SE Louisiana to get former Superdome turf

Jan 9, 2012 - 8:41 PM Hammond, LA (Sports Network) - Southeastern Louisiana will upgrade the turf at Strawberry Stadium in a $525,000 project, the Southland Conference university announced Monday.

The stadium's first turf upgrade since the return of football to Southeastern Louisiana in 2003 is expected to be completed by March.

The project includes removal of the existing turf and track and installation of the new turf, which was used by the New Orleans Saints and Tulane University for one year in 2010 in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

"Obtaining this like-new turf from the Superdome is a great opportunity to get professional grade turf of the highest quality at a greatly reduced price," Southeastern athletics director Bart Bellairs said. "It provides another layer of safety for our student-athletes and others who use the field."

The Lion Athletics Association, a non-profit organization that assists the university's athletics department, is financing the project.