KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Western Michigan University Athletics is replacing the playing surface at both Waldo Stadium and the Seelye Athletic Center beginning today.

WMU football will continue to play on a FieldTurf surface on game day and practice on a state-of-the-art surface within it is indoor facility, also furnished by FieldTurf.

"We are extremely excited and grateful for the generous donations that have made it possible for us to announce the successful efforts to replace the surfaces in both Waldo Stadium and the Seelye Athletic Center," said WMU athletic director Kathy Beauregard. "Our student-athletes will benefit from our selection of FieldTurf and we look forward to continuing our working relationship with them through this project."

Waldo Stadium will have the innovative FieldTurf Revolution CoolPlay system installed. Combined with FieldTurf's patented infill of cryogenic rubber and silica sand, this system features FieldTurf's exclusive cork top dressing which allows the CoolPlay system to deliver the same behavior and overall stability as FieldTurf's elite system fields found in the world's most famous stadiums. CoolPlay was designed to reduce the heat without any reduction in performance.

FieldTurf's safety, performance and durability levels have proven to be ideal for the sport of football with over 100 Division I schools playing and/or practicing on FieldTurf.

"I personally went across the country looking for the safest and most elite playing surface for the Western Michigan football program. Every time we came back to FieldTurf," said WMU head football coach P.J. Fleck.

"FieldTurf is the highest performing turf system on the market today, and that is why we will continue have their product in Waldo Stadium. My priority is the safety of the young men on this team, and I am confident FieldTurf is the right choice for the Broncos moving forward."

The field within the Seelye Athletic Center will have the FieldTurf Revolution system installed, which has been carefully designed to be a state-of-the-art system that has been selected by many of the top NCAA football teams for its grass-like performance and safety.

"The brown and gold color combination that will be put into the Seelye Athletic Center is definitely unique and is the best color combination in the country," added Coach Fleck.

Construction begins inside Seelye on May 28 with a scheduled completion date of June 24. Waldo Stadium upgrades begin on June 11 with a scheduled completion date of July 18.

Along with replacement of turf in both locations, WMU will also be upgrading the team entrance tunnel, replacing goal posts and updating the stadium walls around the perimeter of the playing surface. Western Michigan is installing padding inside Seelye as well.

WMU football is scheduled to report for fall camp on Aug. 3, holding its first practice on Aug. 4. The Broncos open the 2013 season on Aug. 30 against Michigan State on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m.

FieldTurf is the inventor and world leader in infilled artificial turf with over 4,500 installations in North America. In the NFL, 22 of 32 teams have selected FieldTurf for their game and / or practice facilities while hundreds of NCAA D-1 programs play and/or practice on FieldTurf, including such powerhouse programs as Illinois, Louisville, Michigan, Missouri, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Washington State to name a few.

FieldTurf is part of Tarkett Sports, a Division of the Tarkett Group. Tarkett Sports is the largest entity in the sports and landscape surfacing industries. Included within the Tarkett Sports portfolio is an impressive range of performance sports flooring products. This product range includes: synthetic and hardwood basketball; volleyball and gymnasium flooring; squash and racquetball courts; floor protection and covering systems; weight room flooring; and high performance indoor and outdoor running tracks, featuring Beynon and Atlas track surfaces.