Bruce Springsteen famously sang ‘Can’t start a fire without a spark,’ but in the case of the Carrier Dome, that spark may just come from the floor.

‘There’s a lot of static electricity from sliding the Bravomats off slates,’ said Brent Irving, a senior who works at the Carrier Dome. ‘If they were to put gasoline on the floor, it could ignite.’

When Syracuse unveiled its new playing surface for football games this past summer, the FieldTurf was praised as a strong alternative to SU’s old AstroTurf.

Before FieldTurf, the AstroTurf was rolled up and the basketball court was put on top of the Dome’s floor. This year, Bravomats, approximately 4-by-4-foot composite mats, are put on top of the FieldTurf. More than 7,000 mats – each with four interlocking plugs – cover the football field.

Since its installation, FieldTurf has led to many sleepless nights for many Carrier Dome employees.

Since the new surface was installed, the transition process of putting down the basketball court over the football field has changed, requiring more labor and time, said Pat Campbell, the Dome’s senior assistant athletic managing director.

The plugs to the Bravomats are locked in by a ‘T’-shaped tool that’s hip-high and turned 180 degrees to lock them in.

‘For putting down each Bravomat, if you put them in a line it takes no more than 30 seconds per Bravomat to lock it down.’ Irving said.

Normally, between 50 and 55 people work to lay down the mats. Campbell, who has worked at the Carrier Dome for 28 years, says the process takes about 10 hours.

After the Syracuse-Cornell men’s basketball game on Nov. 9, Campbell said his crew of 70 worked nonstop from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. to prepare the Carrier Dome for the football game against South Florida on Nov. 12.

‘Seventy people (working) is the limit,’ Campbell said. ‘Anything more than that and it’s too crowded and difficult to supervise.’

On Feb. 26, before FieldTurf, the Orange basketball team played an afternoon game against Providence. Hours later, men’s lacrosse enjoyed a home-opening win against Army. Due to the increased labor required to put down the Bravomats, Campbell said last year’s feat would be impossible now.

Forklifts are used to move the East-end bleachers, which are on car tires, closer to the basketball court. Only five forklifts are stored inside the Carrier Dome due to storage restraints, and the Bravomats are kept in a storage area near Sadler Hall.

‘(The Bravomats) are used to protect the field from the fans spilling drinks or mustard or something on the field and staining the surface,’ Campbell said.

Besides the football, basketball and lacrosse teams that use the Carrier Dome for games, softball and club sports use it as a practice facility. Campbell said he doesn’t know yet how the increased labor in covering the FieldTurf will affect these sports’ practice times.

Abby Bridgeo, a junior on SU women’s club lacrosse team, said as far as she knows, there will be no changes to the team’s practice schedule once practices start second semester.

Campbell said his crew is playing it by ear and there is a possibility that there will be a smaller practice field available for teams’ practices.

‘They may get 15 yards less or so,’ Campbell said. ‘We just don’t know yet.’

Published on December 6, 2005 at 12:00 pm