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With the Super Bowl fast approaching, a grounds crew in New Orleans is busy painting the turf, but the special paint had a few obstacles to overcome on its way to the big game.
In a large warehouse, 110 workers have been making the special order paint in team colors for the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens, but shipping it during freezing temperatures required some thought.
Since the paint is waterborne, no delivery company would guarantee that it wouldn't feeze on its way to New Orleans.
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Pioneer Athletics |
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Pioneer Athletics was asked to make the coatings for Super Bowl XLVII. Getting the paint to New Orleans in freezing temperatures took a little extra effort.
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Delivering the Paint
Cleveland, OH-based Poineer Athletics was asked to make the paint for the New Orleans Superdome for Super Bowl XLVII. It's the first time the company has made paint for the Super Bowl, so when frigid temperatures rolled in, they weren't about to let it delay the game.
"So we rented a heated truck and two guys volunteered to drive it down to Tennessee where it was warmer and the paint would not freeze, and it was one-day shipping to New Orleans," said Chris Bell with Poineer Athletics.
Pioneer Athletics president Doug Schattinger said that the paint often gets washed into sewers and enters the drinking water supply, so it has to be cleaner than standard wall paint.
"It's got to look good on the grass, be good for the grass, be good for the ground and look great on TV," Schattinger said.
The grounds crew uses airless sprayers to paint logos and gridiron lines and machines that use combs, magnets, and ultraviolet rays to clean the turf.
"You're looking at a surface that's reused by everybody and [with] everything from sweat to blood to bacteria to staph infections," Ed Mangan, NFL field director, told AmericanProfile.
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Mercedes-Benz Superdome |
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Pioneer Athletics makes custom paint for the Cleveland Browns and other professional, college and high school teams, but this was the first year they made paint for the Super Bowl.
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Positive Thinking
Although the Cleveland Browns haven't made a playoff appearance in the last decade and have never played in a Super Bowl before, Bell remains optimistic that he will get to paint his team's colors on the Super Bowl field someday soon.
"We're probably putting orange and brown down next year I'm guessing," said Bell.
The company makes custom paint for the Cleveland Browns, Cleveland Indians, and numerous college and high school stadiums.
Pioneer Athletics has been making paint since 1905, but once they started making paint that can be removed from synthetic turf and doesn't stain uniforms, demand skyrocketed. The paint is also safe for grass and ground water.
(And just for fun: You know that saying, "It's as boring as watching paint dry"?)
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