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
Almond admits that construction was not easy. The site was a former railroad yard with existing soil that was very compacted and contaminated with debris, making it difficult to trench and install the 10,000 linear feet of piping. Further complicating construction was the fact that this was an Omaha Superfund site, meaning that the existing soil was not permitted to leave the site. This forced playing field contractor Nemaha Landscape to get creative and store excavated soil under the parking lot and other areas. Because of the tight 13-week field instal- lation time table, Nemaha Landscape was required to work around the stadium con- struction team. The contractor worked in three phases to allow other trades to finish on certain areas of the field. Amazingly, field construction was finished 1 week ahead of the deadline, but as a result of the schedule, the sod was not installed until November 2010. This created a new chal- lenge for Turf Manager Dan Blank to estab- lish the sod in a short time frame. “This is still a new field, Dan was able to get the new turf well rooted by the use of growth blankets,” said Almond. Despite the small setbacks, Almond believes this field will stand up to what is thrown at it. “This field should get quite a bit of use, Creighton University plays their home games there, and it will host football/soccer games and concerts. I think we were able to balance the need for field use and drainage con- cerns.” TD Ameritrade Park opened on April 19, 2011 to host Creighton University vs. the University of Nebraska, attracting 22,187 fans, the largest regular season at- tendance this year in NCAA baseball. While Rosenblatt will forever be a part of the CWS identity, so far reviews have been favorable of the new stadium design. The 24,000-seat stadium features 360 degree views of the game from the concourse. Fans and media have commented on the ease of movement and room on the concourse, es- pecially near the concession stands, as well as, the extra room in the aisles compared to Rosenblatt’s cramped quarters. The light-brown exterior brick, a high definition video board in right field, unique crisscross light standards, and an eye catch- ing blue-green press box and club level combine to give the stadium a contempo- rary aesthetic appeal. In regards to the over- all experience, Almond said, “There was a lot of interface between design disciplines inside and outside of the stadium that im- proved the process. The client was very in- volved in the project and we were lucky to have them trust us to use the right materials for them.” With the new stadium filling so many other needs, for Almond and the rest of the design team, the pressure to be like Rosen- blatt was traded for desire to make a new imprint in the Omaha community. “Mainly, the client and design team wanted this field to have its own signature look and feel and I think we’ve accomplished that.” The CWS will be played in Omaha for the 61st time and at TD Ameritrade Park for the very first time June 18, 2011. ■ www.stma.org SportsTurf 31