IU Tears up the turf

As of 1:00 this afternoon, more than half of the AstroPlay turf at Memorial Stadium had been removed.\nAlthough no report has surfaced about when new turf will be installed, IU began the process earlier today to remove the turf wrecked by flash flood damage two weeks ago.\nIU Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan had estimated that the total cost to replace the field might be up to $1 million after a two-foot deep, 15-foot wide sink hole developed in the south endzone after the flash flooding. Specific information regarding to the reconstruction of the field will be available in the next couple days, according to Director of Media Relations J.D. Campbell.\nFive dumpsters, two BackHoe-loaders and 11 large pieces of rolled turf were inside Memorial Stadium at the time this story was published. Gravel surrounded the rest of the remaining turf, which included the IU logo at the 50-yard line.\nThe AstroPlay turf field at Memorial Stadium is made of polyethylene and was installed in 2003 by SRI Sports of Austin, Texas. The installation cost IU around $450,000.\n“We’re anticipating the best in terms of having the field ready for everything in the future,” Director of Media Relations J.D. Campbell said last week, “Our expectation is we’ll be able to move forward the best we can.”