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/338693
Facility & Operations age. Simply put, if the dome is going to be seasonal, field drainage will be required because the field will be open to the elements for part of the year; if the dome is going to stay up year round the field won't require this drainage infrastructure. When the dome and field are being constructed together in new developments, the final installation of the synthetic turf is typically completed after the air structure has been installed. The installation process with for the dome typically involves driving around the interior with heavy lift equipment, potentially damaging the brand new field. Of course, plywood can be laid down for the lift equipment to drive on if the field is installed first, or in the case of installing a dome on an existing field. For existing fields, where the grade beam is installed around the outside of the field, the turf typically needs to be disturbed around the perimeter of the field to install the grade beam. Once the grade beam is completed, the turf is repaired and shored up to the edge of the new concrete, which is flush to grade for seasonal domes, leaving little evidence of it being installed, or it can be raised for permanently installed domes to create a curb on the outside that can be useful for a guideline when clearing snow in the winter time. The grade beam can also be installed across an existing turf field if the plan is to have a seasonal dome cover a portion of the field. Turf fill-in pieces can then be created to cover up the grade beam and allow for regular use when the dome is taken down for the summer. InstallatIon Once the grade beam construction and all other site work is complete, the air-supported structure and its related components are ready to be installed. Depending on the size of the dome, the fabric membrane will be manufactured in as few as two to three or as many as eight to ten sections, which are folded and rolled up into bundles for shipping and ease of handling on site. These sections are unfolded, spread into place and connected to one another using aluminum joint plates. The fabric membrane is then connected to the grade beam around the perimeter and locked into the anchoring channel. If applicable, the structural cables are laid in place and connected to 34 SportsTurf | July 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Fabric membrane being locked into anchoring system (Greenville, PA). Dome spread out and connected to the grade beam, beginning inflation (Greenville, PA).