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/442256
FACILITY & OPERATIONS 40 SportsTurf | January 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com W aukegan Park District (WPD) in Waukegan, IL generated more than $10 million for the county last year. Sports complexes similar to this one can be found throughout the country and the economic impact on surrounding communities is monumental. Here's a look at what it takes to create high-quality fields at these facilities. Youth sports complexes are highly coveted institutions in local communities and have a proven impact on the economy. To put this in perspective, Maryland SoccerPlex, Boyds, MD reported tournament visitors spent more than $20 million on food, lodging, entertainment, local transportation and retail purchases in 2012. Nationally regarded, Maryland SoccerPlex is home to the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League. The complex also hosts elite lacrosse and rugby tourna- ments throughout the year. Another development largely impacting the economy is located in Cary, NC. Jimmy Simpson, a facility work expedi- tor for the Town of Cary Parks and Recreation Department, is responsible for grooming one of the premier US soccer com- plexes, Wake Med Soccer Park. Home to the North American Soccer League Carolina Railhawks, the facility consists of a soccer-specific stadium, two lighted practice fields and four additional natural grass fields. The main stadium boasts 7,000 seats and can expand to 10,000 with temporary seating, making it an obvious choice for marquee events such as the men's and women's Atlantic Coast Conference soccer tournaments. Each year, a large amount of revenue is generated via sporting events, concessions and brand visibility at Wake Med Soccer Park. The Town of Cary also benefits from the tourism uptick generated by spectators attending national events. Hotels, shopping, dining and entertainment all see an increase in revenue due to these high- profile tournaments. While these sports complexes create large economic impacts, they tend to operate with small staffs. This creates added pressure for the sports turf managers. Ryan Bjorn, Sports Field Director for Maryland SoccerPlex, is also a recent winner of the Sports Turf Managers Association (STMA) prestigious "Field of the Year" award in the profes- sional division. He manages a staff of three full-time employees yet is still able to create top notch, safe and playable fields. The SoccerPlex has about 50 acres of sports fields. "On an average weekend, 250 youth soccer games are played at the complex," says Bjorn. "It is a challenge to keep the fields up to our high stan- dards, but our crew works around-the-clock to make sure we are delivering the best playing surfaces possible for athletes." Field rotation is a key factor to the equation but, as Bjorn high- The chaLLenges of managIng a muLTI-fIeLD sPorTs comPLex editor's note: This article was written by Steve Perry, a PR Associate for Buffalo Brand Invigoration Group, the Washington, DC-area public relations firm that works on behalf of the Sports Turf Managers Association. We thought it would be interesting to share with you an example of how STMA and Buffalo are working to inform the public of the work turf managers do as well as its potential impact on localities around the country. This same article has been made available to media outlets around the country. Town of Cary (NC) is home to Wake Med Soccer Park; the main stadium boasts 7,000 seats and can expand to 10,000, making it an obvious choice for marquee events. Maryland SoccerPlex MD reported tour- nament visitors spent more than $20 million on food, lodging, entertainment, local trans- portation and retail purchases in 2012.