Anticipation mounts as Astroturf® teams up with The Home Depot Center for second consecutive year to host 2012 CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games

(CARSON, California) - The CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games are gearing up for their seventh year at The Home Depot Center, but it's year two on AstroTurf's state-of-the-art field that's generating the buzz.

AstroTurf, the inventor of synthetic turf, teamed up with The Home Depot Center and the NFLPA to install a signature field before last year's state championships and the response was electric. The anticipation for this year's games, slated for the weekend of December 14-15, has surged accordingly.

\"We are appreciative of AstroTurf and the NFLPA to provide this outstanding surface for our student-athletes and we are excited to once again host our State Championship Bowl Games at The Home Depot Center on a world-class playing surface,\" said CIF Executive Director Roger Blake.

The CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games have quickly become a signature showcase for West Coast powerhouses and prep stars, and the performance of AstroTurf's field was a boon to coaches and players alike. Just ask Coach Mark Serve, Offensive Coordinator for the 2011 Division IV Champion Sierra Canyon Trailblazers.

\"The field was absolutely amazing,\" said Serve, following his team's 34-13 win over Le Grand during the AstroTurf field's inaugural championship season. \"My receivers were making cuts that we're normally not able to make on grass. We prefer it (AstroTurf) because we're a fast team. That field allows for a fast track. It plays to a team that has speed, which is what we have, so we took advantage of it.\"

The field surface he's referring to is AstroTurf GameDay™ Grass 3D60 Xtreme. The field combines a monofilament Horseshoe™ fiber with a slit film product. The Horseshoe fiber has an Omega-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. It's not uncommon for these fields to withstand several years' worth of use and still hold true to form.

In extensive testing, AstroTurf GameDay Grass systems perform most like natural grass from ball roll, to slide resistance, to the biomechanical function of cleats penetrating and releasing properly. A study at Michigan State University, funded by NFL Charities, found that AstroTurf GameDay Grass systems looked and performed more like natural grass than any other synthetic product measured, also making it the safest option. With the ever-increasing focus on safety and player health permeating football's cultural climate from Pop Warner to the pros, engineering for safety has taken on increased significance for the team at AstroTurf.

\"Here at AstroTurf, our dedication and constant pursuit to develop the safest surface is a vital component of the products we create,\" said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf. \"We're excited to be hosting these student-athletes on our playing surface, which is considered to be the finest synthetic surface in the world.\"

The marvel of engineering isn't restricted to the field, where performance and safety are the hallmarks. Below the playing surface the project boasts another state-of-the-art design, the AstroBase paneling system. It is a structure that is both a shock pad and a drain mat. Composed of thousands of interlocking panels, the structure allows for easier installation, requires less labor, and produces a more level contour than traditional rock base systems, all without sacrificing drainage performance.

One might say there's an innovative structure underlying this year's CIF State Championships as well. 2012 marks the first year that CIF State Championship Bowl Game participants will be determined by Regional Championships to be played the weekend prior. In the past, commissioners selected one North and one South participant in each division from the 10 Section Champions. This year, they'll select two Section champs from the North and two from the South to duke it out for a chance to play at The Home Depot Center.

\"Thanks to our partnership with AstroTurf and the CIF, we are pleased to be able to offer a state-of-the-art artificial field for the high school athletes playing in the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games for the second year in a row,\" said Kyle Waters, Vice President of Events and Operations at The Home Depot Center. \"We look forward to welcoming teams, families and football fans from throughout the state of California to Carson in two weeks.\"

The CIF State Championships begin Friday, December 14th. The Division IV game will start at 4:00 p.m. and will be followed by the Division I game at 8:00 p.m.

There will be three games on Saturday, December 15th. The Division III game kicks off at noon and will be followed by the Division II game at 4:00 p.m. The final game of the event will determine the Open Division state champion at 8:00 p.m.

Tickets for the CIF State Football Championship Bowl are available now at www.homedepotcenter.com.

About AstroTurf

For athletes and sport enthusiasts, AstroTurf 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 first 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. To learn more, visit www.astroturfusa.com.

FACTS & FIGURES

• Field Type: AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D60 Xtreme.
• Field Size: 81,900 square feet.
• Fiber Type: A combination of monofilament, polyethylene Horseshoe fibers and polyethylene slit film. The Horseshoe fiber has an Omega-shape, which is more resilient and bounces back, staying upright longer. It also reflects less light and heat. The polyethylene slit film offers the ultimate in density, thickness, and ultraviolet stabilization.
  
  The fibers are 2\" tall and there are 60 ounces of fiber per square yard.
  
  The weight of the field surface itself is 62,000 pounds.
  
  The backing on the synthetic turf is a polyol made from soybeans, to replace petroleum-based backing.
  
  
• Infill System: The AstroTurf field will be infilled with a manufacturer's blend of silica sand and ambient rubber. The infill will weigh approximately 400,000 pounds.
• Base System: After the field is laser-leveled, a geotextile structural fabric will be placed on the field for soil stabilization and to help distribute the load of the field. Then, an AstroBase system will be put down. AstroBase provides 28\"x28\" panels made from a thermoplastic elastomer. AstroBase offers an alternative to traditional rock and gravel base systems. There will be 15,000 of these interlocking panels in the field. Each weighs less than one pound per square foot and can support up to 1,000 pounds per square foot. Each panel is 1.25\" tall.

CONTACT:

Sydney Squires
Friday, November 30, 2012
ssquires@astroturf.com
(512) 423-5164

Alison Groendal Salcedo
asalcedo@homedepotcenter.com
(310) 630-2032

Rebecca Brutlag
rbrutlag@cifstate.org
(916) 239-4477