Lawrence, KS (Vocus) May 19, 2009 -- The University of Kansas will install FieldTurf (www.fieldturf.com) at venerable Memorial Stadium, it was announced today by KU Athletic Director Lew Perkins and FieldTurf CEO Joe Fields. The actual installation will commence in late spring, and the new state-of-the-art FieldTurf surface will officially debut on September 5 when the Jayhawks open the 2009 season by hosting Northern Colorado.

Kansas will become the sixth Big 12 university to have FieldTurf (www.fieldturf.com) at its football stadium, joining Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska (the first NCAA Division I member to install FieldTurf), Texas and Texas Tech. Last August, FieldTurf installed two full-sized football practice fields adjacent to KU's Anderson Family Football Complex.

"FieldTurf is universally recognized as a top-of-the-line playing surface," said Kansas Head Football Coach Mark Mangino, who has led the Jayhawks to four bowl games in six years, including back-to-back victories (2008 Orange Bowl and this season's Insight Bowl). "We're excited that we will be playing on a surface that so many NFL and top collegiate teams also use. And the fact that our new practice fields are also FieldTurf is a real benefit for our players."

"Memorial Stadium is one of the most historically significant stadiums in college football, and it's an honor to now be part of the tradition of that facility," said Fields. "Kansas will be getting our latest-and-greatest product, and it will mesh well with the two practice fields that we installed for the Jayhawks last summer. This should be of great benefit to Coach Mangino and his players, as they will now be playing their home games on the same FieldTurf that they will be practicing on. Also, the fact that so many Big 12 teams will now be playing their home games on FieldTurf will also be a positive factor as KU's coaches prepare the players for the conference season."

The Jayhawks have played their home games on artificial turf continuously since 1970. The new FieldTurf surface will be the stadium's fifth turf field and it will replace the AstroPlay that was installed in 2000.

Built prior to the 1921 season to honor Kansas students who fought in World War I, Memorial Stadium was the first stadium constructed on a college campus west of the Mississippi River. Thus, the 2009 campaign will mark KU's 89th season at Memorial. Only six other Division I universities currently play in older stadiums (Cincinnati, Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State, Washington and Wisconsin). The Jayhawks have an overall record of 209-199-16 at the facility, which has a current seating capacity of 50,071.

More than 60 top NCAA universities currently play their home games on FieldTurf (www.fieldturf.com). In addition to Big 12 schools, others include Ohio State, Michigan, West Virginia, Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Boston College, Indiana, Minnesota, Rutgers, Syracuse, Cincinnati and Louisville. Twenty-one of the NFL's 32 teams presently utilize FieldTurf in their stadiums and/or practice facilities. In addition, MLB's Tampa Bay Rays, Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays have FieldTurf at their respective stadiums.

The NFL Players Association released their bi-annual ranking of NFL stadium fields during a January 29 press conference in Tampa prior to the Super Bowl. Once again, the results tabbed FieldTurf as the runaway leader among all artificial turf brands. In data gathered from polling/voting of over 1500 NFL players, 40% of the league's Top Ten surfaces were FieldTurf fields. In addition, four of the top five and eight of the top ten artificial turf fields in the league are FieldTurf, according to that NFLPA data.

FieldTurf offers industry leading engineering and manufacturing resources, unparalleled leasing and financing capabilities and leads the synthetic turf industry with regard to setting higher environmental standards. FieldTurf is the global market leader in terms of synthetic sports fields with over 3000 fields installed. Additionally, FieldTurf has attained over 12,000 satisfied customers in high quality pet, residential, commercial and municipal landscaping solutions, playground surfacing and has a complete range of golf and tennis products. FieldTurf synthetic turf customers enjoy the benefits of significantly reduced water consumption, the elimination of fertilizer and pesticides, superior durability and drainage and a product that looks and feels real. The positive environmental impact of FieldTurf provides the added benefit of LEED building contributions.

FieldTurf (www.fieldturf.com) is part of Tarkett Sports, a Division of the Tarkett Group. Tarkett Sports is the largest entity in the sports and landscape surfacing industries. Included within the Tarkett Sports portfolio is an impressive range of performance sports flooring products. This product range includes: synthetic and hardwood basketball; volleyball and gymnasium flooring; squash and racquetball courts; floor protection and covering systems; weight room flooring; and high performance indoor and outdoor running tracks, featuring Beynon track surfaces. All Tarkett Sports surfaces are developed, produced and installed with a concentration on sustainability and a commitment to protecting the environment, providing additional LEED contribution opportunities for customers. The company calls this focus on sustainability and the environment 'Environmental Intelligence' and all company personnel strive to exemplify this philosophy in all aspects of the business. For more information, please visit www.fieldturf.com

Contact:

Jason Smollett

FieldTurf

800-724-2969

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