WATCH: Kirby Smart discusses new track facility, importance of grass practice field

GREENSBORO — The University of Georgia announced plans to build a new track & field facility at its annual spring athletics board meeting, and no one could be more excited than Kirby Smart.

Smart, the Bulldogs’ two-time CFP championship coach, made a surprise appearance at the board meetings on Friday to express his support for the new track and facilities project and explain how adding a new grass practice field will help his team’s operations.

“What does it mean to football? For us, we’re one of only two programs in the SEC that do not have natural grass football fields side by side,” Smart said. “We have an indoor facility that’s state of the art, but it is turf field and it is beside our grass field.

“The 2023 NFL PA study came out with a study on natural grass versus artificial grass, and injuries are higher on artificial turf than natural grass. So one of the big advantages of this is we’ll have the ability to have two practice fields side by side.”

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