PRODUCT SHOWCASE

Chandler Arizona Parks DepartmentChandler, Arizona

rm handler Arizona selected Primavera bermudagrass for all fifteen of the new soccer fields they seeded in 1994 and~ 1995. In addition, they are using Primavera on all the city parks and grounds,

According to Kris Kircher, maintenance coordinator, they have used common bermudagrass before but had problems withallergic reactions among the players. Then they tried Mid-iron bermudagrass but is was very susceptible to pearl scale.The third variety they tested was Primavera. Kris was really impressed with its quick germination and establishment. Itstayed greener longer in the fall and greened-up earlier in the spring than any of the other seeded types they tested.Primavera also was resistant to pearl scale, so their problems were solved.

Kris, and his crew of four, were able to convert old cattle corrals to excellent quality soccer fields. The San Tan SoccerAssociation plays on the fields nine months out of the year, and with the use by other groups, there are soccer gamesalmost every day of the week throughout the entire season. The quality of the playing surface is excellent throughout theyear. The number of injuries and loss of players have been greatly reduced with the dense turf they are able to producewith Primavera. It has been stated by numerous authorities that Chandler has the best soccer fields in the Phoenix area.

The work done by Kris and his crew is impressive, especially whenone realizes that it was done on a minimum budget.

~~

SEED ~~RESEARCHOF OREGON, INC.

Professional Turf Center-Dallas, Texas(214) 905-1020· In TX (800) 590-4333

Call 1(800) 817-1889 use Fasl Fax #1130597and/or Circle 113 on Postage Free Card

"Primavera is a high quality, lower cost alternative to the standardturf varieties sold only in sod or stolon forms." Kris Kircher,Maintenance Coordinator

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architect's demand for better field sys-tems, have developed new parametersfor all-weather field design. Researchmoguls from major companies andfrom such research-based institutes asthe International Sports Turf ResearchInstitute located here in the Statesand the Sports Turf Research Institute(STRI) in England continue to developand qualify new products for field con-struction to enhance the soil profile,providing such benefits as compactionrelief, increased infiltration, and stabi-lization.Sports field drainage and sub-sur-

face moisture control systems givesports turf managers the ability toclear excess water from the playingsurface and the ability to maintainoptimum moisture levels in the root-zone. Some systems combine these fea-tures with the ability to control macro-and micro-porosity of the soil, allowingfor compaction resistance, aerationand the escape of sub-surface gasesreleased by root systems.Other systems provide subsurface

heating to allow sports turf managersto extend the active growth period of

their turf.Soil profiles can

be specified withprecise componentsof sand particle sizedistributions andorganic or syntheticmatter to create thebase deemed mostsuitable for turfestablishment andgrowth in specificfield settings. Theterm "engineeredturf' will havegreater meaningnow that fields haveto be designed towithstand multipleevents in all weath- In older facilities like Foxboro Stadium, steep, narrow

accesses have contributed to compaction and erosioner. Plant scientists problems. Photos courtesy: Steve Guise.from turf seed com-panies' universities, and research lab-oratories have developed improvedturfgrass cultivars keyed to withstand-ing the stress and wear inherent withathletic fields.Natural turf in self-contained,

removable trays or as reinforcedsquares of turf offer a method of pro-viding a natural turf playing surface instadium conditions that might not nat-urally support long-term turf growth.It also offers the option of replacing

SAG • Telephone 416-247-7875 • Fax 416-247-

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selected modular units with "fresh"ones in response to heavy wear orother turf-damaging factors.Stadiums designed with movable

roof systems can combine turf accessto natural sunlight, while the roof sys-tem is open, with the spectator andplayer comfort of a covered dome whenthe roof system is closed. Refinementsof the technical aspects of such sys-tems are combined with turfgrassresearch and testing of suitable culti-vars to improve efficiency and overallfield conditions.These advances allow stadiums

greater multi-use flexibility and theability to hold more frequent events.New InstrumentsKeeping pace with turf systems

have been advancements in instru-ments for measuring field conditions.Laboratory testing of the various

field media components can ensureconsistency of the media materialsduring the construction process.Soil and tissue test analysis can

pinpoint nutrient uptake and levelswithin turf grasses to allow develop-

ment of fertilityprograms tailoredto specific, quanti-fied turf needs.On-site readings

of specific turf andsoil profile condi-tions are availablethrough suchinstruments as fer-tility and pHmeters, lightmeters, stimpme-ters, flowmeters,and infiltrometers.The Clegg

Impact Hammerhas been selectedby the American The Sports Turf Research Institute in Bingley, England,Society of Testing continues to develop beneficial products, such as thisMaterials (ASTM) wear machine.as a lightweightapparatus for measuring a field'shardness. This gives sports turf man-agers a system to quantify hardnessand to measure degrees of improve-ment from field renovations and vari-ous field maintenance procedures. Itadditionally aids the sports turf man-

ager in identifying when a syntheticfield has lost its cushioning ability andneeds to be replaced.Turf strength can be measured with

Penn State's PennFoot, University ofCalifornia at Riverside's BrinkmanTraffic Simulator or STRI's wear

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May 1997 23

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MaintenanceA key element

of the high techsystems integrat-ed into today'sfield designs isusing them prop-erly. Why build amulti-million-dollar facility formulti-million-dollar athletesand skimp on theinvestment inlong-term main-tenance?

