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Florida State

Doak Campbell Stadium field to be replaced before FSU opener with Alabama

On3 imageby: Ira Schoffel08/17/25iraschoffel
On3 image
Florida State's Doak Campbell Stadium (Logan Stanford/Special to Warchant)

Doak Campbell Stadium is going to have a brand-new field to go along with the massive stadium renovations that will be unveiled to the public — and a national television audience — on Saturday, Aug. 30.

Less than two weeks before the Florida State football team will open its 2025 season against Alabama, the university is planning to install an entirely new playing surface, a university spokesman confirmed with Warchant.com on Sunday.

The work is scheduled to begin Monday morning, with the existing surface being removed and replaced with a “lay and play” field, which will be ready for competition later this week.

While traditional fields need time to take root inside of a stadium, “lay and play” fields are thicker, and they are grown and harvested specifically to be played on immediately, the spokesman said. He said several professional stadiums have moved to this approach, and it’s the same way fields are installed for the Super Bowl and events such as the World Cup.

Florida State has seven home games scheduled for this fall, and the spokesman said the new field will hold up for the entire season. The university plans to take this approach moving forward, meaning a new field will be installed next year as well.

Florida State officials have been considering going this route for some time, and the spokesman said player-safety was one of the primary factors in the decision. He added that the field change was unrelated to the stadium renovation project, which has been under way for over 18 months.

A source told Warchant that the new field is expected to cost at least $300,000-$350,000, but the university has not confirmed that number.

Florida State has been going through preseason practice since July 30 for its season opener against Alabama. The game is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on ABC.

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