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/96775
Facility&Operations By Bill Brozak The 1st year at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston Bill Brozak works for WinField Solutions, a company that offers turf seed and chemical products from its base in Shoreview, MN. W HAT DOES IT TAKE to make a first-year field first-rate? Turf, teamwork and a whole lot of knowhow. Rodney Griffin took on Texas-size triumphs and challenges at the new BBVA Compass Stadium, home of the Major League Soccer Houston Dynamo. The stadium opened in May 2012, cost $95 million, and has a capacity of 22,039. The venue will also host Texas Southern University football games. Also, beginning in 2013, the stadium will host the USA Women's Sevens, one of four events in the newly launched IRB Women's Sevens World Series in the sevens variant of rugby union. Rodney Griffin is no stranger to laying the groundwork for athletic facilities. Griffin is the former turf manager for the Houston Astros' Minute Maid Park and Houston Texans' Reliant Stadium. And now, at Houston's newest downtown professional sports facility, the AEG Facilities-managed BBVA Compass Stadium, he completes a trifecta with the home to an MLS team. To say that Griffin has "a lot of experience with turf" is an understatement. This former University of Houston football letterman was a groundskeeper for the Houston Astros and worked for four years as part of the grounds crew for Super Bowl XXXVIII. Griffin knows his turf and, obviously, likes a challenge. So when the opportunity came along to be part of a brand-new stadium, Griffin couldn't say 20 SportsTurf | December 2012 no. He joined the stadium team in January 2012, as the turf and grounds Manager just a few short months before it opened. Since then, the stadium has hosted four to five events a week. Griffin knew the first-year field at BBVA Compass Stadium would be full of new challenges, but he knew he had the experience, tools and teamwork in place to make this new soccer pitch feel like it had been there for years. A new stadium meant the first challenge was selecting and installing new turf. Griffin recommended that TifGrand bermudagrass be selected. "The designers told me light was going to be an issue. The orientation of the stadium means that some of the field is in shadows and some in sunlight at different times of the day." Other difficulties to consider are the summer heat and Houston's native humidity. "A big challenge to any new stadium is that every stadium has its own microclimate and this stadium, in the summer, is one of the hottest places on earth," says Griffin. "Usually heat is fine and we are using a bermudagrass that is really made for heat. But humidity, that's even more of an issue. The tissue of the field can stay slightly moist, which creates an environment for disease." SOCCER STAR EXPECTATIONS A second and interesting challenge for Griffin is the expectations of the players. "Soccer players are extremely picky about their turf," says Griffin. "They like their turf a certain way, so we always have an open dialogue with our players about what they like. They will travel to another stadium and come back and tell me what they liked about that stadium's turf." Unlike football or baseball, the movement of the foot or cleat across the turf, and the way the ball travels across the grass, is an important component of the game. Players want their feet to move across the surface of the grass without ever touching dirt. To achieve this, Griffin says, the grass must be mown at three-fourths of an inch or below. Plus, in soccer, the grass needs to look good. "For football, if the field is strong but doesn't look perfect, that's okay," says Griffin. "But for soccer, the field needs to be strong and look good. The aesthetics are really important. For instance, striping is a part of the rule book in major league soccer and players are very particular about the turf for that reason." For Griffin, every stadium has new and different challenges but one expectation is always the same—he has to figure out how to solve problems. "Problems pop up all the time; and my bosses at BBVA Compass understand that happens but at the end of the day. I need a team of people who can help me handle the situation. I could have a main line blow up during a game or a mower that doesn't start. Ultimately, it's my RODNEY'S RULES Rodney Griffin's keys to success: Number 1, keep it simple. The Guy Who Mows, Knows. Any good groundskeeper knows his or her own field and mows it personally. That way, small problems are evident before they become big ones. Understand it is a team effort. Rodney surrounds himself with people he can trust. Surround yourself with people who can service what they sell. Timing is everything. www.sportsturfonline.com