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/77829
Facility&Operations "It's disrespectful for us to have Ameri- can football lines on the grass for interna- tional soccer games, so we grow them out before a match, which can take up to 3 weeks," says Rainey. Rainey also has to deal with varying de- mands within each sport. "The Mexican and Latin American soccer teams like shorter grass for finesse play and we'll cut it at ½ inch for them," says Rainey. "But the Europeans play a more physical game, so when we host teams like Germany, we raise it up to ¾ or more." After the Texas/Oklahoma game, he will >> A MAINTENANCE CREW MEMBER for the Texas Rangers mows a walk-out. In the background, another worker rakes thatch from the infield, which is kept at 1¾ inch to slow down the infield. The outfields and walk-outs, both 419 bermuda, are maintained with reel mowers. "We like the groomers on the Jake ECLIPSE walk mowers, they stand the grass up better," says Klein. "You can tell the difference, especially on the walk-outs, which typically see a lot of traffic." Klein uses solid tines twice a month and core aerifies once a month. If the Rangers make it deep into the playoffs, like they have the past 2 years, fall temps are warm enough for Klein to stay with bermuda. By December, temperatures drop dramatically and the team uses grow blankets to keep the soil temps up to 15% higher. They only overseed with perennial rye in the spring. GOING GLOBAL IN THE COTTON BOWL sees more in Texas than the Cotton Bowl. The turfgrass at the legendary 93,000-seat municipal stadium, first built in 1929, is managed by Roland Rainey. Although it plays host to college football games, includ- ing the annual Texas/Oklahoma matchup, it's also become one of the top soccer fields in the world. During the 1994 World Cup, the Cotton Bowl was ranked the number one field and was once ranked the number two soccer field in the world. In addition to soccer and football, Rainey also hosts the Texas State Fair, large concerts and various other events through- out the year. Luxury retailer Neiman Mar- cus recently held an event at the Cotton When it comes to turf traffic, no one 30 SportsTurf | August 2012 www.sportsturfonline.com Bowl that required a 120-foot tent in- stalled on the field. Managing the field within extremely tight deadlines is Rainey's biggest challenge. "One week we have to paint the end zones purple and black for Grambling vs. Prairie View and the next week we go or- ange and red for Texas vs. Oklahoma," says Rainey. "To prepare for that, I'll grow the grass 1/8 inch higher in the end zones, and then mow that out after the first game. We then put down a white base and put on the red and orange the next week." The wide variety of events also includes a wide variety of turf demands, as Rainey explains. overseed with perennial ryegrass. One year, they let the bermudagrass go dormant and painted it for their bowl game in January. "The Arkansas coach said the field played better than when they were on it in Sep- tember. I think that's because they won the game," Rainey says with a wink. The Cotton Bowl is one of just a hand- ful of municipal stadiums left, including the L.A. Coliseum, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, RFK in Washington and the Lib- erty Bowl in Memphis. Of all the munici- pal and professional stadiums, the Cotton Bowl has the smallest staff and budget. "With such a tight budget, we don't have a lot of money for maintenance equip- ment. We've been using the same Greens King IVs for years because they fit into our budget and they're very easy to work on," says Rainey. "They do a great job for us." >> THE COTTON BOWL IN ARLINGTON, managed by Roland Rainey, plays host to NCAA college foot- ball regular season and bowl games, international soccer matches, concerts and various other events. The Cotton Bowl is one of just a handful of municipal stadiums left in the United States.