Facility&Operations | By David Presnell, CSFM
Same stadium, new owners
—one turf manager's story
G
AINESVILLE IS LOCATED IN NORTHEAST GEORGIA on
the shores of Lake Lanier. It is home to the Gainesville Red Elephants, a high school football team with a rich tradition and history.
Their home, City Park, is a community landmark. The stadium has been
around since the early 1900's, and has been a staple in the community.
The land was donated to the City of
Gainesville in 1866 by the Banks family. The property and stadium was managed by the Parks and Recreation
Agency. The stadium has been added to
and upgraded throughout the years. In
2005 a complete renovation was done
to the playing surface and several upgrades were done to the stadium. A
sand-based field with subsurface
drainage was chosen. A new irrigation
system and Tifsport bermuda turf were
installed. This was a much needed upgrade and has been very well received
by the players and community.
The field is set down in a bowl. Air
movement is very limited and it has its
16 SportsTurf | April 2013
own micro climate. We have battled takeall patch ever since the renovation. In
2007 we had to replace 13,000 square
feet of sod and in 2008 only 5,000 square
feet. I slowly started to get it under control. We started preventative fungicide
treatments and an aggressive aerification
schedule. On two occasions we were able
to completely grow in with no sodding. I
kind of just learned to manage it because
the disease really never leaves.
I was employed by Parks and Recreation in 2003. In 2006, I was promoted
to Turf Manager. Along with our parks,
youth league fields and adult softball
complex, my responsibilities also included our baseball facility and City Park
The Crew
From left to right
David Presnell, Ryan Casper, Travis Partin,
Josiah Bowers
But just when I thought
everything was going
great the rug was about
to be pulled out from
under me.
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