The University of Washington is laying new carpets at the Husky Stadium. And, without admirers of Boise or Eastern Washington, it won't be purple.

This week, workers began to dismantle the old AstroTurf installed during the large-scale stadium renovation in 2013, take them out one by one, and then reinstall the latest version. 

The Huskies’ spring football training ended on May 1, marking the end of the old artificial surface. 

AstroTurf and Seattle football can be traced back more than half a century ago, when UW and Seattle high school leagues both decided to take a synthetic route in their respective fields as test cases. 

Bad weather, the Huskies' practice range sometimes cannot be played, and the grass of the Huskies Stadium is difficult to maintain, leading UW to decide to invest in a new venue. 

On September 21, 1968, the University of Washington faced Rice in the season opener, becoming one of the first college football teams to use AstroTurf. The game ended with a score of 35-35. With 5 seconds left in the game, Ron Walbrecht shot a 51-yard shot from a resilient ground.

Eight days ago, the first high school game in the country on AstroTurf was held at the Seattle Memorial Stadium in downtown Seattle, between Seattle Preparatory University and the current Kennedy Catholic Church. On the wet ground, Prep won 39-0 as future Husky running back Mark Wheeler rushed for 205 yards and had two touchdowns.

In these two historic games, the only thing in common is the obvious mistakes caused by the feeling of playing on a sponge field. The Huskies committed five of them and conceded the ball four times. The two high school teams made up to 15 mistakes in total. 

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