Home Depot Center News

(CARSON, California) - Earlier this month, the NFL Players Association announced that AEG Facilities' The Home Depot Center in Carson will host the inaugural AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl Jan. 21, a college football all-star game.

AstroTurf, the inventor of synthetic turf, will install a brand new synthetic surface for the game, which will be removed and sold following the game. In planning for the event, AstroTurf and The Home Depot Center arranged the installation of the field prior to the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games Dec. 16 and 17.

\"We're excited that the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games will be played on AstroTurf, and look forward to hosting high school and collegiate athletes on our playing surface, which is considered to be the finest synthetic surface in the world,\" said Bryan Peeples, President of AstroTurf.

This year's state championship games are scheduled for December 16-17. The Home Depot Center's sod removal began last week, and the installation of the new AstroTurf field will be complete by December 10th.

\"This marks the first time in our facility's history that synthetic turf has been installed in our stadium, and through our partnership with AstroTurf and the NFLPA, we're 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 this month,\" said Kyle Waters, Vice President of Events and Operations at The Home Depot Center.

\"We appreciate the efforts of AstroTurf and The Home Depot Center in enhancing the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games experience,\" said Marie Ishida, Executive Director of the CIF. \"Knowing that our student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete on a top-of-the-line field surface, makes for a great championship environment.\"

The field surface will be the all new AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D60 Extreme. 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.

The field also has a face weight of 60 ounces of fiber per square yard, the highest in the industry. This adds to the durability provided by the fiber shape.

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.

The field features AstroFlect heat reduction technology, which can lower surface temperatures by as much as 18%.

The field also has 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 AstroTurf will be filled with approximately 325,000 pounds of a manufacturer's blend of silica sand and ambient rubber. The AstroTurf surface will cover about 81,000 square feet.

The CIF State Championships begin Friday, December 16th. 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 17th. 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.

The AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate Bowl will be held on Saturday, January 21st. Tickets for the CIF State Football Championship Bowl Games and the AstroTurf NFLPA Collegiate 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.

About The Home Depot Center

The Home Depot Center is southern California's home of world-class competition and training facilities for amateur, Olympic, collegiate and professional athletes. The $150-million, privately-financed Home Depot Center is owned by AEG and operated by AEG Facilities, an international sports, entertainment and venue organization that works with more than 100 of the world's most elite facilities across the globe. The Home Depot Center is a 125-acre multi-sport complex that sits on the campus of California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) and features an 8,000-seat tennis stadium, a 27,000-seat stadium for soccer and other athletic competitions and outdoor concerts, a 2,000-seat facility for track & field and a 2,450-seat indoor Velodrome for track cycling. The Home Depot Center is home to two Major League Soccer teams, the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chivas USA. Named an Official U.S. Olympic Training Site, The Home Depot Center is also home of the United States Tennis Association's (USTA) High Performance Training Center, the national team training headquarters for the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) and Athletes' Performance, an international training center for elite and professional athletes. For more information, please visit www.homedepotcenter.com.

Contacts

tbritton@astroturf.com
(706) 217-9690

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