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/60100
Facility&Operations >> TURF IMPACTS by other uses the infill levels aren't uneven, as many fields can show some of these characteristics. It is just that compared to a new turf field with im- proved fiber technology, they appear "old, tired, and used up." It is inevitable that you will have to replace your existing syn- thetic field at some point in the future. Unless the replacement is covered under an in-effect warranty with the turf company, you will need to contract for the removal and disposal (or ideally, recy- cling) of the old turf and purchasing and installing a new turf product. If there is a condition with the field that may be covered by the warranty, you should directly contact the turf company for an investigation of the issues identified and potential solutions. Many warranties will not fully fund replacement by the turf manu- facturer. The amount of wear and tear will naturally be of consider- ation. The older the field the less cost discount will be offered by the manufacturer on new turf. When replacing an existing turf field, take the opportunity to evaluate the quality of the overall facility. In a general sense, did the field and the overall space meet your expectations, exceed them or fall short? Were the activities on the field those that were initially identified or were there additional activities and events that im- pacted the field? If there were, can modifications be made to the field's base or areas around the field to accommodate the change in activities? Should a turf product with modified specifications to the one being replaced be considered? This consideration could be im- portant is there has been change in the field's use. For example, a field used for field hockey has different field requirements than one for football. Another item to evaluate whether the existing dimensions of the synthetic turf still meet your and user groups' needs and goals, as well as conforming to changes in sport rules and regulations. For example, if you have a lighted facility and two softball fields re- placed natural grass with synthetic turf, leaving the existing skinned infields. After several years of use, the user groups and turf profes- sional both agreed that the decision to keep skinned infields was a mistake, as it minimized the amount of area for soccer fields in the shared turf area, and it also reduced the amount of days the fields could be used for softball due to inclement weather. So when the field's synthetic turf was recently replaced, you installed new syn- thetic turf throughout the field, eliminating all the skinned sur- faces. This decision reduced the amount of maintenance the infields required, increased the number of days the fields could be used, and allowed the field area to have two full-size soccer fields that could be used concurrently. Field markings are also a key consideration when looking at re- placing a field. It is not uncommon for a new field to receive per- manent field striping for new field layouts not on the existing turf field. In other situations, the client decided to eliminate permanent field lines altogether due to changing needs, frequent rules modifi- cations, the need for field flexibility so that no specific use is per- ceived as the dominant sport. We also think an important item to evaluate is the infrastructure and utilities that service the turf area and the immediate surround- ing areas. At a recent field replacement, the original design had irri- gation quick couplers and drainage cleanout boxes that were When replacing an existing turf field, take the opportunity to evaluate the quality of the overall facility. In a general sense, did the field and the overall space meet your expectations, exceed them or fall short? 26 SportsTurf | April 2012 www.sportsturfonline.com