Oregon high school unveils nation's first black football field

(CBS News) In the beginning there were certain inalienable truths about football. The ball was brown, the laces were white and the grass was green.

Except the grass is not always green (or real) anymore. Boise State is known for dominating its opponents on its home blue turf and the Eastern Washington Eagles play on a bright red field. Now a high school in Oregon has unveiled the most novel of all novelty color turfs: Welcome to the "Black Hole" - the nickname of West Salem High School's new black football field.

The Salem Statesman Journal reports that the school unveiled the field Friday night when West Salem hosted South Medford to kick off the 2012 season. The field is believed to be the only all-black outdoor football playing surface in the nation (although at least one Indoor Football league team plays on a 50-yard black field).

An executive for FieldTurf says it's the first and only black field the company has sold. Marketing Vice President Darren Gill said the company is promoting a variety of nontraditional hues: maroon, burgundy and even white.

"I think it's cool that we have a field that's uniquely different," West Salem football coach Shawn Stanley told the Statesman-Journal. "The goal was not to have something nice or have something different, but to have something that is safe for our team and safe for our opponents and the community."

It's not only different, it's relatively affordable. According to the Statesman-Journal, FieldTurf offered a price break if West Salem chose an unorthodox color so the school got the black field for less than $300,000.

That may sound like a lot, until you consider another high school in suburban Dallasrecently unveiled a new football stadium with a slightly higher price tag: $60 million.