Each year, as part of their arrangement with the Superdome Management Group (SMG), UBU Sports removes the year-old turf system from the Superdome and installs a new surface for the following NFL season. UBU Sports then finds a new home for the retired field and this year they've chosen to donate the field to the city of New Orleans, under the direction of the New Orleans Recreation Development Foundation (NORD Foundation).
Mark Nicholls, CEO of UBU Sports, said, "We're delighted to be donating this field, utilized throughout the 2012-2013 Saints NFL season and featured in the Super Bowl, to be relocated to Harrell Stadium. What a great opportunity for the children of New Orleans to play on the surface they watched during the Super Bowl and that their local heroes, the Saints, played an entire season on. Kids often take-the-field, fantasizing about becoming a professional football player; now they can embrace that fantasy, realizing they are playing on the exact same surface that was used by their heroes. This is also a way for the entire New Orleans community to memorialize the significance of this year’s Super Bowl event. The promotional and economic benefit to the community will live on for years, through the use of this UBU Sports field surface".
Anne LaRock, Executive Director for the NORD foundation, helped make the decision to locate the new field at Harrell Stadium. This stadium hosts many of the city's athletic programs and this new surface will greatly increase the amount of activity the facility is able handle. Unlike grass, UBU Sports' synthetic fields can be used, regardless of weather conditions, without damaging the surface; a huge benefit for a city that experiences a lot of rain.
Construction on the base of the new field began in December and the field is due for completion, sometime in early March.
Since its inception in 2009, UBU Sports has been an innovator in the synthetic turf industry with installations ranging from peewee to pro leagues. UBU Sports is the ground gear for athletes, which incorporates science and technology within each surface they provide. The field is an extension of the athlete and UBU Sports provides a surface that helps athletes be the best they can be.
The New Orleans Recreation Development Foundation (NORD Foundation) facilitates investment in the Orleans Parish recreation system for the purpose of providing access to quality recreational opportunities for all New Orleans citizens. It was created as a result of a City of New Orleans Ordinance, developed over a two-year period by the City Council and citizens, to form a public/private partnership to improve the parish’s recreational facilities and programs. The ordinance, creating a thirteen-member New Orleans Development Recreation Commission (NORD Commission) and the private 501(c)(3) NORD Foundation to support its work, was approved by 74% of voters in October 2010.
