New Kinnick turf still holds the heat
It’s a huge improvement on the old-style Astroturf of 20 or 30 years ago. It’s softer and less conducive to injuries.
But the new turf at Kinnick Stadium still holds and radiates heat like a pot-bellied stove.
Reporters attending last Saturday’s public scrimmage found that out firsthand. It wasn’t really an excessively hot day, but it felt like you were standing over a heat vent. It’s hard to imagine playing a football game on that on a hot September day.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, who never has been a big fan of artificial surfaces, seemed happy with his first prolonged exposure to the turf. And he was out there wearing a long sleeved shirt.
“It didn’t seem like our players were affected by the heat today,’’ he said. “It seems like a great surface. I think it has all the give that grass does and best of all it gives us some consistency where things like rain and snow won’t affect us as much.’’
