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Facility&Operations | By Mary Helen Sprecher

In terms of sports, however, it is the bestof times. The demand for quality fields is atan all-time high. It's easy to see why: morekids are playing than ever before. In fact, theNational Federation of State High School As-sociations (NFHS) just released its annual

Sports Participation Survey, which as it hasevery year for more than two decades, showsmore kids playing sports than the previousyear. In fact, in the 2011-12 academic yearthere was an all-time high of 7,692,520 par-ticipants.

Look at the top 10 of those sports,and what do you see? A lot of sportsfields getting used: football, soccer,lacrosse, baseball and softball are all inthe top 10 most popular sports. Thatadds up to the previously mentioneddemand for facilities.

Given the rise of these sports, theturf field could be the best of choices.After all, it's able to host multiple sport-ing events in the same day without get-ting skinned, it's not susceptible tomany of the problems facing naturalgrass, and it has better drainage by farthan fields that will become muddy fol-lowing a rain.

Unfortunately, in the current econ-omy, budgeting for new fields—naturalor synthetic—continues to be a prob-lem. And sports field builders are see-ing schools faced with an impasse whenit comes time to build or rehab fields.

But, say the builders and designers,things are looking up.

"We think the tide is slowly turn-ing," says Paul Schinner of The MotzGroup, LLC in Cincinnati. "Mostcontractors in our business were hitharder in 2010 than they were in

2008 or 2009. Now, as things areslowly picking up with the economy,we are hoping that people who havebeen on the fence will start to spend.The amount of off-season activity (re-

Financing and constructing a new field

14 SportsTurf | December 2012

might say it was the best of times and theworst of times. Field managers might not be

quite that dramatic, but they're no strangers to the risks, rewards and challengesof their profession.

Charles Dickens

While budgetplanning can beintimidating, it canopen the door topossibilities formore economicaloptions. In fact, insome installations,project owners havetaken the concept ofsaving money, andelevated it to awhole new level.

Photo courtesy of Verde Design, Santa Clara, CA

Photo courtesy of Vasco Sports Contractors, Massillon, OH

Photo courtesy of General Acrylics, Inc., Phoenix, AZ

Photo courtesy of Beals Alliance, Folsom, CA

quests for budgets, consultations etc.)seems to be encouraging."

So where does that leave us? Withchoices. Sometimes they're difficult, some-times they're easier than others. Accordingto the book, Sports Fields: A Constructionand Maintenance Manual, sports field man-agers facing field construction or improve-ments can help by suggesting options tolessen the financial burden. Some conces-sions to be considered:

• Do you need a completed facility nowor can you wait a while for fencing, lighting,seating or other aspects of the project? Ifsome aspects will be delayed, be certain toinclude the means for future additions (extraconduit for future lighting, piping for futureirrigation, etc.) in the initial phase.

• Have you decided upon a given surfaceor specific site, or are you willing to con-sider alternatives?

Seeking creative solutions to budgetingissues can be accomplished—but it must bedone in the planning stages. Once con-struction has begun, change may not be

easily accommodated, or if it is, it maywind up causing more delays and costingmore money—the exact opposite result youwere striving for.

The book also notes, “In budget plan-ning, consider not just initial costs but alsocosts of accessories and amenities to beadded later such as goals and maintenanceequipment. The cost of financing should beconsidered. Consider also the long termplan for the use of the facility. Before com-mitting to a project, be certain that you canafford the schedule of maintenance, as wellas a reserve for eventual repair and/or re-placement. Expert and diligent mainte-nance is necessary to extend the useful lifeof fields.”

While budget planning can be intimi-dating, it can open the door to possibilitiesfor more economical options. In fact, insome installations, project owners havetaken the concept of saving money, and ele-vated it to a whole new level. Sam Fisher ofFisher Tracks in Boone, IA watched a highschool build a competition-quality track

and field facility by using community dona-tions and input.

