Luther College going blue ... with its football field

DECORAH — Luther College announced Wednesday it is replacing the natural grass on its football field at Carlson Stadium with turf. Blue turf.

Legacy Field, as it will be named, will be the only blue turf field in NCAA Division III. Boise State has a registered trademark on blue turf but has given Luther permission to install its.

A lead gift of $800,000 from Dennis and Suzanne Birkestrand of Las Vegas has accelerated the $1.7-million project, Luther said. It is being paid for entirely by donors.

'Thanks to the generosity of the Birkestrands and other leadership donors, Luther is moving forward with the turf project in summer 2017,' said Luther College President Paula Carlson, in a release. 'The new field will provide a first-class athletic experience for our students and build momentum for the larger vision within Luther's athletics facility master plan.'

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