The architect, field designer andfacility owner have developed a set ofstadium and field components with aspecific intent. The installation con-tractor concentrated on that visionduring field preparations. So, it makessense that sports turf managers areoften being hired at the start of con-

On-site readings of specific soil conditions are availablethrough instruments such as TexasA& M's infiltrometer.

machine, or with simple traction veinsand torque wrenches.Weather stations collect local condi-

tion readings to supply ET (evapotran-spiration) information. Satellite sys-tems monitor weather patterns andallow precise tracking of local stormsystems. All this information now canbe tied directly to an in-office comput-

er system forevent prepara-tions.

Realities of

struction, and sometimes at the startof the design process, to assist in theidentification of maintenance issuesand needs assessment.Part oftoday's field installation con-

tracts is a grow-in and initial mainte-nance period. This may be 90 to 180days, or even longer, depending on thecircumstances of construction and theprimary, or initial high-visibility, useof the facility. During this period, thecontractor and/or the appointed main-tenance company check out all theoperational elements of the systems.The field is only accepted by the ownerwhen all systems are functioning prop-erly.Owners may hire sports turf man-

agers already familiar with the facili-ty's high tech systems, or they mayprovide the appropriate instruction oreducational opportunities for thesports turf manager to gain a thoroughunderstanding of the systems. Or, theymay opt to go outside the traditionalin-house maintenance crew in searchof maintenance companies that offerbetter equipment, reduced costs andoverhead, volume purchase discounts,

24 sporfsTURF· http://www.sporsturfonline.com

or other advantages.Whatever the decision, the person

in control of maintaining a field mustbe familiar with all aspects of the hightech systems to utilize them properly.Ideally, that person is involved atleast during the construction phase ofthe project so he or she has the oppor-tunity to see where each component isinstalled, to observe how certain ele-ments fit together, and to participatein the initial stages of set-up andadjustment. This person then candevelop an accurate "as built" blue-print of the facility complete withnotations that will assist crews inlong-term maintenance.At the very least, the person who

will be in charge of long-term mainte-nance should be involved during thegrow-in and post-construction mainte-nance period. Working with the sys-tems and the construction personnelduring this time of testing, adjust-ment and fine-tuning provides thesports turf manager the opportunitynot only to gain in-depth knowledge ofthe systems and their capabilities, butalso to gain an awareness of the"vision" which the systems are tocarryout.In reality, over the multiple years

during which the facility will be inoperation, more dollars will be spenton long-term maintenance than wereinvested in the development and con-struction phases. It's just commonsense to make sure that maintenancetakes full advantage of the high techsystems that were installed.With all the technology now avail-

able and the new advances beingintroduced, field design is becoming ascience we can rely on to produce asuccessful stadium, field system andmaintenance program that fit togeth-er and work together from the time ofdesign to the time the final mowingpatterns are completed.

Stephen H. Guise - sports turfmanager for Valley Crest Inc. inCalabasas, California - is an electedmember of STMA's Technical ReviewCommittee, is the president-elect ofSTMA, and separately contributes tothe ASTM Committee on Natural Turfand Artificial Playing Surfaces(F.OB.52).

Dave Hanson is a certified profes-sional agronomist and vice-presidentof Environmental Care Inc. in SanJose, California, where he serves asmanager of technical support for lawnand landscape operations and specialprojects and as regional manager forNorthern California operations.

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May 1997 25

With the temperature below 10 degrees, the crew started laying sod minutesafter the first heated trucks of sod arrived from Maryland. Photos courtesy:Jack Kidwell.

Sod & SquadWork Miracle at Lambeau FieldBy Jerry May

Nhonecall at half time of acold, rainy NFL playoff gameast January set off a chain

reaction that grabbed the attentionof practically every pro football fanin the country for the next eightdays.An NFL representative and the

