32 SportsTurf | March 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com
W
e've all heard the story: a
warning track on a baseball
field is designed to give the
players two to three steps
"notice" at full stride, before
crashing into the wall. Right? Well, par-
tially right anyway, in my opinion.
There are other good reasons that warn-
ing tracks exits. Aesthetically, a red
warning track can be a stunning contrast
to a lush field of green grass. Throw in a
nice mowing pattern and a baseball field
is as much a work of art as a playing sur-
face and the track is an important part of
the canvas.
The track also serves as a roadway
for tractors, utility vehicles, mowers and
other equipment to keep them off the
grass. I have seen and been part of 5K and
10k races that finish on a MLB warning
track. I can imagine the horrified look on
a groundskeeper's face if 3,000 runners
were hitting the finish line on their grass
infield. Occasionally, cars, floats, fire trucks
or horses use the track to deliver team mas-
cots and celebrities to the field for events
and ceremonies. So, while player safety
may have been the invention of the warn-
ing track, there are many other reasons to
understand and care for them.
Professional helP
recommended
Whether starting from scratch on a
new field construction or renovating
an existing field I recommend hiring a
design professional. There are numerous
highly qualified landscape architect/civil
engineers that specialize in sports field
specifications and design. A good designer
will take into account the local weather
conditions, field use, maintenance capabili-
ties, budget and the overall performance
expectation of the owner.
A good warning track design will drain
water. This can be done several ways. A
material that is designed to drain through
may be built over a free draining stone
base with drainage pipes underneath to
carry water away, while a tighter, more
compactable material may need to slope
one direction or another and sheet the
water away to a trench drain. If budget is a
Warning tracks: material
selection, construction
and maintenance
FACILITY & OPERATIONS
■ By Paul Schinner