You can own a piece of the 'Field of Dreams' soon
The University of Utah has found the ultimate way to recycle pieces of the old turf that has been in Rice-Eccles Stadium since 2002 - by selling it.
Come July 1, 350 pieces of the turf that has covered the floor of the stadium will go on sale at 8 a.m. for $99 through the University of Utah Campus Store.
The pieces are about 13 inches long and about 10 inches wide and will be enclosed in a wooden box, which will be numbered and include a sticker of Rice-Eccles Stadium, a short description of the 2004 and 2008 undefeated seasons and the signature of Rice-Eccles Stadium director Mark Burk.
The old turf is being replaced by a new version of the FieldTurf.
Mike Cherry, the marketing director for the bookstore, said the pieces will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Altogether 450 pieces were made, with 100 of them being reserved for team officials and dignitaries.
The signature and sticker with an embossed medallion seal were designed to discourage counterfeiting of what Cherry anticipates will become a sought-after collector's item.
"We could have sold thousands and thousands of pieces, but we wanted to make a nice collectors' item for Ute fans that are just crazy," Cherry said. "We thought the best way to do that is limit the amount of items available to the public."
Some of the pieces have white on them while most are green, Cherry said. Crews that ripped up the turf were instructed to save the pieces in best condition, so there is no way of knowing the original location of the turf.
Cherry said none of the pieces have red in them, so fans can forget owning part of the 'Block U,' that was at midfield.
The turf that wasn't saved has already been destroyed, Cherry said.
The money generated from the sales will be used to help cover the costs of the new turf, estimated at being between $700,000-to- $900,000.
Fans can only hope the new turf will see as many historic wins as the old turf did.
"It's really going to be a part of university history," Cherry said. "The perfect seasons of 2004 and 2008 is what makes it so valuable. Both teams were BCS busters and Utah is the only team to do it twice, that makes it very valuable."
Come July 1, 350 pieces of the turf that has covered the floor of the stadium will go on sale at 8 a.m. for $99 through the University of Utah Campus Store.
The pieces are about 13 inches long and about 10 inches wide and will be enclosed in a wooden box, which will be numbered and include a sticker of Rice-Eccles Stadium, a short description of the 2004 and 2008 undefeated seasons and the signature of Rice-Eccles Stadium director Mark Burk.
The old turf is being replaced by a new version of the FieldTurf.
Mike Cherry, the marketing director for the bookstore, said the pieces will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Altogether 450 pieces were made, with 100 of them being reserved for team officials and dignitaries.
The signature and sticker with an embossed medallion seal were designed to discourage counterfeiting of what Cherry anticipates will become a sought-after collector's item.
"We could have sold thousands and thousands of pieces, but we wanted to make a nice collectors' item for Ute fans that are just crazy," Cherry said. "We thought the best way to do that is limit the amount of items available to the public."
Some of the pieces have white on them while most are green, Cherry said. Crews that ripped up the turf were instructed to save the pieces in best condition, so there is no way of knowing the original location of the turf.
Cherry said none of the pieces have red in them, so fans can forget owning part of the 'Block U,' that was at midfield.
The turf that wasn't saved has already been destroyed, Cherry said.
The money generated from the sales will be used to help cover the costs of the new turf, estimated at being between $700,000-to- $900,000.
Fans can only hope the new turf will see as many historic wins as the old turf did.
"It's really going to be a part of university history," Cherry said. "The perfect seasons of 2004 and 2008 is what makes it so valuable. Both teams were BCS busters and Utah is the only team to do it twice, that makes it very valuable."
2:34 PM
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3 Comments:
Twice... so far
Come on girl! update your blog and write some more Utes articles! We are hungry for them!
Lya, its time to come back from your fishing trip with Jay and give us some inside info about Whitt and our Utes.
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