The St. Louis Battlehawks hope new turf and lights at the Dome at America’s Center will be as vibrant as the team’s play on the field.
Players and coaches from the United Football League team got to check out the improvements Wednesday. The more than $1 million in upgrades includes new AstroTurf replacing the surface left from the Rams days, LED lights and a better sound system.
“It’s all an improvement, for sure,” said head coach Anthony Becht. “It's going to be great for our fans visually. It looks like it's a lot brighter. So all that stuff's really cool.”
Tight end Jake Sutherland said the Dome has been a good place to play, but the new lights will make it a better place to catch passes.
“We should be able to track the ball a lot easier,” he said. “Being able to have the control on the lighting and making it brighter or dimming it, if needed, is definitely a nice tool to have.”
Sutherland called the new turf “much softer,” and he said it should cut down on injuries.
“As we know, as things get older, things start to get damaged. You have areas of the turf that may be looser or that have not as much turf underneath,” Sunderland said. “The consistency that the new turf brings will help us avoid problems.”
The Battlehawks led the UFL in attendance last year by a wide margin, with more than 34,000 fans per game. The D.C. Defenders had the second-highest attendance, averaging 14,000 fans.
“We are the crown jewel of the league, and it's because of the fans,” Becht said. “But to have better playing conditions and a better fan experience — that just adds to it.”
The Battlehawks will play on the new turf and under the new lights next spring. But the first contest in the upgraded dome will be this weekend, when more than 70 marching bands from around the Midwest will compete at the Bands of America Super Regional Championship.
