the last four years while representing the Sun Belt Conference in the New Orleans Bowl.

UNT players switch positions

Several UNT players switched positions on Thursday.

Steve Warren moved from quarterback to safety, while Korey Washington and Arthur Stubblefield moved from defensive back to wide receiver.

UNT coach Darrell Dickey said he wanted to see each player at new positions to determine if they could contribute this season.

Briefly …

Punter Truman Spencer missed practice after injuring his shoulder on Wednesday, but is expected to resume practicing next week.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.