Special turfgrass recipe to be served up at the Super Bowl set for Houston's Reliant Stadium on February 1

While four NFL teams prepare to battle it out for the right to play in Super Bowl XXXVIII, the Super Bowl field is being installed at Houston's Reliant Stadium. Preparing for its second consecutive Super Bowl, Pennington Seed today announced that 100,000 square feet of its Princess 77 bermudagrass sod will provide the critical field foundation, which has been tended and overseeded for three months in the Arizona desert with a special mixture of Pennington's perennial rye and Kentucky bluegrass seed. Once fully developed in Houston, the turf is designed to stand up to the grinding twists, turns, and tackles during one of sport's biggest championships.

Pennington and West Coast Turf received rave reviews for the field they helped to develop for last season's Super Bowl in San Diego, and, as a result, both have been tapped to deliver a tough, beautiful field for at least the next four Super Bowl contests. The turf for Super Bowl XXXVIII has been grown under the careful watch of Pennington and West Coast Turf experts at West Coast Turf facilities south of Phoenix.

"Just like the long pass from a quarterback to receiver, it's all about timing when you're developing a Super Bowl caliber turf", said George Toma, who has served as turf consultant for every Super Bowl played. "While we don't yet know what teams will make the Super Bowl, we do know we're going to have a Super Bowl XXXVIII field in Houston that is reliable and durable enough to handle everything during weeks of stadium preparations and during four quarters of the toughest championship on earth."

The Super Bowl Turf Mix
The turf foundation for the Super Bowl XXXVIII field is Pennington's Princess 77 sod, which is being overseeded with Pennington's Applaud, Jet, and Penn 1G2 perennial ryegrasses, together with Pennington's Blue Ridge and Mallard Kentucky bluegrasses. 100,000 square feet of the Super Bowl turf was sown in the Arizona desert for several months, then cut, rolled, and loaded aboard refrigerated trucks bound for Houston's Reliant Stadium, where it's being installed this week. The Super Bowl practice fields in Houston have also been overseeded with Pennington's special Super Bowl blend of perennial ryes and Kentucky bluegrasses.

"The turfgrass preparations that have been done by Pennington and West Coast Turf in the Arizona desert over the last several months will make all the difference in the world when game day arrives on February 1," said Ed Mangan, Super Bowl XXXVIII field director. "The turf density and soil profile that's developed at the sod farm in Arizona is what will provide the responsiveness that's absolutely essential for athletes in big time sports. Pennington's seed varieties deliver the critical characteristics we must have in Super Bowl XXXVIII."

Commenting on the upcoming Super Bowl championship, Sonny Pennington, president and chief executive officer of Pennington Seed said, "Pennington is extremely proud to be selected for a second consecutive season to provide the all important field for the Super Bowl. Our powerful line-up of sports turf products are being used around the world in a fast growing number of professional and championship caliber venues. We're confident Pennington turf will stand up to anything on Super Bowl Sunday."

"Turf preparations for the Super Bowl XXXVIII field began back in September at West Coast Turf facilities about an hour south of Phoenix, said Danielle Marman, marketing director, West Coast Turf. "It takes time and dedication to deliver Super Bowl caliber turf, which we will ship out in refrigerated trucks to Houston's Reliant Stadium by mid January."

Founded in 1945 by Brooks Pennington Sr., Pennington Seed is today owned by Central Garden & Pet Company. A leading manufacturer and distributor of lawn, garden, turf care, forage grasses, wild game and birdseed products, Madison, Georgia-based Pennington is also the largest packager of grass seed in the world. Central Garden & Pet recently reported annual revenues of more than $1.1 billion.