New Turf To Bring Sports Inside Harms-Eischeid Stadium At Upper Iowa

MERIDEN, Kan. - Upper Iowa University, in conjunction with Mammoth Sports Construction, on Thursday announced Mammoth crews will begin work at Upper Iowa’s Harms-Eischeid Stadium following commencement ceremonies to provide a new competition surface for four university teams.

The new FieldTurf Vertex CORE turf in Harms-Eischeid Stadium will have markings for football, soccer, and lacrosse. When complete, all Peacock men and women’s soccer, women’s lacrosse and football home games will be played inside the stadium.

“To bring both of our soccer programs into the stadium and show our commitment to the women’s lacrosse program with permanent markings is a huge deal. These sports will now have the ability to compete in the stadium with the video board, lights for night games, a quality sound system, and a brand-new turf surface,” said Upper Iowa Vice President for Athletics Rick Hartzell. “The new turf will bring everything together and raise the student-athlete experience for these programs.”

The project includes laying two inches of rock over the field to bring the surface level with the concrete driveway that encircles the field. Turf will be laid over the rock and three sides of the former driveway to make the playing surface wide enough for NCAA soccer. 

The turf being installed–FieldTurf Vertex CORE turf–is a combination of performance and beauty, with Classic HD slit-film fiber teamed up with CORE monofilament super fiber. The turf and infill will make the field surfaces safe and level. 

“We celebrate the power of sports to build character and bring communities together,” said Mammoth CEO Jake Farrant. “We love seeing Upper Iowa’s investment in their student athletes and the fan experience. These improvements are a literal game-changer for Peacock athletics.”

Project costs amount to $700,000, funded entirely by the generosity of Steve Harms and his late wife Diane Harms. The pair were inducted into the UIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019. 

In addition to football, soccer, and lacrosse, UIU’s strength and conditioning and the majority of UIU’s athletic programs will use the new turf for training and practice purposes.

The FieldTurf Vertex CORE turf surface system being installed is also in use at Bank of America Stadium, home of the Carolina Panthers, Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots, and Mercedes Benz Stadium, home of the Atlanta Falcons. The University of Alabama and University of Oregon also use Vertex CORE. 

Mammoth Sports builds fields and facilities for teams in the NFL, Big 10, SEC, Big 12, MIAA, NSIC, NAIA, GLVC, KCAC, Heart of America, and Gulf South conferences, along with thousands of high schools. Since its founding in 2008, it has expanded and acquired services including golf course construction, concrete products and supply, general construction, and architecture and engineering design. In 2021 it acquired a full-service marketing and creative services firm.

Mammoth is based in Meriden, Kansas, and has offices in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Lenexa, Kansas. Learn more at mammothbuilt.com.