Sportsturf 31 Tools &Equipment Renovation at Iowa’S Kinnick Stadium Editor’S Note: Eric Morse, a Writer with Two Rivers Marketing, Des Moines, IA Wrote This Article
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strong association with the image of the University. They received ty puts us in a funny category somewhere between privileged and about 80% of PET daily, enough to stay green but not to grow much neglected. at all. Bob Marcotte Second priority was my boss’s golf course greens and tees because Turf Foreman of the high cost of replacement and the loss of revenue that would Penberthy Intramural Sports Center occur due to dead greens, and the gardens around the George Bush Texas A&M University Presidential Library because it was such a high visibility facility and again, the cost of replacement. They were allowed about 60% of We have not been asked to monitor our water usage but we do try PET per day. Along with daily hand watering they could be ade - to water in the evenings or early mornings to be more efficient with quately maintained. our water use. In our landscape areas we use tree gators to help water Third were all other ornamental gardens, limited to hand water - our trees and we also incorporate drip irrigations in some areas. ing during the day to prevent the cost of replacement. Last was the Gary Vanden Berg, CSFM 5,000 acres of irrigated lawns and other non-essential fields (A & M Director/Grounds is the largest campus in the world in land area).They were not Milwaukee Brewers allowed any water at all. My 30 acres (at that time) of intramural sports fields was originally classed as non-essential like lawns! Only I don’t think I am a good candidate for this subject for two rea - after vehement argument that the safety of 90,000 annual student sons: first, I pump out of a pond that is fed with a well pump so no participants at Penberthy should be of somewhat equal importance city water is being used, and second living in Maine we have just had to a few hundred scholarship athletes, and showing administrators the second wettest June on record and July hasn’t started any better. that we had spent nearly $250,000 over the previous 5 years estab - In my 11 years as a turf manager I have never been asked to conserve lishing the quality of fields we had, were they persuaded to place water. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. Rick Perruzzi, CSFM Penberthy at the second level with the golf course greens. Sports Turf Manager As you can see, the intramural field business at a major universi - City of South Portland, ME I Spo rtsTur f Go Digital! Subscribe Now! 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Instead, the old and new fields are coming and going through an opening just a little larger than a Why Iowa is going artificial Normally, athletic fields have only two layers of sub-base. An additional two layers are being installed at Kinnick Stadium because the field is being converted from natural to artificial turf. The new artificial turf has a warranty of 7 years. At that time, if the university wants to go back to a natural surface, the top two layers of the subbase can be removed and the field can quickly be switched back. Ted Thorn, director of grounds for the University of Iowa, says the purpose of this proj - ect is to fix the drainage, and switching to artifi - cial turf is secondary. There are a number of rea - sons Kinnick Stadium is going to artificial turf. While Thorn and the administration had input on what type of surface the field should have, the switch to artificial turf has been driven by the football coaching staff. “One of the reasons we’re going to artificial turf is these things are cyclical,” says Thorn. “Many high schools now have artificial surfaces, so it’s a big thing from a recruiting standpoint. The foot - ball program also did a lot of research and one of the biggest factors into the decision is that this field will be safe for our players.”-Eric Morse 32 SportsTurf | August 2009 www.sportsturfonline.com Tools &Equipment garage door, bucket by bucket, on skid-steer T250 compact track loaders and four S300 are crowned, and have a slope of 0.65 per - loaders. skid-steer loaders. The compact track load - cent from the center of the field to the Why is the field renovation taking place ers work on the field, the skid-steer loaders drainage pipes along the sidelines. The top like this? It’s the only way to do it. move material on the ramp between the two layers of rock bring the slope to level, Kinnick Stadium first opened in 1929 field and doorway. so the entire field is flat. Grading is done by and is named for Nile Kinnick, the 1939 “The most important part of this job is laser-guided attachment to compact load - Heisman Trophy winner and the only getting the material off the site and the new ers. Heisman winner in university history, who material back into the site as fast as we The laser system consists of a transmit - died in service during World War II. It’s also can,” says Dimke. ter set on a tripod, one or two laser one of the best places for football fans to The first step in the job is excavating and receivers placed on masts on the attach - watch a game. The stands are right on top removing 13 inches of the existing field, a ment, and a hand-held receiver and remote of the field, less than 20 feet from the side - top layer of soil and a lower level of sand. used to set up the system. Easy to set up, lines. Through several renovation projects The material is moved to the corner of the the laser system performs single-slope or over the years, the character of the stadium field nearest the tunnel. A small holding dual-slope grading. Single slope is used for has been carefully maintained, including area featuring steel plates over concrete is the level playing field and the dual-slope is keeping the stands as close to the action used to protect the floor from damage from used for the 0.65 percent grade. The only as possible. Doing so has meant the tallest the buckets. requirements are a loader with a 7- or 14- opening to the field is the 7-foot-tall door, The dump trucks must enter the con - pin attachment control kit, auxiliary which is actually located in the concourse course through a large archway on the hydraulics and a box blade or grader attach - under the west grandstand. south end of the grandstand and back up ment. The 2006 renovation added a new press and sky box structure, additional bathrooms and concessions throughout the stadium, “We took 150 loads of the top mix and a new, permanent seating structure in the south end zone. This renovation did not include the playing field, even though univer - from the stadium . we’re going to sity officials knew the surface was reaching the end of its lifespan. But heavy showers compost it and use for topdressing.” that overwhelmed the drainage system for last year’s rivalry game with Iowa State resulted in speeding up the plans. through to the door. Some of the material “The laser-guided grader attachment paid The university hired Glenn Rehbein being removed from the stadium is being for itself overnight,” says Dimke, who adds Companies, a Minnesota-based contractor recycled by the university. “We took 150 that the company invested in the equipment that designs and build athletic fields nation - loads of the top mix from the stadium to 2 years ago and also uses the system to wide, and left it up to them on how to com - the university golf course,” says Ted Thorn, grade the base for concrete floors for build - plete the renovation. director of grounds for the University of ings, such as retail stores. None of the previous fields the contrac - Iowa. “We’re going to compost it and use it “We have used a laser system on a tor worked for presented the type of chal - for topdressing. We are also thinking about dozer for other projects, but the grading lenge faced at Kinnick Stadium. building a small practice range for the golf requires a lot of backing up, which creates “This is a unique job,” says Tom Dimke, team and we’ll probably use that for the a lot of track wear,” says Dimke. “The com - director of operations at Glenn Rehbein. greens.” pact loader can also turn much more quick - “Typically, you’d be able to drive a dump In total, 4,600 yards of soil and sand are ly than a dozer.” truck and large equipment down onto the being taken from the field and replaced with Dimke says his crew has also used grap - field, but we can’t do that here.” 5,200 yards of rock, sand and other materi - ples, pallet forks and sweepers.