University of Connecticut Athletics
Rentschler Field: Where the Green Grass Grows
10/18/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
October 18, 2002
EAST HARTFORD, CONN. - Head coach Randy Edsall lent a hand on Friday morning as crews began laying the sod at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, the future home of the Connecticut football team.
"This is something at a lot of people have looked forward to for a long time," Edsall said shortly before climbing aboard a Warner Sod Layer. "This is another milestone. It's amazing that every time I come down here you can really see some progress. It's almost time to play football here and it makes your heart pump a little bit more today. It raises the excitement level with me."
The sod was grown and harvested from Tuckerton Farms in Tabernacle, N.J.
Meanwhile, progress continues on the new stadium under the direction of Mike Mehigen. The press box tower will be fully enclosed within the next four to six weeks with work then shifting to the structure's internal construction. The majority of the seating benches have been laid within the stadium's lower bowl. Work is underway in the operations level of the facility on the locker rooms, function rooms, management offices and other such areas. Overall, the $91 million project is about 80% completed.
It was also announced that the Madison Square Garden Corporation, manager of the facility, has named Jack Freeman to be Rentschler Field's Director of Stadium Operations. Freeman previously served as Assistant A.D. for facilities at Northwestern University on the outskirts of Chicago and helped oversee the massive renovations that turned the Wldcats' Dyche Stadium into Ryan Field in 1994.
