Goes Natural

By Matthew Trulio itting rock was the only thing Ran- over the weekend, bring in the new equip- of [Patriots owner] and the dall & Blake, Inc., hadn't antici- ment, and make up what little time we lost. organization to in- Hpated in the construction of the These are the things that happen in a stall a proven natural turf field," Jankovich new, natural turf sand-based field at project like this. You just have to make said earlier this year. "This decision is in Foxboro Stadium in Foxboro, MA,so natu- adjustments and go on." the best interest of not only the Patriots' rally they hit tons of it. Adjusting to improve a difficult situation football players, but also other players "When we started trenching to put in is a subject the New England Patriots, the around the . In the drainage lines, we encountered 'rock NFL team which calls Foxboro Stadium addition, such a surface is conducive to a ledge,' a condition which is very common home, know something about After suffer- better brand of football." in many parts of New England," recalls Dan ing through one of the toughest seasons in RBI finalized negotiations for installing Almond, registered landscape architect and the history of the franchise, a season filled the new field in January. The field had to design/build division manager for the land- with loss and controversy, the Patriots de- be playable by June 1, when a soccer match scape architecture and construction firm cided it was time to make some adjust- between the national teams of the U.S. and based in Littleton, co. "The soil borings we ments. Ireland would be held. Work began in mid- performed very early on didn't show us how They hired Sam Jankovich as chief exec- February. Missing the deadline was simply much rock was down there. About 90 per- utive officer and owner's representative. not an option. cent of what was down there was rock." They picked high in the NFL draft, which Out With The Old Fortunately, they discovered the prob- is perhaps the only consolation for a team Before RBI could begin work on install- lem late in the week and had the weekend with a losing season. And they turned their ing its GraviTURF Natural Turf Athletic to solve it. By Monday, they were back in attention to the field itself and its well-worn Field System at Foxboro Stadium, the old business. artificial surface. surface had to be removed. That meant "We had originally planned on using a "Mr. Jankonvich was the athletic direc- taking up 93,000 square feet of artificial Vermeer 450 trencher, but we switched to tor at the University of Miami, so he was turf and padding, 2,000 cubic yards of a 650, which is about twice the size, and it used to natural turf," says Almond. "He was asphalt, and 4,000 cubic yards of soil. Al- worked like a champ," says Almond. "We strong on the idea of going to it at Foxboro though another outside contractor was did go through hundreds of teeth, Stadium." hired for the removal chores, RBI was on- though.t'Hitting rock caused a little bit of And go to it the Patriots and Foxboro site when they took place. anxiety because our schedule was so tight," Stadium owners did. "Because the field at Foxboro was arti- he continues. "But we were able to regroup "This is a great commitment on behalf continued on page 14

Foxboro's new turf ready for international soccer match.

June, 1991 13 Foxboro Stadium seeds if time allows. "That way, we can seed Once RBI secured the Foxboro project, continued from page 13 into our root zone mixture exactly the type the firm contacted Altman again. ficial, it had a crown," Almond recalls. "In of grass mix we want to use," says Almond. "They called me and said we've got the middle of the field, the asphalt was "By seeding, we also avoid any soil inter- another project to do, but with a completely about 15 inches thick! Even on the sides, it face problems." different set of circumstances than at Den- was three or four inches thick. The nice Faced with Foxboro's tight time frame, ver," says Altman. "This time, we were thing was that they removed the surface however, RBI was forced to sod. sodding instead of seeding. We started out and the pad and gave it to charity. Then Getting The Old Team Together with six weeks from sodding to playing they ground up the asphalt and used it in Although RBI, founded in 1975, had time, but by the time everything came to- parking lot improvements at the stadium. constructed about 30 golf courses through- gether, that was down to four weeks." Nothing was wasted." out the West, as well as a number of athletic Building Bionic Turf In With The New fields, the first professional field installa- When RBI began its search for sod to be The GraviTURF system installed at tion of a GraviTURF system was at the used at Foxboro, it was looking not only for Foxboro Stadium is a gravity-drained, sand- Denver Broncos' training facility in 1989. a specific type of grass, but also for one that based athletic field set-up. The system was Mark Altman, of Altman & Altman Turf and had been grown in a sandy loam that ap- invented by RBI, which is in the process of Soil Fertility Specialists, an independent proximated the sand-peat-gravel mix they'd having it patented. consulting firm based in Marshall, MN,was be using. Their search, with Altman's assis- The system begins with perforated pipe brought in by RBI and the Broncos to tance, took them throughout the New En- drainage lines, which vary from four to 12 perform soil analyses on the project gland area, and as far west as Indiana. inches in diameter depending on the drain- Finally, after exhaustive testing of sods and age requirements of a particular project. soils from various