PITT PANTHERS TO PLAY SPRING GAME SATURDAY ON ASTROTURF

(PITTSBURGH, PA) - The Pitt Panthers football team is taking their spring game on the road to North Hills High School and a new AstroTurf field.

First year head coach Paul Chryst, in an effort to embrace the traditions of Western Pennsylvania football, will host the annual Pitt Spring Football Festival and Blue-Gold Scrimmage at Martorelli Stadium in Pittsburgh.

Martorelli Stadium features an a

ll-new AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D60 Xtreme playing surface.

“This is huge for the community and for AstroTurf,” said Shamus Petrucelli, Regional Sales Manager for AstroTurf. “This is an opportunity for us to showcase this great playing surface for people at all levels of the football community in Western Pennsylvania.”

"I may be new to Pittsburgh, but I've respected and known about the traditions of Western Pennsylvania high school football for a long time," Chryst said. "As a first-year coaching staff, we feel it is important to get out and engage the people and communities who have built that tradition. The spring game is a perfect opportunity to do this and we're really looking forward to visiting North Hills."

"Pitt football is opening a new and exciting era under Coach Chryst and we're honored to be part of the program's first spring game under his leadership," North Hills High athletic director Dan Cardone said. "This is another stellar example of how Pittsburgh's highest-profile football teams, the Panthers and the Steelers, are invested in the communities of Western Pennsylvania. It is a winning equation for everyone involved and we're excited about hosting Pitt next month."

The surface the Panthers will play on features the all-new fiber combination called Xtreme. The field combines a monofilament Horseshoe fiber with a slit film product. The Horseshoe fiber has a horseshoe shape, which is more resilient and bounces back, staying upright longer. It also reflects less light and heat.

The slit film offers the ultimate in durability. The field features 60 ounces of fiber per square yard.

The field also has a RootZone, a thatch layer which holds the sand and rubber infill in place for less splash and migration, making for a more consistent playing surface.

The gates will open this Saturday at 11:00 a.m. The Panthers will host a youth clinic at 11:30 a.m., followed by the Blue-Gold Scrimmage at 1:00 p.m.

Mount Lebanon High School in Pennsylvania Gets Fourth AstroTurf® Field in 37 Years

At Mount Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, the athletic directors don’t measure their tenure in years served, but in the number of AstroTurf® fields their teams have played on.

For 37 years, Mount Lebanon football players have played on AstroTurf ® surfaces. That makes the Blue Devils one of the longest running relationships with AstroTurf® in the world of high school sports.

The latest incarnation of the field, and the fourth in school history, has just been installed and will be ready for action as the Blue Devils take the field against Pine-Richland on September 3rd.

The field is GameDay Grass™ and includes a unique combination of AstroTurf® diamond and horseshoe monofilament fibers designed by AstroTurf® to meet the specific needs of Mount Lebanon.

John Grogan, Athletic Director, has been at Mount Lebanon for 10 years and is excited about being there for his second AstroTurf® field, the most state-of-the-art field on the market.

“We’ve always had AstroTurf® fields,” said Grogan. “But a new field always creates excitement with the kids, the coaches and the community.”

Despite the history, AstroTurf® wasn’t a sure-thing. According to Grogan, the committee looked at several manufacturers, but ultimately chose AstroTurf® as the best option for the kids.

“We looked at every option,” said Grogan. “We looked at the fibers, infill, backing, safety issues and more. Everything, even the size of the fibers, made a difference.”

The new field also provides growth opportunities for the program.

“This is a quality product,” said Grogan. It’s extremely safe, it adds to the performance of our young athletes and it adds to their enjoyment of the game. That will cause our program to grow and see continued success.”

The success of Mount Lebanon is equally important to the people at AstroTurf®

“We are partners,” said Shamus Petrucelli, the AstroTurf® sales representative for Pennsylvania. “Over 37 years and four football fields, Mount Lebanon has selected our product as the best the industry has to offer. That is testimony to the commitment to excellence we have as a company and they have as a school. It’s a great partnership.”

It’s also a partnership Petrucelli hopes to see carried on for another 37 years.

About AstroTurf®
For many athletes and sport enthusiasts, the AstroTurf® brand has redefined the way the game is played. The company offers advanced, state-of-the-art, multi-sport and specialized synthetic turf systems with proprietary engineered technologies, leveraging the industry’s only vertically integrated manufacturing system. A growing number of high schools, colleges, professional sports teams and municipalities continue to select AstroTurf®-branded products for their premium quality, technical superiority and safety. Recent innovations from AstroTurf® include GameDay Grass™ 3D with RootZone®, a polyethylene/nylon hybrid system which most closely replicates natural grass; TurfAide™, a non-chemical antimicrobial shield protecting against MRSA and other infectious bacteria; and astroflect™ Technology which significantly reduces turf surface temperatures. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com.