Sod removal under way at Notre Dame Stadium

SOUTH BEND — Rolls of grass being removed today from the field of Notre Dame Stadium are being neatly stacked on a semi-trailer near the stadium’s north gate.

By 8:30 a.m., the bed of the trailer was half filled.

The grass is being removed in preparation for installation of synthetic FieldTurf in the historic 84-year-old football stadium.

Rolls of the turf are being sold online at und.com/grass. They’ll be shipped Wednes-day to purchases via UPS for second-day arrival. The price is $149.95 per 5-by-2-foot roll.

Sections of grass selected for the sale are being taken only from areas of the field with the least amount of wear and consist of as much fully covered grass as possible, according to the university. (The middle of the field was mainly brown in April during the annual Blue-Gold Game.)

Proceeds from the sale will go toward the cost of installing the new FieldTurf, senior associate athletics director John Heisler said.

According to Georgia-based FieldTurf, the cost to install an 80,000-square-foot athletic field, including preparation work, materials and a year of maintenance, is approximately $750,000. The company estimates the artificial turf will last 8 to 10 years before needing to be replaced.

Fans will get their first look at the stadium’s new synthetic turf on Aug. 30, at the Irish season opener against Rice.