Advertisement

Notre Dame is selling portions of its grass playing surface from Notre Dame Stadium for $149.95

Notre Dame is selling portions of its grass playing surface from Notre Dame Stadium for $149.95

Due to the decreasing quality of its natural grass playing surface, Notre Dame announced in April that FieldTurf would be installed at Notre Dame Stadium before the 2014 season begins.

For Fighting Irish fans who want to own a piece of the historical playing surface, the school is selling off five foot by two foot pieces of grass turf from the 2013 season for $149.95.

You can make the purchase through the online store on the school’s athletics website and according to the website, the grass will be removed from the stadium on Tuesday, May 20 and shipped the following day. Each piece of grass will be “packed with a certificate of authenticity,” so fans know they are receiving the real thing.

The website explains that the grass is being sold because “fans have expressed feelings about the sentimental value the grass in Notre Dame Stadium holds for them.”

The grass sold will be taken from “areas of the field with the least amount of wear,” so you won’t be receiving $150 worth of dirt.

After the Blue-Gold spring game on April 12, Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said that the school hoped to stay with a natural grass field, but it simply has not been possible to “produce an acceptable playing surface” in recent years.

“The reality is that in two of the last three seasons since we moved Commencement to the Stadium, we have been unable to produce an acceptable playing surface,” Swarbrick said. “That, combined with the likely impacts of future construction at the Stadium, led me to conclude that we would continue to struggle to maintain a grass field that meets the expectations of our student-athletes and fans as it relates to appearance, performance and safety.

"Synthetic turf will assist our game preparation because our team will be able to play and practice on the same surface. We will also be able to utilize the Notre Dame Stadium field for practices on home football Fridays and other occasions, whereas that is currently unrealistic.”

The school announced a $400 million renovation project for the stadium in January that includes the addition of premium seating and three new academic structures attached to the 83-year-old stadium.

Construction is supposed to begin within the next two years.

The Fighting Irish will make its home debut on FieldTurf on August 30 against Rice.

(H/T CSN Chicago)

- - - - - - -

Sam Cooper

is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!