question on these HORSE ARENAS

[ragefan]

How does one get a horse arena ready to play indoor football on?? Serious question here. Do you just put the turf down on top of the dirt? This is baffling to me how they will get these ready.. Where do the teams go for a locker room? The stables? Is the Pre-Game meal oats and hay? What is going on here...How can this league be taken seriously if they play in these venues?

[preeths]

In all seriousness, your first question is a very good one. Most of these horse arenas have dirt/clay floors. I would think that in order to lay turf on top of it, and I hope they're laying turf on top, they would first have to smooth out the surface as much as possible. But without something to separate the turf from the dirt, the turf is going to get very dirty from rolling and unrolling. In fact, some of these buildings have open ends or sides, so a dry,windy day will blow a lot of dirt in anyway. Will hard tackles displace the dirt underneath the turf during the game, leaving a soft, uneven spot on the field? Will dasherboards be used? There are some definite player safety issues to consider.

[Malepig]

Well the dirt will be softer than the concrete when you land.

[50 Yard Fan]

I am thinking in most cases they will lay down plywood or something like that over the dirt once it has been leveled. Then lay down the turf on top of that.
Not sure how the sideline boards would be set up though.

You can see in pictures the Atlanta arena has open sides but appears to have covers to enclose the area.

Still I don't see how this is going to work.

[Lets Play Football]

Guy's, with all due respect, your giving the NIFL far to much credit. I would bet a weeks wages they are not thinking along these lines at all... my bet....

No turf (play on packed dirt)
No walls, chaulk out the field
No Locker Rooms
No Insurance
No Pay
Shoddy Equiptment at Best

Any team the league is backing will have to fend for themselves... (like players providing thier own equiptment)

This is based on hard data and past expereince watching this league.\

If I am wrong, well there is always a first time.

[AllAces]

Let's Play is right. You cannot assume even the most basic thing. You can't assume the NIFL will play indoor football indoors. You can't assume a league owned team will provide shoulder pads or equipment - or even dasher pads and stadium seats. Those assumptions are too generous.

And Pig - while you are correct that the dirt will be softer; the reason is because the dirt will give, leaving a divot. Then the next guy to run or cut in that spot will roll his ankle. I hope he isn't an O-lineman with hundreds of pounds of pressure on it when it goes...

But don't worry; we can assume the league will maintain good insurance - Doh!!!

[suge night]

As someone who has seen how this is done when a hockey team had to play some dates in an arena like this,they take the dirt up there is concrete under it if it is an indoor arena.Now I don't about how they will do an outside arena hope this gives you some insight on how it is done, but it also was costly on the hockey team as they had to pay extra to get this done even though it should have been included in the price of the rental.

[ragefan]

Thanks for the anwsers... As someone who is looking out for the players , if i were an owner i would not want my players playing on a surface that seems to be unpredictable at best. I know most all turfs are cut to fit whatever arena they are in but with dirt under foot you would think that would cause some major dust to fly up not to mention the wear on the bottom of turf. It just seems like the owners who put their players in these places are not looking out for their guys safety. I am glad the Rage is in the UIF now.. Not to say they are perfect but at least the playing fields will be safe.

[Malepig]

And Pig - while you are correct that the dirt will be softer; the reason is because the dirt will give, leaving a divot. Then the next guy to run or cut in that spot will roll his ankle. I hope he isn't an O-lineman with hundreds of pounds of pressure on it when it goes...



I was making a joke...

[Minor League Man]

Somebody on the NIFL boards asked about this:
"Well after looking quite a few times at the new NIFL schedule a thought just came to my head. I have been hearing alot of people talk about the flaws and about how some teams take huge breaks in between games or play a bunch of games at home and then a bunch away. So NIFL here is what I think:

Teams like San Diego, Fayettville, Columbia, Greensboro, Beaumont,and Casper probably have their own turf and are not include in this discussion.

My opinion is the NIFL is using the same turf for a couple of their teams that are located in the same geographic region. So you would have a turf or possibly two in Califonia for the teams(besides S.D.), Northern Florida-including Atlanta, Southern Florida, and Texas having a turf or two to share. Think about it if the the endzones are one color and the middle logo is just the NIFL logo, then to the common fan nobody would notic.

Now personally I find this to be a great idea, and if I am wrong then I am sorry to bother people with my theories, but if I am right then I wish them luck and I do think it is a good idea."

And here's the response he got:

"Dogs-Glads-Xtreme,

I think your theories are wacked just like you are. It's obvious you were beat up mentally as a youngster emotionally and who knows maybe physically a lot by females. I have been reading this message board since its inception and it's obvious that you and Mr. minor leaague man must be employed by these garbage message boards to meddle in other people business. Please grow up! The NIFL Rocks and I'm just glad the league is making an effort to grow and provide the fans with exciting indoor football."

No, Mr. Newman (it does sound like the ABA CEO), I would gladly do it for free.

[robertboyd]

How does one get a horse arena ready to play indoor football on?? Serious question here. Do you just put the turf down on top of the dirt? This is baffling to me how they will get these ready.. Where do the teams go for a locker room? The stables? Is the Pre-Game meal oats and hay? What is going on here...How can this league be taken seriously if they play in these venues?
I would presume they would get dressed in the same location the horse riders would get dressed in. I would assume that they have to have a dressing room as I doubt the riders would sit in a car and wrinkle their outfit before just before a horse event.

[robertboyd]

My opinion is the NIFL is using the same turf for a couple of their teams that are located in the same geographic region. So you would have a turf or possibly two in Califonia for the teams(besides S.D.), Northern Florida-including Atlanta, Southern Florida, and Texas having a turf or two to share. Think about it if the the endzones are one color and the middle logo is just the NIFL logo, then to the common fan nobody would notic.

Even in the same geographic region, sharing the turf can be expensive. It costs about $2,000 to move the turf across the state because it requires special forklifts and numerous flatbed 18 wheelers.