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: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/27931
over a 3-day period, MDH was able to remove approximately two- thirds of the original rubber infill. The infill was then tested, cleaned and reserved for reuse on the new field. Work crews re- moved more than 100,000 square feet of old turf, which was sal- vaged and made available for other turf projects in the Kansas City area. “Recycling the turf and infill saved about 20% of the total es- timated cost of the new field. And we were able to eliminate the need for transporting the old turf to a landfill, which would have consumed approximately 1,000 gallons of diesel and added about 350,000 pounds to a landfill site in another state,” Huggins said. Vance Rzepka, founder of VSR Design, determined through an onsite assessment that the existing grade of the field and the perimeter constraints of the track and field events would present a significant challenge that had to be addressed. He also had to fac- tor in the school’s need to accommodate many different sports with the fewest compromises in adjusting the field design. “The existing track and field events in both ‘D’ areas and the shape of the sub-grade limited how much grading could be done to the finished surface. The existing field had a crown on one end and was sloped from the 30-yard line to the back of the end zone. The ability to make the crown uniform along the entire length of the field was limited by the sub-grade and drainage rock thickness. Also, the addition of perimeter netting to allow lacrosse practice during track practice added a level of complexity to the coordina- tion of the entire project,” Rzepka said. Rzepka worked closely with MDH Turf throughout the laser- grading process and also supervised and approved the placement of the additional rock that was needed to prepare the sub-surface of the field. “Quality control was happening real time throughout every stage of this project,” Huggins said. “The TIGER XQ 48 product was the best solution for Rockhurst High School since we were well aware of the extremely high usage that this field would have to withstand,” said Bob Aurich, regional sales manager for Tiger- Sports Americas With the completion of the field renovation accomplished in early August, Rockhurst High School coaches and student athletes were able to get ample time on the practice field to gear up for the competitive fall season. The varsity football and soccer teams went on to win state championships after their first season of play on their new field. “We have had zero problems with drainage, and the players love the resiliency of the turf,” Campbell said. “Our coaches were especially happy to have been consulted and updated throughout the entire renovation process. Having Delbert Conrad closely in- volved every step of the way facilitated the entire process. Delbert was empowered to make decisions that kept the project moving forward effectively. If changes needed to be made, they were made quickly and to the complete satisfaction of everyone in- volved.” ■ Laura Pennino is a writer and consultant based in Houston. She can be reached at 281 286 9398 or lp@penninoandpartners.com. www.stma.org SportsTurf 35