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/282941
30 SportsTurf | April 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Facility & Operations Riverview Park and common areas. The Cubs began interviewing for the Director of Facilities and Fields position in February 2013. Knight quickly submitted his name. Still awaiting the Cubs decision, the City offered him the position to manage the Riverview Park portion of the complex. What should have brought relief, spurred even deeper soul searching. "I was happy to manage the paspalum for the city, but still very much wanted to be involved with profes- sional baseball. For their patience and under- standing I am very fortunate, and thankful to the City of Mesa management." Despite the uncertainty, Knight continued the spring 2013 season operating as he always had, a loyal City employee treating the Cubs as a valued client. "I had to walk a fine line, being a fiscally responsible City employee and to be very customer service oriented at the same time. Although I'm a Cubs employee now, I still think of the coaching staff as my client. I think it helps me do my job better." FEBRUARY 2014 Involvement in the construction and maintenance of the facilities is the reason why Knight made the leap from the City of Mesa to the Cubs when finally offered the position. The Cubs will use the 65,000- square-foot training facility, with 10,000 square foot gym space as a year round rehab center. Featuring hydrotherapy rooms, weight room, and agility field, it is consid- ered a medical facility, and maintenance must abide by stringent medical standards. As Knight and his crew transition from construction to maintenance, an interesting dynamic is emerging. Responsibility for the site is shared between the Cubs and the City of Mesa. Maintenance must be coordinated between the two parties on a day by day basis. "We are still learning the facility and learning how to interact. It has been chal- lenging and rewarding discovering a new op- eration method," Knight said. Many of Mesa's maintenance staff were employees of his at HoHoKam. The familiarity there, combined with his laidback personality, make this potentially tough sharing arrange- ment, a productive method for both parties. Being part of the design with the City of Mesa, while executing his own spring training daily responsibilities at HoHoKam, not know- ing his employment fate, then overseeing the construction process for the Cubs, and finally taking over the facility with a short timeframe before opening, have made the last few years a blur. At one point Knight, being the only Cubs employee on site, was responsible for giving tours of the stadium. Now that he fi- nally gets to reflect on his journey, the chal- lenges were what he learned from the most. "I'm starting to see a big picture view of how great a project this really is. I learned so much from the infrastructure construction. What I really learned is that without the help of my crew, we wouldn't be sitting here today." n