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/77829
CHALLENGES 2011 was a record setting year in many ways for us here in Frisco. We dealt with record cold, snow fall, heat, lack of rain, and number of events at what was formerly known as Pizza Hut Park. Our biggest chal- lenge this year was dealing with the extremes of the weather. February was one of the coldest months on record in North Texas. Temperatures were about 15 degrees below normal and at one point we were below freezing for around 100 hours, sometimes dropping into the single digits. Our average low temperature for that time of year is around 40 degrees. We had about 10-14 inches of snow fall during January and February. The other extreme to the weather was the heat. The summer of 2011 will go down as the hottest summer on record. We recorded the most 100 degree days in a year at 71 days. The previous record was 69, on average we have 18 days above 100 degrees a year. Forty of the 71 days were consecutive 100 degree days. We missed the record of 42 consecutive days above 100 degrees. Not only was the heat a problem, but we are dealing with se- best. I like to educate them on the role they play in keeping the pitch in top condition. I talk to them at least once a week to make sure everything is how they like it and make adjustments as needed. The turf plays a very important role in soccer, therefore the coaches and I need to be on the same page so that the needs of the team can be met and that I maintain a healthy pitch. vere drought conditions throughout the summer and even [into the autumn]. We average around 32-40 inches of rainfall a year. This year we have had about 15 inches, with only about 4 inches falling since June. The city of Frisco recently voted to enforce Stage 3 watering restrictions, which is once a week watering. We are not affected by this because our water comes from a well and any runoff that fills our retention ponds. In 2011, we had the most events in a year since the park opened at 115 events. We started out with the NCAA FCS Na- tional Championship football game in January. The MLS season started in March. We had three major concerts in April, May, and July. Each concert this year had a MLS soccer game following it the next day. It's a challenge to do such a drastic change over; you have to do everything that is normally done over 3 days to prepare for a soccer game down to 10 hours. In the fall, soccer and high school football overlap. Several of our football games are on Fri- day night before a soccer game on Saturday. We use temporary paint for football so that it can be washed and not visible during soccer games. stronger and handle a lot of events. I used more potassium and less nitrogen and saw great results and will continue to use it in the future. We were able to over come every challenge we were faced with this year. It is very important to go in with a plan and stick to it. I implemented a new fertility program that helped the plant be schedule and manage all maintenance for FC Dallas' Stadium and practice field, which consist of a total of 5.5 acres of turf. Along with FC Dallas soccer matches, each year we host roughly 17 Frisco ISD football games, 5 major concerts, NCAA FCS National Foot- ball Championship, and numerous other soccer matches. SportsTurf: What are your specific job responsibilities? Reed: I am the Stadium Grounds Coordinator for FC Dallas. I SportsTurf: What do find most enjoyable Reed: The most enjoyable part of my job is being able to see all communicating well? Reed: The executives from each department in the organiza- tion meet weekly to discuss recent events and potential upcoming events. All events are setup through my boss, VP of Complex, and our VP of Operations. We work together and discuss the pros and cons of each event and whether or not it meets our criteria for hosting. I believe face to face communication with coaches works the SportsTurf: What channels of communication do you use to reach coaches, administrators and users of your facility? Any tips on www.stma.org SportsTurf 37