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/32290
Designed by Dan Almond of Millennium Sports Technologies, Inc., the field and drainage system balance the need to perform at a highly scrutinized collegiate level with the sites unique restric- tions. Being situated along the Missouri River, flooding is a major concern. Because of this, restrictions are placed on the amount of water that can be released off the site, water that potentially could aid in raising the river level during a rain event. While in a plan- ning meeting, Almond discovered that to meet the site’s historic release rate requirement, the architects and engineers planned to use large storage tanks under the parking lot to hold hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. After learning of their plans, Al- mond suggested that he could design a drainage system that would allow them to store the required 7.5 inches of rain under- neath the field, cutting tremendous tank and labor expenses, and bringing the field into the spotlight for the rest of the design team. According to Almond, the drainage system construction began with the mainline piping, which runs like a spine from under homeplate and discharges the water into a large vault/water sepa- rator under center field. Additional perforated drain lines run from the mainline in a perpendicular pattern. Almond had the lines placed in stone-filled trenches, as he is sure the water will find its way to the trench as a backup, should something happen to the drain line. Next a layer of precisely selected ¼ to ⅜-inch gravel was placed following the slope of the drain lines. The gravel selection is criti- cal to achieve the desired porosity that many of Almond’s calcula- tions hinge upon. This layer can be between 4 to 30 inches deep, increasing in depth closer to the main collector drain line dis- charge point. Then a 10-inch sand rootzone was placed over the gravel layer. The sand is slightly coarser than a USGA specification and was blended with 8% peat. When asked if the gravel and sand inter- face was tested, Almond laughed and said, “You could say that. I don’t leave anything to chance; we use independent testing labora- tories and we test everything, and retest and retest.” The tests (and retests) were conducted to achieve the right sand particle size needed to bridge correctly with the gravel, important in prevent- ing migration of the sand into the gravel layer below. Finally, the surface was sodded with a Kentucky bluegrass blend from Graff ’s Turf Farms of Fort Morgan, CO. Almond says with this design, beyond the underground water storage capabili- ties, the surface is able to move water through at an extremely high rate of 5-6 inches per hour. TRUSTED TECHNOLOGY As is his practice, Almond uses technology that he has prior ex- perience with to deliver greater value to his clients. With almost 10,000 linear feet of piping in the ground, Almond wanted to capitalize on the large investment and use the drainage pipes for other purposes. A SubAir system was installed to help evacuate water more quickly through the rootzone and to promote better turf growth. The system’s main function will be to provide oxygen to the root structure, but it is also fitted with natural gas injectors www.stma.org SportsTurf 29