IRRIGATION & DRAINAGE
30 SportsTurf | April 2016 www.sportsturfonline.com
FIELD SCIENCE
and users. Fields constructed using the recommendations
contained within this bulletin should support a minimum of 40
to 50 football contests or 100 or more soccer contests per year
without being excessively worn.
BASE GRADING
Native soil fields high in silt and clay are not suitable for
intensive use because they provide poor drainage and easily
compact during use. Therefore, native soil will likely have to
be excavated from the site. If topography permits, sand can
be placed directly on the surface without excavation after
level grading at a considerably reduced cost. If excavation is
necessary, it should be performed so that the finished grade
at time of planting conforms to the sidelines or track area.
S
and-based, natural turfgrass fields compared to
synthetic surfaces are initially less expensive, more
enjoyable to play on, cooler in warm weather, less
hazardous when wet, have more resiliency and are
30 to 50 times less expensive to replace. However,
high quality, sand-based sports fields able to withstand
intensive traffic under a range of climatic conditions depend
on many construction components, such as sand selection,
base grade, surface and subsurface drainage, turfgrass genus
and species selection. If any factor is neglected, the quality
and use of the field can be seriously impaired. While proper
construction can greatly improve the playability of an athletic
field, there is a limit to the amount of traffic that a field
will endure, and this should be recognized by supervisors
Editor's note: Our thanks to Alec Kowalewski and Jim Sloan of Oregon State University for allowing us to publish portions of
this university publication. It was written with the Pacific Northwest region in mind. To read it in its entirety free of charge, see
https://catalog.extension.oregonstate.edu/pnw676/viewfile. A version in Spanish is currently being created.
CONSTRUCTING SAND-BASED
FOOTBALL AND SOCCER FIELDS:
EXCERPTS
Drainage trenches (6 to 8 inches wide) being cut using a laser-controlled machine.
