Arkansas selects PowerBlade HP for Razorback Stadium

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas Athletic Department has selected Sportexe as its turf manufacturer for the synthetic playing surface in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The company will install PowerBlade 2.5 as part of the project, which is scheduled to be completed prior to August 1.

“We are enormously honored that The University of Arkansas has chosen Sportexe as the synthetic turf for Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium,” said Sportexe CEO Steve Noe. “The entire Sportexe family is focused on producing and installing an outstanding playing surface for the university.”

The University of Arkansas will be the first Southeastern Conference featuring game field for Sportexe. M&T Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens, has a six-year-old Sportexe field and the Superdome in New Orleans has a Sportexe field installed each summer. In January of 2009, the National Football League Players Association released its bi-annual rankings of NFL stadium fields and both venues were ranked in the top half of the league. Currently, three NFL teams use Sportexe fields in their practice facilities, including the San Francisco 49ers, the New York Jets (indoor and outdoor) and the Buffalo Bills.

Established in 1989, Sportexe is the oldest synthetic turf company in the United States. Sportexe manufactures its own synthetic turf products, and they are installed by trained and certified Sportexe installation teams. Sportexe has installed approximately 400 full-sized athletic fields in North America.

PowerBlade HP 2.5 is a sand and rubber in-filled system, designed to maximize player speed and performance. Made with Sportexe's advanced MonoTech fiber, PowerBlade HP combines the softness and lush appearance of natural grass with the engineered performance of modern synthetic turf.

Private gifts to the Razorback Foundation specifically for the field will fund the entire estimated $1.1 million project.

An Open Letter to all Sportexe Clients, Partners and Suppliers,

This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of our company. Sportexe was started by three individuals with a vision to provide exceptional service to clients. The initial focus of the company was the installation of synthetic turf for sports fields. Today we still install sports fields, but we have also moved far beyond that.

From these humble beginnings, Sportexe has grown to be one of the premier synthetic turf companies in North America. We have been fortunate enough to provide fields to such high profile clients as the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, University of Pittsburgh, LSU, University of California – Berkeley and others. Most recently, we have been selected by the New Orleans Superdome to replace the stadium field and by the University of Arkansas to install their new game field. We feel honored to have been chosen by these prestigious organizations.

As exciting as these projects have been we are just as excited and proud to be a part of the hundreds of projects we participate in for parks and schools. Sportexe has installed over four hundred fields around the country and each of these is just as important to us as the projects that garner all of the publicity.

Our select business continues to provide innovative solutions to indoor sports facility operators and golf enthusiasts who see the functionality that synthetic turf playing surfaces can provide. We are proud to have been associated with all of our clients in this sector.

There have been other changes as well over the years. Initially, the company was owned by just the three founders, but as the company pursued growth initiatives we sought out a partnership with the Modell family to provide additional growth capital. During the years of Modell ownership, the company achieved its goals of exponential growth and secured a leading position in the national market for synthetic turf systems. Drawn by our growth prospects and leading market position, we later secured an investment from Insight Equity in 2007 to provide a long-term stable base of capital to support our funding needs for the future. Insight is a prestigious private equity firm with approximately $1 billion in assets under management, providing Sportexe with nearly unmatched financial and professional resources in the synthetic turf industry. We have been excited to part of their portfolio family as this has provided us the financial support necessary to pursue long term investments like our aviation business.

In addition to the financial support we enjoy from the Modell family and Insight Equity, we are also privileged to have the support of one of the largest and most well-capitalized banks in the US, Wells Fargo, for our working capital and fixed asset financing needs.

One of the other changes that has occurred since our founding is the investments we made to be able to design and produce our own turf. Since 2004 we have been designing our own turf systems. This work has occurred in our dedicated R&D facilities in Calhoun Georgia. In 2008, we took the next step to begin to produce our own turf products in partnership with ACT Global. This was an exciting step for the company as it allowed us to partner even more closely with our turf material suppliers.

As we look to the next twenty years, we expect that some things will remain the same and that some things will change. Our industry continues to face challenges that will require all of us to evolve. One of these key challenges is the environmental impact of our products. We are very excited about our new product that we introduced this year, EGS™ (EnviroGreen), which addresses many of the concerns that environmentalist have voiced about synthetic turf. We plan to continue to remain at the forefront of addressing industry needs by constantly evolving the products that we provide to the market.

One thing we expect to remain the same is our focus on delivering our clients, whether they are an architect, general contractor or owner, an exceptional Sportexe experience. To that end, we will be announcing next week the launch of our new information technology system, but more about that later. We have built our business by focusing on delivering not just the best products, but the best overall experience to our clients both before the sale, during the installation and throughout the ownership experience. We pledge to continue to stay true to that original premise.

Thank you to all of our clients, partners and suppliers for helping us grow throughout the last twenty years and we look forward to working with you for the next twenty.

Sincerely,

Steve

Stephen P. Noe
President and CEO
Sportexe Construction Services, Inc.