Tests will set
timeline for Fieldturf

Coring samples have been
sent to the lab; the verdict
should be back in a few days

---

By Al Chase and Dave Reardon
achase@starbulletin.com dreardon@starbulletin.com

Getting Fieldturf in at Aloha Stadium has come down to making the earth move.

The question now is how much must be moved and if the new surface can be installed in less than six weeks or thereabouts.

Coring samples to determine how much preparation is needed were completed Wednesday.

"Now that they have (the samples), they have to take it back to the lab and we'll know in a few days. We don't know exactly when we'll get the results," said Fieldturf CEO John Gilman.

Asked if it is still possible to make the Aug. 2 deadline, Gilman said yesterday he didn't have an answer yet.

"We can't determine that until the results of the survey tell us what we need to know," Gilman said. "Do we need to move one truck or 1,000 trucks of soil?"

The preparation includes shaving the stadium's asphalt crown down to a level surface. The information the coring samples reveal probably will determine if the Stadium Authority-set deadline for completion of such a switch can be met.

The Aug. 2 deadline would allow time to move the stands into football configuration and paint the field.

The first confirmed event in August is the Father Bray Classic on the 24th, although Kamehameha Schools has reserved Aug. 23 for a football game.

"We need that much time because we don't know how moving the stadium configuration will be affected by the Fieldturf surface," said Robin Campaniano of the Stadium Authority. "We don't know what could go wrong, so we need a few days in case there's a problem.

"We might be able to squeeze a half-day here and a half-day there, but we have to figure out where we can shave," Campaniano added.

Gilman said his company is ready to roll if the survey results are positive.

"We're ready to mobilize if the results are proper. It will be based on the results of the coring. If it's legit, we're ready to go."

Fieldturf is the surface NFL officials want in Aloha Stadium because they say it is safer for the players competing in the annual Pro Bowl.

The coring cost of $20,000 was paid for by Fieldturf, according to Gilman.

He quoted a price of $877,500 to install Fieldturf to the Hawaii Tourism Authority, which is sharing the cost with the NFL.

However, the additional cost for preparing the stadium surface is unknown and only after the lab results are back on the coring samples can a realistic timeline be established.

Then the NFL, the Hawaii Tourism Authority and Fieldturf will figure out who pays how much.

Eddie Hamada, the new Stadium Authority chairman, said things are progressing as quickly as possible.

"We are all kind of going along the same line. We just want to be sure everything is put in place right," Hamada said. "We are responsible to the people of the state. It's our duty to be careful."

NFL senior executive vice president Jim Steeg was in town this week and said he remained optimistic that the new turf would be in place by the time of the Pro Bowl, in February.