"Local people came in with tractors andbackhoes and did what they could," notedFisher. "They did a lot of fund-raising too,within the school."

The former facility had become danger-ous and unusable, and had to be completelydemolished before any work could begin.But with the town firmly behind the effortand merchants and residents contributingeverything from materials to labor to mone-tary donations, a new facility was built, andcame in 25% below budget. (The facilitycurrently has a 400-meter all-weather rub-berized track encircling a natural turf foot-ball field, with field events, restrooms,concessions, seating for home and visitingfans, a press box, parking for cars and busesand more.) Fisher points to it as an exampleof community involvement that can help fi-nance a project.

Schinner, too, has seen schools working toraise funds for their own projects as well."Booster groups are becoming a bigger part

SportsTurf 15www.stma.org

16 SportsTurf | December 2012 www.sportsturfonline.com

Facility&Operations

and taking a much larger role," he notes. "Insome cases, they're completely financingprojects. Also, there has been a shift to spon-sorships from local business and hospitalsthat are adding funds in exchange logos onthe fields, naming rights etc. Schools are try-ing to leverage donated 'in-kind' work fromlocal contractors and alums for certain partsof the project that do not interfere with man-ufacturers' warranty such as drainage pipeand stone, excavation and concrete work."

All the pros note that cutting cornersshould never be done at the expense of thefinished product. In working to bring downcosts, it is essential for consumers to re-member that sports facilities are specificallytailored to athletic use. They are not simplygreen spaces, grassy areas or anything else.(And when working with a turf surface, thisgoes without saying).

Seek out contractors, as well as designersand suppliers, who specialize in sports facil-ities, and ascertain that they understand allissues the project will be facing, includingtime constraints, budget requests and more.Ask where community involvement would

be appreciated, and where it would be ap-propriate. The investment in knowledge-able partners will pay off throughout thecourse of the project, and in years to come.

If you're not sure about how to find asports-specific contractor, ask for recom-mendations from colleagues who have putin or rehabbed sports fields. Find out whothey've worked with, and whether theywere happy with that person. In addition,find out whether the project proceeded ontime and on budget—or whether therewere surprises, good or bad. You can also goto the website of the American SportsBuilders Association, www.sportsbuilders.org, and use the search feature tolocate companies in the area.

Once you have the right partners, it'stime to make sure your organization workswell with them. The old adage, "too manycooks spoil the sauce," is still valid. For aproject to be successful, there must be oneperson (and only one) who is authorizedto work with designers, contractors andmore, in order to discuss the ongoing sta-tus of the project. Examples of this person

might be a school principal, field manager,athletic director or other. That person, inturn, should establish a flow of communi-cation with those working on the project,as well as with the end user. Regularmeetings should be held to discuss theprogress of the project, as well as any ques-tions or concerns. That point person,then, can relay this information back tothe design/build team.

Expertise and information are the mostimportant commodities that should beworking together to make your projectsucceed, both from a financial perspectiveand from a performance standpoint.Singly, expertise and information are valu-able, but together, they're invaluable, andwill give you the long-term satisfactioneveryone wants. ■

Mary Helen Sprecher wrote this article onbehalf of the American Sports Builders Associ-ation. Available at no charge is a listing of allpublications offered by the ASBA, as well astheir Membership Directory. For info, 866-501-2722 or www.sportsbuilders.org.

Now you can access all the latestnews and events anywhere,anytime. Simply visit www.sportsturfonline.com/mobile4 to stay connected.

has gone mobile!


Facility&Operations

By Matt Kniffin

WE KNOW the extensiveamount of time, equip-ment and money it re-quires to take a baseballfield to the level it

should be at. In some places, like Neuen-burg am Rhein, Germany, money andequipment is at a premium but accepting alow-quality playing surface just isn’t an op-tion. When in Germany you will be hardpressed to find any baseball field let alone agood one. But, in southwest Germany, rightalong the Rhine, you will find one of thebest in Europe.

