North Carolina State University Athletics
Grounds Crew Keeping Carter-Finley Off limits
9/10/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
The normally pristine field at Carter-Finley Stadium won't be a swamp for NC State's game against William & Mary on Saturday, but it won't be in tip-top condition either. The 0.7 inches of rain that fell on Thursday night only added to Carter-Finley Grounds Supervisor Ray Brincefield's misery. "We've had a total of 9.9 inches of rain in the last seven days," he said.
Believe it or not, Brincefield says those figures fall short of the record. The field soaked up a total of 11.4 inches of rain during Hurricane Fran.
Because of the ongoing work that's being done on the field, Both William & Mary and NC State were asked to cancel their scheduled workouts at the Stadium on Friday. The Pack normally has a late afternoon walk through the day before home games.
"From an aesthetic standpoint, the field will look pretty good on Saturday," said Brincefield. "Most people coming into the stadium will be surprised with how good it looks. But from a playability standpoint, the playing surface won't be up to NC State standards."
Brincefield says all of the rain has loosened the soil-especially on the south end of the stadium. He also adds that the sidelines will be quite swampy.
Tropical Storm Dennis was an unwelcomed guest at Carter-Finley last weekend, and his visit couldn't have come at a worse time. NC State's game with South Carolina on Saturday night was followed by the annual Eagle-Aggie classic the next day. Both games were played in downpours.
