SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/460594
www.stma.org March 2015 | SportsTurf 39 Why STMA Should conSider your field A Winner? I think the STMA should consider the baseball field at Russ Chandler Stadium for FOY because of the very unusual winter weather we experienced in 2014. We had two major winter storms, one of which made national news due to the way it absolutely paralyzed Atlanta. We also had two separate occasions of record-breaking lows. Obviously, dealing with snow and ice is standard operating procedure for many of my colleagues around the country, but here in Atlanta it is quite unusual. Consequently, we do not have a lot of experience in snow/ice removal, nor do we have any specialized equipment for it. One of the reasons I believe we should be considered for FOY is how we not only overcame many obstacles to keep the baseball field usable, but also how we chipped in at all the other athletic facilities to help get things back to normal. One of the best examples of this is how we hosted a softball tournament on the fly because our team got stranded in Atlanta, as they could not fly to Arizona due to road closures and flight cancellations. Our six-game baseball tournament season opener had been on the schedule for months. So with the exception of snow and ice removal, field preparations were business as usual. However, when the AD for Facilities walked up and said, "Hey, what do guys think about hosting four softball games tomorrow and Sunday?" We were all in a little bit of shock, but my crew rose to the challenge, and I am very proud of them (Georgia State had a tournament scheduled that weekend and we partnered with them last minute). However, that was not the only area in which we were thrown a curveball. It was also basketball season and UNC made it in on the last plane into Atlanta. UNC had to take Marta (our public transit system) and then walk the remaining distance to their hotel. Grounds pitched in and helped clear all the areas around the basketball arena. They then proceeded to work the game in any capacity needed: security, concessions, facilities as a large per- centage of the support personnel could not get to the arena. For example, the game was to be televised, but never aired because not enough broadcast personnel could report. We actually came under fire for continuing on with that game when the city around us was in shambles, e.g., people still sleeping in lawn furniture at