turf farms, they settled "The pipe is all bedded in pea gravel-under on a Kentucky bluegrass of 27 percent it, around it, and on top of it-and we typi- Merit, 30 percent Ram, 20 percent Glade, cally use a well-rounded material," says and 23 percent Eclipse from Gold Star Almond. "On top of that, depending on the Farms in Canterbury, NH. type of installation the client wants, we "There were a lot of soil samples install our soil warming system." swapped back and forth," says Mack Mac- The Patriots wanted the soil warming Phail, a customer service manager at Gold system. It consists primarily of electric heat Star. "They wanted a sod that had been cables which run the length of the field, grown in a sandy loam to begin With, and from end zone to end zone. our soil was very close to what they had "Most of the time, we have to upgrade been looking for." the power a bit because the heating system The idea in testing the soil was not to requires something on the order of 500,000 "match" loam to loam, since the sod would watts," says Almond. "But it is a phased Electric heat cables and irrigation installed in be washed free of all farm loam after har- system-the whole thing doesn't run at pea gravel base. vest, but to find a sod that was already at once, because that way it's a lot more home in a medium similar to that used at economical for the owner to run. "That was about as close to a sterile Foxboro. "Obviously, a soil warming system is media as I've run across," says Altman. "The number one problem I see in sand- rarely used more than 2-1/2 months a year, "They [RBI] had planned on doing a stan- based fields is the sod-soil issue," says but it really helps extend a field's playabil- dard soil analysis, but I suggested taking a Dixon of Turf Diagnostics And Design. "A ity, as well as the ability to keep it green," number of soil samples because they were really fine-textured sod can seal off the sand he adds. going with a sand-based field. With a sand- base, and you never get rooting or other After the warming system, if specified, is based field, you can create a designer mix benefits. That's one of the benefits to sod in place, a peat and sand mix is put down. of nutrients. That gives you some real op- washing-you eliminate the interface prob- At Foxboro, the sand and peat were mixed tions that you don't normally have." lem." in a Dakota Blender. The job of making Altman designed a soil fertility program, The sod RBI selected at Gold Star was sure the sand and peat were compatible which included major and minor nutrients, strong and healthy, according to Altman went to Chuck Dixon, an agronomist and for the seeded turf. "When the turf came and Almond. But, given the deadline for the founder of Turf Diagnostics And Design, an up, it had all the nutrients it needed," he Foxboro project and the impending soccer Olathe, KS, firm which evaluates materials enthuses. "You can make a profound differ- match, they knew it had to be even for suitability of use in putting greens and ence in turf establishment through proper stronger. other sand-based systems. soil fertility management." "After we decided that Gold Star was the "The sand fits Greens As- "I think the system is a perfect marriage one, we sent their samples to Mark, who ran sociation particle size criteria," he explains. between drainage and water retention," his tests to determine fertilizer rates," says "The gravel is about five to seven times says Ross Kurcab, field manager of the Almond. "He did something that I think is larger than the sand." Broncos' training facility. "We have unique. He came up with a pre-fertilizer IiWe mostly use Dakota Reed Sedge enough drainage where we never have any program, including biostimulants, that was Peat," adds Almond. IiA lot of people seem standing water. At the same time we retain used at the farm to create a 'bionic' sod. to be going to it now." enough water so we're not just flushing it And it paid off big time!"As for the "exacts" Lastly, there is the grass. RBI generally through." of the program he created for sod on the 14 Golf & sport TURF farm, Altman isn't giving away any secrets. coated sulfate of potassium, so we could ("I need some competitive edge," he The idea was prevent the potassium from leaching away. laughs.) However, he does provide a gen- We also included trace elements-manga- eral description of the on-farm program. to bring the turf nese, copper, and zinc. Sands vary greatly "The idea was to bring the turf up to from pit to pit, and you need to take that sports turf durability and playability before up to sports turf into consideration when you design pro- it came to the stadium," Altman reveals. grams for sand-based fields." "From the soil analyses at the sod farm, we durability and The soil fertility specialist having, Sus- were able to come up with a program of tain, from W.A. Cleary Chemical, put down fertilization, Roots biostimulant, and foliar playability before to inoculate the soil prior to sod installa- feeding." tion, but because of a shipping problem IIWe understood that whatever process it came to they had to apply it after the sod was laid. they were recommending, we were going to Altman also wrote a fertilizer program for work with them," says MacPhail of Gold the stadium. the field after sodding. Star. "The material [specified by Altman] The results of the combined efforts of was shipped here, and we put it down at the III think RBI was, among other things, everyone involved have been impressive. recommended rates. looking for someone who had the most IIIn two weeks, we had roots down 2-1/2 IIWe had to ship the sod by May 1, and 'enthusiastic' way of washing