INDIANAPOLIS — The first Colts pre-season game is just one month away but a lot has to happen before the Colts can take the field again. And over the past year, Lucas Oil Stadium has seen quite the transformation.
It started out with a normal football field in January and then transformed into a basketball court for the NBA All-Star game and most recently a swimming pool for the 2024 Olympic Swim Trials. Now, it’s time to get back to business for the upcoming Colts season and that starts with installing a brand new turf.
“We want to be the very best,” said Eric Neuburger, the stadium director. “We want to give the athletes that compete with the Colts the highest level of performance. The turf is one of the most important pieces to the puzzle.”
The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) called for the league to replace and ban slit-film turf, which is what used to be in place, citing safety concerns. Now, the Colts will be one of just a handful of teams to have the new Hella Matrix Turf.
“We should have the newest and best turf out there in the league right now,” Neuburger said. "We are going to be one of five stadiums that has this Hella Matrix Turf. We will be one of two teams that uses geofill, us and Tennessee. The combination of the organic infill as opposed to rubber along with the Hellas turf fibers themselves will really be a great performance.”
This will be the fourth turf laid down in Lucas Oil Stadium, and this will be the first of its kind in an indoor stadium.
“As opposed to rubber, the geofill is an organic material made of cork and coconut husks and other organic material, so it is a new technology,” Neuburger said. “It is on the field in Tennessee and in a lot of practice facilities around the NFL and college. We are the first indoor venue in the country to have it in an NFL stadium.”
And Colts fans are looking forward to the upcoming changes.
“It is needed,” said Rick Stevens, a longtime Colts fan. “The NFL has changed. Everyone is faster, stronger, quicker, and people hit harder. We need to make sure these players keep their knees and ankles and everything intact and stay on the field longer and give us a great entertainment value.”
The new turf was reviewed and tested by the players. The goal is to maximize performance and increase safety
“I think it's a Godsend actually,” Stevens said. “I think it's going to cut down on injuries. We have seen a lot of injuries over the past few years of just non-contact injuries so I am hopeful this new turf is going to reduce those injuries and keep our players on the field longer.”
Not only will the turf feel different for the athletes but it will also look different for the fans in the stands and those watching at home.
“What you'll notice right away is the color is a little bit different,” Neuburger said. “It pops more. The way the fibers lay, it will really look great on TV. There's a new font being used that’s proprietary to the Colts both in the endzone and in the numbers but the traditional Colts helmet in the center will remain.”
And fans like Rick Stevens say they are more than ready to see the full field transformation soon.
“Go Colts,” he said. “We have injected some young talent through the draft and I am so excited for this season.”
Fans will get a chance to see the brand-new turf for the Colts’ first preseason game when they take on the Broncos on Sunday, Aug. 11.