Syracuse football: Schwartzwalder Practice Field gets natural grass surface

You may not have known that the Syracuse Orange had several FieldTurf facilities around campus for the football team to train on. Well one of them, Schwartzwalder Practice Field, is now a natural grass surface.

SU announced the news today, and the new surface will be ready to go by Oct. 1. They recently installed an irrigation system for the field, which will be made of Kentucky Bluegrass (damn you, Louisville...).

Dino Babers has made mention of wanting a natural grass surface for preparation purposes, since several Orange opponents play on natural grass. This season alone, there are three (UConn, Clemson, Pittsburgh). Next year, there are four (LSU, Florida State, Miami, NC State).

The Orange will still have three FieldTurf facilities to practice on, including the Carrier Dome, Ensley Athletic Center and Maury Katz Field.

While it may seem like a small project, it’s a smart move for SU that could potentially help reduce injury as the team gets training time on different surfaces. Unfortunately, the natural grass field won’t be ready for Syracuse’s first game on grass this year at UConn. But at least it’ll be available for the final two against Clemson and Pittsburgh in November.