Heavy equipment kept digging dirt out of Gillette Stadium. Dump trucks piled it high in the adjacent parking lot.
In less than two weeks, the only sign of that work should be the Patriots' new synthetic field.
The team finally concluded it couldn't keep a natural grass field in good shape in the New England climate, especially with MLS soccer games and concerts sharing it. So it joined many other NFL teams in switching to FieldTurf.
The Patriots expect it to be ready for their next home game against Chicago on Nov. 26. In their last home game, the Patriots lost to the New York Jets on a field made muddy by heavy rain.
John Gilman, chief executive officer of FieldTurf, said it normally takes five to six weeks to install his synthetic field, but three crews working around the clock will get it done in time.
``We wouldn't be putting in a field at this facility and for these people if we didn't think that we could put it in the best that we could,'' he said Wednesday.
He also said the surface should ``easily'' last 10 to 12 years. The latest grass surface lasted two games.
The Patriots had put new sod up the middle third of the field from goal line to goal line and in the end zones in time for their home game against Indianapolis on Nov. 5.
``We've had to replace it pretty much ever year, in some cases more than once,'' coach Bill Belichick said. ``That was done again a few weeks ago, and by the middle of the first half last week we all saw what that looked like.''
For the first three home games, the field had little grass and a lot of sand up the middle. Players slipped and complained. Although they preferred natural grass in the stadium that opened in 2002, the Kraft family that owns the team made the switch.
Gilman said the cost of the resurfacing is about US$720,000 to $750,000. FieldTurf is a synthetic substance with long green fibres. It has sand for stability and small rubber chips for softness added to it.
``We will become the 10th NFL team to be playing on that surface for the games,'' Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said. They already have it in their indoor practice facility.
``We have always been doing the research and had in the back of our heads wanting to know what the best product was in case the day ever came,'' Kraft said.
Gilman said he and the Patriots didn't specifically discuss installing the field now until a month ago.
Heavy snow ``would make it difficult to put in the field,'' he said. ``We're prepared. We put in 11 fields in Scotland where we had to work under a moveable tent ... and keep the heaters going in the tent. We're even prepared for that, but that's a worst, worst-case scenario.''
© The Canadian Press, 2007