This field is host to the NeuenburgAtomics. They currently play in the secondBundelsliga but over the past 5 years haveplayed two seasons in Germany’s highestlevel, the first Bundesliga. Like most baseballclubs in Germany, Neuenburg has had a his-tory of American influence. That combinedwith hard work and dedication by manyGerman baseball enthusiasts has made thissmall town team very successful. The headgroundskeeper is Rob Piscatelli who is origi-nally from Poughkeepsie, NY. Rob has been

on baseball fields all around the globe play-ing and coaching, and of course, maintain-ing them.

Most specialized baseball field equipmentis not available in Germany. Importing thisequipment is an expensive option for someclubs but not for the Atomics and their lim-ited budget. It is amazing to say that a fieldof this quality is run on an annual budget ofabout $3,500. Piscatelli has pieced this fieldtogether through hard work and problemsolving. The pictures and success of the clubshow the results. We got a chance to talkwith Piscatelli about his fields and how hehas found success in a difficult place.

KNIFFIN: How many fields do youhave in Neuenburg?

PISCATELLI: We have two fields: ourmain field that our first and second base-ball teams play on, and the second fieldwhich we have completely skinned andhosts our softball teams and youth teams.We also have a clubhouse, which was builtfor when we hosted the European Cham-pionship in 2010.

KNIFFIN: What are some the difficul-ties of being a head groundskeeper for abaseball field in Europe?

PISCATELLI: The first problem is tome the biggest, because if you have noidea what a field is supposed to not onlylook like but more importantly play likethen it really doesn't matter what tools orequipment you have. There are a lot ofreasons for this. Most players or teamshere were never taught how to do that orwere taught by people who don’t have aclue so even if a field is built new or reno-vated it’s still brutal. So players end upplaying on terrible fields their whole ca-reer and don’t know any different and so itgoes from generation to generation.

KNIFFIN: Is it difficult to find theright equipment in Germany?

PISCATELLI: This may not be a bigdeal for baseball clubs that have moneyafter all we live in a global economy andanything you want if you have enoughmoney you can get. But for most baseballclubs in Europe this is not the case andsince the tools needed to maintain a base-ball field are somewhat specialized, theyare very difficult to find so there is a lot ofimprovising that needs to be done. Just ashort story about when I was first lookingfor a simple hand tamp and couldn’t findone. After looking in every store I knew I

American goes solo inmaintaining baseball fieldin Germany

The guy looked at me as if I justasked him if he could fly me tothe moon and then said, “Whatwould you need something likethat for?”


finally went up to a road construction crewthat was working on a street project to askwhere I could get one. The guy looked atme as if I just asked him if he could fly meto the moon and then said, “What wouldyou need something like that for?”

So long story short I had to build myown until years later I could find one.

KNIFFIN: What are some of your in-novative solutions for maintaining the fieldwithout the tools and material you wouldhave here in the States?

PISCATELLI: A rake drag is somethingthat I have had to create because our fieldhas a large amount of worms in early springand fall which leave a total mess on thegrass making it nearly unplayable. For this Itook a flexible metal mat drag with awooden breaker bar in front then attached4 metal hand rakes to the front. As soon asthe sun has been out for a few hours andthe worm excrement begins to dry the rakedrag is pulled along and is able to not only

break apart these small piles but smooththem out and in turn acts like a topdressingwhich we should be doing yearly but arenot able to afford. So Mother Nature and alittle ingenuity provide that for us.

One of the biggest problems here is thelack of specialized material like moundclay or quick dry. These products are non-existent in Europe unless you importthem, which is very expensive. As someonewho hates holes in baseball fields I was de-termined to find a solution. I watch everyweek as other teams push dry, dusty clayback into huge holes in the mound or bat-ters box only to see it come right back outon the first pitch. I spent hours uponhours talking to people, surfing the Inter-net, and making my own test samples ordifferent materials added together. Afteryears of evolution I was able to make aproduct that holds up to the test. It hasbeen a lifesaver in repairing my bullpens,game mounds, and home plate area. It isworth more than gold here for agroundskeeper.

