Daytona Beach hopes $900,000 turf brings players

Daytona Beach Municipal Stadium, home of the Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats will receive NFL grade synthetic field turf, new roof for the stadium, renovated locker rooms, new elevator, updated electronics that allow better communications for coaches from the field to the press box, as well as Wi-Fi for those working in the press box. Total cost to Wildcats budget--ZERO. $1.2 million cost paid by Volusia County and city of Daytona Beach.

DAYTONA BEACH, FL -- If you install artificial turf, they will come. Not exactly poetry, but that's the philosophy of the city of Daytona Beach behind a $1.2 million renovation of Municipal Stadium -- which houses football games for Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats and Mainland and Seabreeze high schools. The multi-purpose stadium seats 10,000 and was built in 1979 with natural turf. City officials are hoping a new $900,000 state-of-the-art playing surface will bring more business and economic boosts through national high school all-star, lacrosse and state championship games this fall.

"You get later in the year, and the field starts getting worn down," said B-CU Athletics Director Lynn Thompson. "A couple of years we played homecoming in the mud, and there were fans who beat us up because they wanted to move the games to Derbyshire (Field) and all of that. I think (the renovation) is a great idea because that's where it's headed. You look at our (MEAC) conference and we've got five to six schools already that have prescription turf." Field Turf, a maintenance-free synthetic material used by many National Football League teams, will be installed and ready to play on by August (2010).

The city also is investing $300,000 to $400,000 on locker room, lighting, press box and electronics upgrades, including Wi-Fi for reporters and better communications for coaches. There have been discussions about eventually installing a Jumbotron large-screen television.

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