Nickerson Field, which has been the home of Terrier athletic teams for nearly half a century, is undergoing a major change from Astroturf to FieldTurf. The ripping up of the old turf began earlier this month (February), while the revolutionary new surface is expected to be in place by March 15th
FieldTurf is a synthetic grass, designed to create an artificial surface that duplicates the playing conditions of real grass. It looks like grass, feels like grass, and plays like grass.
This new surface brings an end to a 33-year history in which Astroturf covered Nickerson Field. Astroturf replaced the original grass field in 1968. It was later refurbished in 1973, 1986, and 1995.
One of the major factors that led to the installation of FieldTurf is that the Boston Breakers, the local entry in the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), will be playing their home games at Nickerson Field.
In addition to the new surface, there will be the addition of close to 2,000 chairback seats, the replacement of four sections of bench seating, and the addition of luxury suites and a hospitality club. With these changes, Nickerson Field will hold approximately 12,000 fans.
All these improvements will be in place in time for the Boston Breakers’ home opener on May 5th vs. Atlanta. The team will begin its inaugural season on April 21st when it travels to Carolina. The following week, the Breakers journey to the Bay Area before returning home for their Nickerson Field opener.
Nancy Feldman, the Terriers’women’s soccer coach, expressed her excitement over the new surface.
"Having FieldTurf will open up a pool of players who we might not have been able to recruit in the past," said the coach, who guided last year’s Terrier team to its most successful season ever. The team was 16-7-0 overall and 9-0-0 in America East. They won the America East regular-season and tournament titles, and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in the program’s six-year history. In the first round of the Tournament, the Terriers defeated Holy Cross but were then eliminated by Dartmouth in the second round.
"In addition, we will be able to bring in quality teams who did not want to play on Astroturf," said the coach.
"The new surface should also improve our quality of play greatly," the coach went on. "Astroturf forced our players to play a different kind of game, and you could see the high level of frustration.
"Plus, we were starting to see the type of injuries that come with playing on the artificial surface," Feldman concluded. "We were getting a lot of shin splints plus lower back problems. These are the injuries you get with overuse.
"I want to thank Boston University executive vice president Joe Mercurio and vice president Mike Hathaway for all they did to bring the Boston Breakers to Nickerson Field. I know the University has tried very hard in the past to get us a grass field. Their hard work has finally paid off, and I can't thank them enough."