Piscatelli later explained how he was ableto find at a 100-year-old brick factory, withowners of about the same age, hidden in theBlack Forest. They provided unfired claybricks that when soaked in water, have beencritical in his making his own mound clay.

Of course, baseball in Germany is verydifferent from baseball in America. Someclubs are shrinking or while others areflourishing. In this soccer-first society pub-lic funding for ball fields is hard to comeby. Maintaining a high quality field is noteasy under these conditions especially whenyou consider the lack of sports turf mainte-nance education. For Piscatelli and theAtomics they have come up with cost sav-ing and effective ways to take their field to ahigh level but on a low budget. Using thisexample we can be inspired to do more on alower budget. ■

Matt Kniffin teaches history Chapel FieldChristian HS, Pine Bush, NY. He worked forthe Neuenburg Atomic's grounds crew in2009 and 2010.


W HAT DOES IT TAKEto make a first-year fieldfirst-rate? Turf, teamworkand a whole lot of know-how. Rodney Griffin

took on Texas-size triumphs and challenges atthe new BBVA Compass Stadium, home of theMajor League Soccer Houston Dynamo. Thestadium opened in May 2012, cost $95 mil-lion, and has a capacity of 22,039. The venuewill also host Texas Southern University foot-ball games. Also, beginning in 2013, the sta-dium will host the USA Women's Sevens, oneof four events in the newly launched IRBWomen's Sevens World Series in the sevensvariant of rugby union.

Rodney Griffin is no stranger to laying thegroundwork for athletic facilities. Griffin is theformer turf manager for the Houston Astros’Minute Maid Park and Houston Texans’ Re-liant Stadium. And now, at Houston’s newestdowntown professional sports facility, the AEGFacilities-managed BBVA Compass Stadium,he completes a trifecta with the home to anMLS team.

To say that Griffin has “a lot of experiencewith turf” is an understatement. This formerUniversity of Houston football letterman was agroundskeeper for the Houston Astros andworked for four years as part of the grounds crewfor Super Bowl XXXVIII. Griffin knows his turfand, obviously, likes a challenge.

So when the opportunity came along to bepart of a brand-new stadium, Griffin couldn’t say

no. He joined the stadium team in January 2012,as the turf and grounds Manager just a few shortmonths before it opened. Since then, the sta-dium has hosted four to five events a week.

Griffin knew the first-year field at BBVACompass Stadium would be full of new chal-lenges, but he knew he had the experience,tools and teamwork in place to make this newsoccer pitch feel like it had been there for years.

A new stadium meant the first challenge wasselecting and installing new turf. Griffin recom-mended that TifGrand bermudagrass be selected.“The designers told me light was going to be anissue. The orientation of the stadium means thatsome of the field is in shadows and some in sun-light at different times of the day.”

Other difficulties to consider are the summerheat and Houston’s native humidity. “A big chal-lenge to any new stadium is that every stadiumhas its own microclimate and this stadium, in thesummer, is one of the hottest places on earth,”says Griffin. “Usually heat is fine and we areusing a bermudagrass that is really made for heat.But humidity, that’s even more of an issue. Thetissue of the field can stay slightly moist, whichcreates an environment for disease.”

SOCCER STAR EXPECTATIONSA second and interesting challenge for Grif-

fin is the expectations of the players. “Soccerplayers are extremely picky about their turf,”says Griffin. “They like their turf a certain way,so we always have an open dialogue with ourplayers about what they like. They will travel to

another stadium and come back and tell mewhat they liked about that stadium’s turf.”

Unlike football or baseball, the movementof the foot or cleat across the turf, and theway the ball travels across the grass, is an im-portant component of the game. Players wanttheir feet to move across the surface of thegrass without ever touching dirt. To achievethis, Griffin says, the grass must be mown atthree-fourths of an inch or below.