the sod," to three inches," Altman says with relief. that's just barely spring here. The sod was MacPhail says. "Bringing a machine here IIAndwith what we did on the farm, we were just starting to come out of dormancy, and assembled in Canada and patented in Tas- able to reduce transplant shock to zero." we were happy to take any suggestions on mania is about as enthusiastic as you can IIOne of the keys to this whole system is 'waking it up.?' get." drainage," Almond points out. IIWeguaran- After the sod was harvested, all 93,000 From Farm To Field tee our percolation rates at five inches per square feet of it were washed as planned. Before a foot of the washed sod was laid hour, but at Foxboro we'll probably get a Gold Star used a special sod washing ma- at Foxboro, a custom-designed, pre-plant percolation rate in the range of six to eight chine, patented in Tasmania and assembled fertilizer was incorporated into the sand inches per hour. According to tests we've in Toronto, Canada, to accomplish the task. and peat mix. IIWe incorporated major and done recently at the Broncos' practice facil- The washing procedure, which used 400 minor nutrients into the mix, which was low ity, the percolation rate there now is 6.2 gallons of water a minute at 45 psi, was in potassium and had a high percolation inches per hour. done at the farm. rate," says Altman. IIWe used a sulfur- continued on page 16 PROTECT YOUR VALVES AND IRRIGATION SYSTEM FLUSHING OUTLET \,

Cirde 116 on Postage Free Card June, 1991 15 Foxboro Stadium Andover Country Club in Andover, PA. He continued from page 15 was recommended for the Foxboro job by "Quality control is the key," he adds. RBI. "Every system is installed the same way, "I've worked with USGA sand-based every time. We absolutely do not compro- greens, so I have a good idea about their mise on materials or installation." irrigation and fertilization needs," he says. Game Time "The stress on this field is going to be To protect and maintain their consider- different than it is on a golf green-it's more able investment-more than $1 million were physical than environmental. I understand Dan Almond (r) and Ross Kurcab at Bronco's spent in the entire Foxboro Stadium reno- practice facility. turf really well and I just have to adapt to vation-the Patriots and venue managers sports fields." hired Pierre Landry as field superinten- the University of and was Landry's golf course experience came in dent The 29-year-old from Rochester, NY, previously an assistant superintendent at handy during the first two weeks after the has a degree in plant and soil science from Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, NY, and sod was laid at Foxboro. Using the field's five-row, gravity-fed (from a nearby water tower) irrigation system consisting of Hunter I-40s, a Weathermatic controller and brass valves, and Hydrovisor moisture sensors, he syringed the field daily. It takes approximately 1-1/2 hours for the system, which is designed with head-to-head cover- age, to complete its entire cycle. IINow that the roots are down 3-1/2 inches, I'm cutting back on water to get them to dive even deeper," says Landry. Since the previous surface at Foxboro was artificial and, consequently, didn't re- quire turf equipment beyond a vacuum, Landry is in the process of building his turf CLCA care arsenal from scratch. In the meantime, HYD~~~~ he's using demo equipment from various V ~~Si!flY; distributors, such as a triplex mower, three ~/ / times a week, to cut the grass to a 1-1/2- / / / i inch height. He adds that he'll soon bring that cutting height down to 1-1/4 inch, and HYDRO-MULCHING • COPOLYMER SPRAYING • HYDRO-FERTILIZING will begin an overseeding program this 2804 S. Willis s. Santa Ana, CA 92705 summer. State Lic.# 424173 phone (714) 724-1075 fax (714) 724-1077 "We want to work to obtain a 50-50 Cirde 112 on Postage Free Card bluegrass-ryegrass mix," he reveals. The Patriots players and coaches, he says, are excited and curious about the new PARTAC® field, and he sees developing a relationship COLFCOURSE SOIL CONDITIONER Be DRYING AGENT with them as vital to his success at Foxboro, "SUPER·REo" FOR INFIELDS TOP-DRESSING "SUPER·GREEN" FOR TURF as well as the success of the field itself. MORE COLORFUL, LESS DUSTY IMPROVES AERATION & DRAINAGE "I think the biggest challenge is going YET RETAINS NUTRIENTS & MOISTURE! to be satisfying the needs of the coaches '; FPARJAC® and players, in terms of game condition and THE PROFESSIONAL'SCHOICE allowing them on the field," says Landry, , , , SINCE 1922 CRE~N$AND FOROrVOT REPAIRS who is currently renovating the Patriots' "'M~,~~~~I I Y/I~q!!t!#f'li'k'Q/ THE BASEBALLDIAMOND MIXES nearby soil-based practice field. IIOfcourse, USED BY OVER SO PROFESSIONAL The Ultimate Solution to Unsightly AMERICA'S PREMIUM TEAMS PLUS TOWNS AND Divots at Televised Golf Tournaments HEAT TREATED I want to keep them off it as much as SCHOOLS ACROSS THE U.S.A. AND and other Sports Events! CANADA. SPECIAL MIXES FOR TOP-DRESSINGS possible [between games] but it's their field INFIELDS, PITCHER'S MOUNDS, AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE PLUS CONSTRUCTION, HOMEPLATE AREAS & CART PATH, AND and they're going to want to practice on it. RED WARNING TRACKS. 1-800-247-2326 DIVOT REPAIR MIXES But that's mostly walk-through stuff, like IN N.J. 908-637-4191 setting formations. "We'll work it out by developing a good relationship where we understand each other's needs." Like RBI, the Patriots, and the Foxboro Field owners, Landry will make adjust. ments, and then go on. Sometimes, that's what winning is all about. 16 Golf & sport TURF Circle 113 on Postage Free Card