Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, home to the University of Louisville Cardinals
The University of Louisville is now an urban showcase of world-class athletic facilities
By Dave Morningstar
The University of Louisville is an unusual urban campus with four world-class athletic facilities — Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, Jim Patterson Stadium, the Trager Center, and the U of L women’s lacrosse field — clustered in its near-downtown location. Since joining the Big East Conference in 2005, the university has competed across the board with rivals such as The University of Notre Dame, Villanova University, Georgtown University, Seton Hall University, Syracuse University, and USF.
“We have either commissioned or upgraded all four of these facilities in the last three years as part of our commitment to be competitive in the full range of men’s and women’s collegiate sports,” notes Associate Athletic Director Pete Cautilli. “A big part of that commitment is giving our student athletes the very best training and playing facilities available anywhere today and our fans the kind of amenities normally associated with professional sports venues.”
Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium, for example, is the only university-owned and -operated football stadium in the country with chairback seating for 42,000 fans. Jim Patterson Stadium, home of Cardinal baseball, is a breathtaking National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) stadium with an artificial playing surface covering everything except the mound and home plate.
The Trager Center is an indoor football practice facility that mirrors Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and gives the Cardinals the ability to train year round, regardless of the weather. And the women’s lacrosse stadium is among the best facilities of its type in the league, if not the whole country.
A Surface in Common
One thing all these facilities have in common is a FieldTurf artificial playing surface, the result of a decision made three years ago by the U of L Athletic Department to partner with a single supplier. Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium and Jim Patterson Stadium both have traditional FieldTurf surfaces, while the Trager Center and the women’s lacrosse stadium have the new FieldTurf monofilament playing surface. (See “Striving for Perfection”)
“Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium originally had a natural grass playing surface,” Cautilli explains, “which we decided to replace for a number of reasons. We did a lot of investigation and played on the various artificial surfaces to gain some real world experience before making our decision. We found that the systems using an all-rubber infill were ‘sloppy,’ and the athletes reported that they had too much ‘give’ to provide them with secure footing. The FieldTurf sand/rubber infill was the most natural-feeling option, and that was one of the factors that led us to partner with them.”
But Cautilli admits there was some concern. “The natural grass in the stadium was a really excellent playing surface,” he says. “We played Florida State here in a torrential rain during the aftermath of a hurricane, and there were no puddles on the field. But both the coaches and the players like the artificial surface. They say it makes us fast, and we are a team that thrives on speed.”
Based on that experience, the university committed to the surface for three more installations: Jim Patterson Stadium in March 2005 and the Trager Center and women’s lacrosse stadium in November of that year.
“FieldTurf introduced their new monofilament surface while these projects were under way,” Cautilli notes. “And they approached us about using it on the Trager Center and the women’s lacrosse stadium. We are only a couple of miles from the Louisville airport, so it’s very easy for prospective customers to come here and see the different surfaces in action. In any case, it gives us a chance to compare the two surfaces under similar conditions.”
Gilman says that coaches and athletes like FieldTurf because it gives them a uniform, consistent playing surface. “But the folks responsible for the financial side of things look at return on investment and lifetime maintenance cost,” he continues. “FieldTurf mono shines in both areas, and it’s going to take the rest of the industry quite a while to catch up with the technology.”
Something for Everyone
To his colleagues who are considering making the change to an artificial playing surface, Cautilli offers this advice: “Go out and look at different facilities and see for yourself how the various brands and types of material hold up over time. We even looked at Ringgold High School, where Joe Montana played, because it was one of the first fields in the country to use an artificial surface other than AstroTurf. The first generation materials seem to be holding up well at the moment. Then decide how you want to use the field. Will you need different lines for soccer, football, field hockey, or other sports? Or can you inlay all the lines in the surface and be done with it? How about team logos and other images? Plan all these things carefully because they all impact the amount of maintenance time your installation will require.”
Cautilli also suggests checking your drainage to avoid any water issues later. “Make sure your maintenance people know how to groom and maintain the playing surface,” he says.
The University of Louisville clearly did their homework for the advancement of their facilities, and their athletes love it. “We have not had one negative comment from either the players or the coaches on any of the new surfaces we play on,” he says.
The University of Louisville’s Trager Center is one of the premier indoor facilities in its class and is equipped to handle a variety of
different sports.