Plus, in soccer, the grass needs to lookgood. “For football, if the field is strong butdoesn’t look perfect, that’s okay,” says Grif-fin. “But for soccer, the field needs to bestrong and look good. The aesthetics are re-ally important. For instance, striping is apart of the rule book in major league soccerand players are very particular about theturf for that reason.”

For Griffin, every stadium has new anddifferent challenges but one expectation isalways the same—he has to figure out howto solve problems. “Problems pop up all thetime; and my bosses at BBVA Compass un-derstand that happens but at the end of theday. I need a team of people who can helpme handle the situation. I could have amain line blow up during a game or amower that doesn’t start. Ultimately, it’s my

The 1st year at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston

Facility&Operations By Bill Brozak

RODNEY’S RULESRodney Griffin’s keys to success:

Number 1, keep it simple. The Guy WhoMows, Knows. Any good grounds-keeper knows his or her own field andmows it personally. That way, smallproblems are evident before they be-come big ones. Understand it is a teameffort. Rodney surrounds himself withpeople he can trust. Surround yourselfwith people who can service what theysell. Timing is everything.

Bill Brozak works for WinField Solutions, a company that offers turf seed and chemical productsfrom its base in Shoreview, MN.


staff that needs to help get it right.”He has put together a team of profession-

als who help him out in challenging situa-tions.

“I have developed a network of people andrelationships who can come help me out. Howgood is the groundskeeper if his mower breaksdown? I have known the guys I deal with foryears, and they are dedicated to finding solu-tions for me. That’s especially important whenyou have a new field.”

TURF TEAMWORKThe turf at BBVA Compass Stadium is not

yet a year old, so Griffin is always alert to newor developing problems. “Keeping bermuda-grass healthy and green is a challenge. I focuson the strength of the rhizomes and root sys-tem to make sure it stays healthy.”

So far the shadows and sunlight are a dailychallenge but one that the turf is meeting. “Thebenefit of bermudagrass is its strength,” saysGriffin. “But it’s not always beautiful. How itperforms is something we watch closely as wellas how it looks, too.”

To help find the right type of treatments tokeep his turf vibrant and healthy, Griffin part-

ners with turf seed and chemical supplier Win-Field. Together they diagnose any turf problemsquickly and remedy the situation before the turfis affected. Griffin has worked with WinField atall of his former venues.

John Cabori, with WinField, is also watch-ing this new turf closely. “While we have seedavailable, this project involved washed sod andthe new TifGrand seed. This system was chosenby the Houston Dynamo because of typical sta-dium issues such as shade, and TifGrand hassome strong advantages in these settings. Aswith any new variety, I have to be ready for anychallenges that might pop up.”

To help ensure the field remains a brightshade of green, the kind soccer players and fansprefer, Griffin uses Mikropak, a crystalline mi-cronutrient that is applied every 2 to 4 weeks tomaintain color and vibrancy. Each applicationcreates a wave of green on the field and en-hances the beautiful but strong field that Griffinwants and needs for his players.

Cabori adds, “We simply prepared ourselvesfor the unknown since it was such a new variety.We all learn something in these cases that endsup helping others who decide to use it downthe line.”

“For instance, others will be watching andlearning from Rodney since he is using a rela-tively new product, TifGrand,” says Cabori.“While proven methods were used, some newmethods may be needed to maintain the highquality and that’s where Winfield comes intothe picture. Rodney is like an experiencedNASCAR driver, and I am like his crew chief.He communicates to me what he needs and Iwork to make sure he gets the best setup for theevent.”

So far, the turf and the teamwork are payingoff.

“Any good groundskeeper knows his ownfield,” Griffin says. “I see every square inch ofthe field and know that any big problem startsout with a small one, so I have a team who cancome in and help me approach the small prob-lems too.” The field is performing well, in hisestimation. And so is his team.

“A lot can be learned from Rodney and hisapproach,” Cabori says. “Keep it simple is Rod-ney’s number one rule. Second is, understand itis a team effort. Rodney surrounds himself withpeople he can trust.”

