FIELD SCIENCE
8 SportsTurf | September 2015 www.sportsturfonline.com
T
here may be one universal truth about the challenges
associated with growing cool-season or warm-season
sports turf in the transition zone: "Both grasses grow
equally poorly," says Tony Leonard, director of grounds
for the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles.
From the Mid-Atlantic to the Heartland, sports turf man-
agers nod and smile in recognition. In the summer, most
transition zone locations are too hot for cool-season grasses
that burn up and die a quick death. In the winter, it's too cold
for warm-season grasses that pale to a brown off-color and
wither back like the shoes on the Wicked Witch of the East.
What's a dedicated sports turf professional to do?
While many facilities overseed a cool-season grass like ryegrass
or bluegrass into a warm-season grass like bermudagrass, for the
Eagles, Leonard chooses not to fight that battle in his stadium.
"You get to a point where overseeding or putting new grass
seed out is not as effective in that it's so young. When you play
games every weekend, it's not long enough to get seed estab-
lished to hold up to the torque of a player's foot. Sodding is
part of our maintenance program like fertilizer or mowing,"
Leonard says. "When a part of the field begins to wear out,
we resod it. It's playable the next day. There are no issues with
safety and playability, and it looks good, too."
Lincoln Financial Field hosts more than just Eagles football.
This summer, the stadium hosted concerts from Taylor Swift
and Kenny Chesney, and other public events that put thou-
sands of spectators on the field. The grass was stripped out for
some 5 weeks and covered with a decking material, to allow for
audiences and tents on the field.
By mid-July, in peak of the summer heat, the stadium at
Lincoln Financial Field was sodded with Tifway 419 bermu-
dagrass, grown in North Carolina on plastic for an instantly
playable surface. The plastic growing surface condenses all of
the roots into a 1.5-inch thick layer of sod, delivered in 45-foot-
MANAGING SPORTS TURF
IN THE TRANSITION ZONE
■ BY STACIE ZINN ROBERTS
Philadelphia Eagles' bermudagrass
in week 1 of NFL season.
