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Bills report: Notes, quotes, anecdotes Feb. 23, 2004
Inside slant | Strategy and personnel --SRI Sports, Inc., of Leander, Texas, the company that installed the new AstroPlay synthetic field at Ralph Wilson Stadium last summer, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Georgia, putting into question how the Bills will maintain and repair their game field in the future.
"We had no warning," GM Tom Donahoe said.
It appears the Bills weren't provided any third-party warranty by SRI. AstroPlay, comprised of synthetic blades of grass and crushed tires, has a lifespan of about eight years in extreme weather conditions like Buffalo's and the surface needs a once-a-year grooming by a ride-on broom machine. The Bills selected AstroPlay over several similar systems, including industry leader FieldTurf. "We felt this was the best surface for us and we're not second guessing our decision," Donahoe said. "It might just cause some problems maintenance wise, but we'll solve those. Our (maintenance) people can handle probably most of the jobs, but if something major were to happen, we'd probably have to go outside."
The Bills said players enjoyed playing on AstroPlay but the player's union may have taken some complaints.
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