Green Bay Packers grounds supervisorcalled to ask Jack Kidwell, a Virginiasod grower and installer, if he couldcompletely refurbish and resodLambeau Field over the next week intime for the NFC championship gameon Sunday, January 12."My stomach turned about six times

when I heard the question," saysKidwell, of Duraturf ServiceCorporation in Richmond. "First, I wasout of bluegrass, and so were all theother Virginia growers I know. But Iwas sure I knew where some highquality turf was available, so I saidyes. Looking back, I guess all and allwe pulled off a small miracle."The NFL knows Kidwell well and

probably knew they would be in goodhands. Kidwell's firms have had theNFL's nod to sod the Redskin's RFKStadium for the last 15 years. InDecember, Duraturf repaired ProPlayer Park (formerly Joe RobbieStadium) in Miami. It also repaired

the center of Lambeau for the Packers-Minnesota game in December. Therepair held great, but when thePackers and 4gers met in a rain stormon January 4, they turned the rest ofthe field into a pigpen.By late that Sunday afternoon, the

contract details with the NFL hadbeen hashed out by phone and fax. Andso the saga that was picked up byscores of newspapers and televisionstations from coast to coast began. Fora solid week, Duraturf managers, har-vest crew, installa-tion people, andmore than twodozen truck dri-vers and their 18-wheelers would betotally immersedin a time-sensi-tive' difficult jobmade even harderby extreme winterconditions of thefar north. If any-thing of conse-quence went awry,the whole projectcould end in disas-ter.ACritical Path

Finishing up the job in a driving snow storm, workers moveKidwell and his a tarp in as the last strip of sod is pulled up and rolled.

managers spentSunday night lay-

26 sporfsTURF· http.//www.sporsturfonline.com

ing out a critical path chart, contactingemployees and giving them theirassignments for Monday morning.As in many states, Wisconsin's

Department of Agriculture restrictsthe importation of living flora thathasn't been given a clean bill of health.Japanese beetles are the main villainsWisconsin wants to keep out. Kidwellstarted the time-consuming approvalprocess; the sod was certified for entryat the last minute.The sod that would ultimately find

continued on page 28

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When workers discovered low areas after stripping the oldsod, sand was brought in (background left) and spreadevenly before the new sod was laid.

its way to Lambeau Field came from agrower in Maryland. Kidwell says, "Iknew Summit Hall grew high qualitybluegrass and had plenty to spare."At 5:30 Monday morning, har-

vesters and other equipment set outfrom southern Virginia for Marylandfollowed by loads of tubes and pallets.Just three hours later, Duraturf had

By late Wednesday night, two-thirds of the field was sod-ded, but a snow storm was yet to come. Frost areas on theperimeter show the failure of the warming cables.

confirmations for 28 heated tractor-trailers to transport 600 tons of sadnonstop to Green Bay, 1,000 milesaway."Installers who do important, time-

sensitive jobs have to be sure of trans-port. We've developed a relationshipover the years with a handful of selecttrucking firms. We know we can rely

on them and vice versa. I couldn't havesaid yes to the Lambeau project other-wise," Kidwell says.At 8 Monday night, barely 24 hours

after the NFL's call, the first threetruck loads of roll sod set out for GreenBay. Kidwell himself took off for GreenBay minutes later.

TURF INSTALLATIONS

INSTALLEDCLEVELANDINDIANS STRIPPEDJACOBS FIELDIN 42" AND 48" ROLLS CLEVELANDINDIANS

Who do the professionals call when they need afield repaired or a new installation? More often thannot CYGNET TURF. Our customer list reads like a"WHO's WHO" of the sports industry. For fewer,tighter seams, stability and performance, when youare ready to install give CYGNET a call. You canuse our quality sand-based sportsturf (bluegrass orbermuda) or yours.

TURF:. Equipment

Phone: (419) 354-1112Farm: (419) 655-2020Fax: (419) 352-1244

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Ghosts and GremlinsLambeau boasts glorious ghosts,

but also lays claim to a nightmare - anonexistent drainage system. Thusthe quagmire the Packers and 4gersstirred up the Saturday of the fatefulphone call.Before new turf could go down, the

old sloppy turf had to be stripped off,loaded and hauled away. That job washalf done by Tuesday evening. Thesurface was then leveled and preparedto accept the new sod. The first trucksfrom Maryland were scheduled toarrive early Wednesday. Ten o'clockcame, but no trucks. The NFL contacton-site reported that the New Yorkoffice was alarmed that the field wasbeing stripped while there was no newsod to replace it.Weather-delayed trucks finally

began arriving at noon one after one,and the shipper confirmed by satellitethat six more loads were nearby. Thefirst glitch - but panic was averted.Duraturf began installing the new

bluegrass immediately. With the tem-perature between 2 and 8 degrees andwind chill well below zero, cables andfuel lines froze. Other temporaryequipment failures added to tensions.Work continued through Wednesdayand into Thursday. The goal was tohave the entire playing surface resod-ded by 6 Thursday evening. But at 6that morning, half an inch of snow hadfallen, and the weather was gettingworse. Because of the lack of drainage,the new sod had to be kept dry. Asinstallation proceeded, massive tarpswere extended to protect the part justlaid. Moving in the big tarps causedmore delays, but with a major snowstorm in progress, they were essentialto the success of the project.Forty years of experience has

taught Kidwell that good sod properlyinstalled would not budge and wouldprovide outstanding footing for theplayers. Also, the new sod was cutextra thick, 1 5/8 inches, to withstandthe Packers-Panthers onslaught.Perfect installation was impera-

tive. Installing machines unrolled thesod as close as physically possible tothe last row laid. Then to ensure anearly seamless field, 8 to 10 workerslined up, impaled the newest row withsod hooks and on cue - "Ready? Pull!"- tugged a 3- to 4-foot section to vir-tually bond it to the neighboring row.