For this first year field, turf and teamworkare the big payoff. ■


Facility&Operations | By Den Gardner

I said to myself: “How on earth did beinginvolved with Project EverGreen result in usgetting a group to the White House? It’s al-most too difficult to comprehend!”

The burden on military families throughtwo wars has been incredible. These true pa-triots have kept us safe for more than adecade since the death and devastation thatday at the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and afield in Pennsylvania where an airplane ofheroes went down to prevent another mur-derous attack by terrorists. But little did weknow the role Project EverGreen would playthe past half-dozen years in the lives of thesethousands of military families.

Although the tragedy of September 11will stay with us forever, a simple request byProject EverGreen board member Phil Foga-rty 6 years ago ultimately resulted in a na-tional program to spread the good wordabout the benefits of green spaces throughGreenCare for Troops. Today, with a data-base of more than 12,000 military familiesand 3,500 volunteers nationwide, this Proj-ect EverGreen program is known nationally.

To this day, I’ll remember that conversa-

tion with Phil (a lawn care operator in sub-urban Cleveland). “I’ve been helping somemilitary families with free lawn care whilethe major breadwinner has been deployed,”he explained. “Maybe we can do this nation-ally through Project EverGreen—help a cou-ple hundred families and get a little publicityfor our organization.”

A few hundred families, huh? Well, thisidea resulted in my journey to the WhiteHouse back in April (with current ProjectEverGreen Executive Director Cindy Codeand GreenCare for Troops Manager JoyWestenberg) to be recognized as one of thetop 20 volunteer military programs in thenation by the White House. Through theJoining Forces Community Challenge(www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces), ProjectEverGreen was recognized for its efforts byFirst Lady Michelle Obama and SecondLady. Dr. Jill Biden.

During 2 days of tours and receptions atthe Pentagon and the White House, organi-zations across the country were saluted fortheir efforts. You know you’ve made a differ-ence as an organization when the Chairman

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff—Army Gen-eral Martin Dempsey and his wifeDeanie—pulled me aside at the Pentagonreception and remarked that they remem-bered reading about our program and howwe’ve affected the lives of so many militaryfamilies. “This is just the first step,” Gen-eral Dempsey said to me. “Now we needto meet their needs as they return and facea new life back from war.”

Wow! Project EverGreen has a majorrole to play. And we will be there, helpingfamilies and promoting how important itis to have a managed green space from anenvironmental, economic and lifestylestandpoint. How proud TPI membersmust be to know that through their finan-cial contribution to Project EverGreen,they are making a difference in the war onterrorism.

And don’t think I didn’t get goosebumps on the South Lawn of the WhiteHouse when Dr. Biden, during her re-marks, picked Project EverGreen andGreenCare for Troops as one of the threeout of 20 she mentioned verbally to theaudience. “Programs like GreenCare forTroops, a free lawn service for militaryfamilies, helps make dreams come true,”she said. ■

Reprinted with permission from TurfNews. Den Gardner was the first executivedirector of Project EverGreen in 2003, andis currently is on the executive committee ofProject EverGreen. He also serves as editor ofthe Turfgrass Producers International’s TurfNews. TPI has been a contributor in time,talent and funding for Project EverGreensince its first meeting 9 years ago in Min-nesota. Executive Director Kirk Hunter hasbeen active on Project EverGreen’s officercommittee for many years.

GREENCARE FOR TROOPSRECEIVES WHITE HOUSE RECOGNITION

As I walked through three separate areas of security a couplemonths ago at the White House (yep, Mr. Gardner Goes toWashington), my thoughts turned to September 11, 2001, andhow the world has so drastically changed since that day of horrorfor millions of Americans.

>> DEN GARDNER pictured with Second LadyDr. Jill Biden. Gardner represented ProjectEverGreen and GreenCare for Troops at anevent in Washington, DC honoring America’stop 20 volunteer military programs.

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