20 SportsTurf | May 2016 www.sportsturfonline.com
FIELD SCIENCE
started the program in 2009 with the intentions of building
an on-campus facility shortly there after. However, funding
was not readily available to break ground, so other options
had to be explored. Henkel-Alley Field was located less
than 2 miles away from campus and was the logical choice
for consideration.
CVCC has a popular turfgrass management program
and this facility would also provide a perfect place to
learn about the turfgrass industry through hands on
experience, turfgrass maintenance, renovation procedures,
and construction management. Jimmy Abernathy, a lead
instructor at CVCC and a turfgrass graduate of North
Carolina State, has been heavily involved in the project since
day one. He has been able to use the facility as an outdoor
classroom setting. Abernathy installed a much needed
irrigation system on the infield sections of the playing field
and planned the installation of an entire system this coming
summer to make the field complete. Students get to learn
about the characteristics of normal sports field play and
special cultural practices. The turfgrass instructors and their
students apply herbicide, fungicide, and pesticides to the
field regularly. Soil and water conservation classes also have
T
his past fall and winter, I had the opportunity
to work in coordination with UDC Sports
(Claremont, NC) to renovate an old baseball
facility that will serve as the new home for the
Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC)
Red Hawks in Hickory, NC. Henkle-Alley Field has a long
history of baseball and has served as the ballpark to Hickory
American Legion Post 48 for more than 50 years. Located
at the Catawba County Fairgrounds, it has also served as a
venue for concerts and other entertainment attractions. Back
in the mid-80's, it became known as the venue that recorded
the most arrests in a single day when Night Ranger played the
venue and included a "pig picking" buffet for all attendees.
However, when the pork ran out, fights broke out as the band
finished their show. More than 100 arrests occurred that day.
Since that time, many years have passed and the facility
was in dire need of a facelift. The field had become unsafe,
had poor playing conditions, and in need of repair. CVCC
had initiated its baseball program that has become well known
regionally and nationally for winning baseball. The college
BY STEVE PEELER, CSFM
RENOVATING AN HISTORIC FIELD
IN NORTH CAROLINA
