Tallahassee, Florida (WTXL) — Rickards High School will have a new lawn this school year. They are the latest public high school in Leon County to switch from natural grass to lawn. The county believes that this will save money, and they have not let go of the opportunity to make their own lawn.
"It's different," head coach Quentin Lewis said. "Everyone will get a lawn and let us get something special."
Something blue. The raiders are making a bold statement.
"I remember someone came over and showed me a blue illustration of Boise State University," said sports director Claudette Farmer (Claudette Farmer), who admitted that she didn't really like blue at first.
"We think blue will be perfect," Lewis added. "I am with a few of my alumni, this is a consensus. Let's try to become blue."
This is a process that takes time. Rickards must obtain permission from Boise State University to use blue because the university has a federal trademark registration for "blue for artificial turf." It's worth the wait.
"We watch it every morning to exercise," Lewis said. "We pay attention to what is happening. These people are really excited, they are very excited. We have Trinity Christian, the important game of the first night."
Farmer said: "It's a kind of pride, it's great, it's popular." "There are some shots on the Internet, and the people at Rickards are going crazy."
The new arrival comes at the right time.
"The student group is really excited," Lewis said. "They will be happy to be 100% back to campus next year. I envision packaging games and selling old events for the next few years."
Lewis said that they currently have three home games to be played in Ricaz this fall. Seats are limited. He said the plan is to let people sit around the venue, but he hopes to add more stands as soon as possible.
By using BrockFILL instead of traditional rubber crumbs, the Raiders field will also remain cool. BrockFILL is a kind of engineered wood pellets. The company said it can keep the surface temperature of the field below 50 degrees.