Gillette Stadium officials announced that they are upgrading their field surface and the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution have selected FieldTurf’s Revolution turf system and VersaTile drainage and shock underlayment for its unparalleled player safety and extraordinary durability. The installation of the FieldTurf Revolution and VersaTile has begun and will be completed and ready for use for the Revolution’s next home match on April 12. The FieldTurf Revolution product is currently used at many venues across North America, including CenturyLink Field (home to the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and MLS’s Seattle Sounders) and Providence Park, home of the MLS’s Portland Timbers, where its installation was recently completed.

FieldTurf was initially installed at Gillette Stadium in November of 2006, which marked the first in-season grass-to-turf conversion in National Football League history. Since then, Gillette Stadium has utilized FieldTurf products exclusively and the Patriots have enjoyed unprecedented success at home with a league-leading .870 winning percentage (60-9). The FieldTurf surfaces have also served as the home field for the New England Revolution and UMass Minutemen football while also allowing the flexibility to host numerous international soccer matches, full-stadium concerts, MIAA high school championship games and dozens of other stadium events and activities on the playing surface.

"When we made the decision to install a new turf surface, we underwent an extensive evaluation and testing program of many other turf products in the marketplace" said Jim Nolan, Senior Vice President of Finance, Administration and Operations. "Selecting the FieldTurfRevolution product was a well-informed decision. What we are getting is an elite level turf system that will significantly benefit our players for years to come."

"FieldTurf is thrilled to continue our long-standing relationship with the New England Patriots and the New England Revolution," said FieldTurfPresident Eric Daliere. "We pride ourselves on delivering innovative and high quality synthetic playing surfaces and are extremely proud that two of the highest profile teams in North American professional sports will continue to play their games on our surface."

The FieldTurf system is complete with a patented infill mix supported by years of independent testing and player safety benefits. In the last five NFL Players Playing Surfaces Opinion Surveys, a FieldTurf surface has ranked as the best artificial surface in the league. The Revolution fiber, as part of the system that will be installed at Gillette Stadium, has been designed to represent a significant advancement in fiber durability and performance.

This is pretty great news for the Revs as they’ve been needing an upgrade for some time now. Sure, there will still be those who poo-poo on the Revs playing on turf at all, but an upgrade is an upgrade. Now at least Revs fans can say "If it’s good enough for the Sounders and the Timbers, then it’s good enough for us!" Right? Anyway, here’s some videos about the FieldTurf Revolution product:

Design:

Drainage:

And Maintenance: (Quick note here: at about 2:29 the narrator explains that "The settling of the infield between the grass fibers normally takes several months. During this period, the infield will settle to it’s ideal level and the field with stabilize into a uniformed playing surface to perform according to our strict design specifications." I could be interpreting this wrong, but it may mean that the Revs will be playing on an "unsettled" surface until the summer. Feel free to clue me in down in the comments section.)