Facility&Operations |
Mary Helen Sprecher
Having input into renovation & construction projects
Left: Photo courtesy Medallion Athletic Products, Mooresville, N.C.
Above and middle: Photos courtesy Warner Larson, Inc., Boston, MA. W
e've all done it: sat across the conference table from someone in business and thought, "This would be a lot easier if the other person only (fill in the blank with a specific task you wish the other person would do)."
Let's face it: there's always going to be a time you want to bypass the whole learning curve. If we could only define in advance who was responsible for what tasks, it would save time and most importantly, keep problems to a minimum. As designers and builders of sports fields, we're faced with this every day. We sit down with the owners and managers of the facilities we're planning
32 SportsTurf | January 2012
to build and rehab. And invari- ably, from each side of the table come the questions. Who's responsible for this? Why wasn't this piece of infor- mation made clear? And what's the best way to correct this without costing a lot of extra money and time? So here's our suggestion. Let's
all work together to head off problems at the pass by defining now what we both need.
INFORMATION As the sports turf manager,
you have unique access to spe- cific information about your project before the first shovel hits the ground. Bring that in- formation to the table right away: Your vision, and that of the owner. This is where you have to sit down and provide a complete written prospectus. Ultimately, this will help your design/build team understand
exactly what you want, and ex- actly how they can help create your field of dreams. So make a list: Is this a field for one sport? For multiple sports, and if so, which ones? Do you anticipate having a running track built around the perimeter? Do you anticipate the facility growing over time to include a stadium, a locker room, etc.? Who are your users: high schoolers? Col- lege students? The community? Will there be use year-round or just in certain months? Making a prospectus is a daunting project, but you'll be glad you did it and so will your design/build team and ulti- mately, the owner of your proj- ect.
"Put on paper everything
you want your facility to be," says Mark Brogan of Pro-Sport Construction, Inc. in Devon, Pa. "Once construction has
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Photo courtesy Warner Larson, Inc., Boston, MA.