It took plenty of muscle but onlyminutes to "pull up" a 3,000-pound 50-foot sod strip. By dark Thursday, in a

driving snow storm, the playing sur-face was entirely installed and restingunder the tarps."At this point, we knew we had the

job licked," says Kidwell.Class ActFriday morning dawned and it was

obviously still January in northernWisconsin. Before the tarps could beremoved to continue work, snow andice had to be swept off with tractor

brooms and small trucks rigged withrubber blades. After 40 men peeled offthe tarp, clean-up crews scoured theplaying surface, removing any debrissuch as dirt left by the roller wheelswhen the sod was rolled out. Then endzones and out-of-bounds areas weresodded while the field was being lined.For a few days, sod had become the

most famous ground cover in the coun-try. Kidwell says, "The Packers' own-

OWERS ANDTALLERS OFIUMQUALITYND STOLONS

P.O. Box 4563, Palm Desert, CA 92261 (800) 447-1840

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ers, which is everyone in Green Bay,made it a story that everyone grabbedonto. Their support and interest wereawesome."That is confirmed by the story of the

club selling over 27,000 patches of theold sod for $10 each in just threehours. The proceeds went to charity."It goes to prove what a class act GreenBay is," says Kidwell.After the NFC championship game,

much of the new surface installed dur-ing those frantic, frigid days was alsostripped, cut and sold to fans. Thatsale brought in another $200,000,which will go toward reconstruction ofLambeau's surface. This spring,Lambeau will leap into the 21st centu-ry with a state-of-the-art field:drainage, heating tubes and a surfaceof SportGrass, a combination artificial-natural turf system used in Baltimorethat has drawn favorable reviews fromNFL players. Kidwell began growingSportGrass last fall, some of whichmay be destined for Lambeau. It lookslike the "sod squad," as the local pressdubbed the Virginia crew, may strikeagain.

Pump forSpriggingHydro-stolonization, or

"hydro-sprigging," is a methodof vegetating prepared soil byapplying cut stolons ofBermuda or other warm cli-mate grasses. These "live"stolons or sprigs are combinedwith water, mulch and fertiliz-er, then sprayed onto the site.Standard centrifugal pumpsare not appropriate for live stolons.The tight clearance at the impellerand wear plate can crush the delicategrass plants.A progressive cavity pump, or "PC.

pump," is ideal for sprigging. The P.C.pump is made up of a long pump hous-ing containing a rotor and stator thatcreates pressure, moving a high vol-ume of slurry without risk of damageto the plant. The pump is effectivewith hoses of 1,000 feet or more.Since sprigs are very vulnerable,

they require the protection of mulch

AP.C. pump consists of a long pump housingcontaining a rotor and stator that can spraystolons without damaging the plants. Photocourtesy: Finn Corporation.

along with plenty of moisture to sur-vive. For best results, the stolonsshould be planted immediately afterharvesting and be kept cool and moistuntil application. A strict wateringprogram must be followed after plant-ing, never allowing the stolons to dryout.

The above is reprinted with permis-sion from the Spring 1996 issue ofFinn Info, Finn Corporation,Fairfield, Ohio.

Well Groomed

The Cushman" Groom Master is driven to keep sports fieldsand other recreational turf areas looking great. It comesstandard with a rear rake for grooming and offers a variety ofaccessories so you can use the Groom Master to cultivate,scarify, level, fan and smooth the soil.For the best on-field performance, get theMaster. The Cushman Groom Master.Call 1~800~228~4444 for the dealernearest you.

t::::===============~RANSOMESF CUSHMANRYAN

For The Best Results4644 Ransomes Corporation900 North 21st Street, Lincoln, NE 68501-2409© Ransomes Corporation 1996. All rights reserved.

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Jaydee Drive Liner

The Jaydee Drive Liner is a self-propelled riding linemarker. The 35-gallon paint tank carries enoughmarking material for a complete game field, or sever-al practice fields. The 2-gallon flush tank cleans thedischarge lines for work breaks, travel, or overnight.The center or side-mark spray shields are alwaysoperator-visible. A nearly zero turning radius reducesor eliminates back-and-turn maneuvers.

Jaydee Equipment Company202 East Joliet Highway, Box 278New Lenox, IL 60451-0278

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