We've been changing and improving a lot of ballparks, How about yoms? In the photo above, you can see the five tools as they work. In this case, we have added two standard accessories - the 50 gal. water tank and wing brush. The accessory brush speeds up and improves finishing. Check out North America's fastest, one-man complete diamond grooming. It will save you time, money and injuries as well as a lot of home- team advantage. 2 models to choose from - Ballpark-6 and Diamond Master

CD RIPPER BLADE @ROLLER To move large amounts Designed to give firmness of material or break without compacting top down ridges as required. layer. ® SPRING TOOTH RAKE @BRUSH Adjustable from light to Adds that well-groomed heavy raking or severe professional look. scarification. @ STANDARD EXT. @ LEVELING TOOL BRUSH Floating, parallel For a super-finish with- linkage. [BallilerlallJ out extra passes. 41 Kelfield Street,Rexdale,Ontario,Canada M9W 5A3- Telephone 416-247-7875- Fax 416-247-6540 TOLL- FREE USA 1-800-665-2696 • CAN 1-800-325-4871

Call 1(800) 817-1889 use Fast Fax #1010697 and/or Circle 101 on Postage Free Card ...About The Shape of Your Turf?

Delta Bluegrass Company has the solution - Tifway 419 and our patented, exclusively grown Baby Bermuda. These Hybrid Bermudas are perfectly suited for the strenuous conditions your stadium turf is accustomed to enduring. Washed for your convenience, these warm season grasses are available on sand, meeting USGA specifications, as well as peat soil. For over a decade, Delta Bluegrass has been producing and installing the industry's highest quality peat sad. Give us a call for more information on Hybrid Bermudas and other varieties of our premium sods - Your turf will be glad you did!

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Circle 102 on Postage Free Card sportsT"f PROGRAM

VOLUME THIRTEEN, NUMBER SIX .... JUNE 1997 ~~ Managers Association THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE SPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION MAIN EVENTS

STMA OFFICERS PRESIDENT MIKE SCHILLER PAST PRESIDENT GREG PETRY 70 Drikakis Wins STMA's Softball Field of the Year PRESIDENT-ELECT STEPHEN GUISE COMMERCIAL VICE PRESIDENT HENRY INDYK, PH.D. A consistent, safe, highly playable surface isthe rule, not the SECRETARY EUGENE MAYER TREASURER RICH MOFFITT exception, at Jim Drikakis Field,'STMA's 1996-1997Softball Field of STMA BOARD MEMBERS L. MURRAY COOK, BUCKY TROTTER, MARY OWEN, BOB PATT, BOB CURRY the Year shines as a successful balancing act between heavy EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEVE TRUSTY STMAOFFICE use and a good maintenance program. 1375 ROLLING HILLS LOOP, COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA51503 PHONE: (800) 323-3875 E-MAIL: [email protected] WEB SITE: http://www.aip.comlSTMA MAGAZINE STAFF 74 Disney Constructs a Wide World of Sports VICE PRESIDENT GROUP PUBLISHER COLLEEN LONG EDITOR JIM WILLIAMS Imagine a theme park for athletes and sports addicts - a live EDITORIAL DIRECTOR JERRY ROCHE EQUIPMENT EDITOR DANIEL INGHAM version of ESPNwhere the action surrounds you. The Walt Disney PRODUCTS/NEWS EDITOR JAMES ALDERSON ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE DEANNA MORGAN Company did and recently opened a unique nine-venue, year- INTERNET MARKETING SERVICES GRETCHEN WAGNER round competition and training complex with state-of-the-art NATIONAL ACCOUNT SALES UZ RICHARDS, MARSHA DOVER DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION DON FERREIRA facilities that cater to more than 30 sports. PRINT PRODUCTION COORDINATOR AMELIA ZAMUDIO MANAGER WEB PRODUCTION DEBORAH A. BELLE GRAPHIC DESIGN MARTY McNULTY LIST RENTAL JAN LEONARD PH: (847) 427-2091 FAX: (847) 427·2006 78 Giants Stadium Testsa New Field-on-Wheels CIRCULATION MANAGER ROB HARKEY SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES CALL (609) 786-6805 For a soccer game recently, Giants Stadium temporarily buried ADVERTISING AND EDITORIAL OFFICES 68-860 PEREZ RD., SUITE J, CATHEDRAL CITY, CA 92234 its AstroTurf beneath mobile squares of turfgrass. It's part of an (619) 770-4370; Fax (619) 770-8019 experiment that, if successful, will add a new dimension to sports-field management,

ADAMSA.TRADE PRESS, Inc. PRESIDENT MARK ADAMS VICE PRESIDENT/OPERATIONS PEGGY BILOUS CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER G. PATRICK O'DOWD DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES MARGIE DAVIS DIRECTOR/INTERNET DEVELOPMENT GARY CORBETT DIRECTOR/MIS SUZANNE DELAHANTY sportsTURF (ISSN 1061-687X) is published monthly by Adams/Green LINE-UP Industry Publishing, Inc. 68-860 Perez Rd., Ste. J, Cathedral City, CA 92234. Material in this publication may not be reproduced or photocopied in any form without the written permission of the publisher. 5 STMAin Action 23 Product Showcase Copyright © 1997. Member of the Business Publications Audit of Circulation, Inc. 6 Front Office 27 Applicator's Log 6 Calendar SUBSCRIPTION RATES 29 Classifieds ONE YEAR $40 TWO YEARS $65 9 STMAMessage FOREIGN (ONE YEAR) $65 • $130 Airmail or Single Copy $6 SEND PAYMENTS IN ADVANCE TO: sportsTURF, 2101 S. 73 Tip0' the Month 29 Ad Index Arlington Heights Rd., Arlington Heights, IL 60005-4142. CHANGE OF ADDRESS Apply old mailing label to subscription card, answer all questions and 23 Rookies 30 Front Lines mail or fax to: (609) 786-4415. Allow 6-8 weeks for change. Send cor- respondence regarding subscription service to: sportsTURF, P.O. Box 10515, Riverton, NJ 08076-0515. On the Cover:

PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID at Cathedral City, CA and at additional mailing offices. Workers, installing "Grass Squares," convert Giants Stadium's POSTMASTER: Please send change of address to sportsTURF, P.O. Box 10515, Riverton, NJ 08076-0515. field from artificial to natural turf, Photo by Chris Scott,

4 sporfsTURF· http://www.sporsturfonline.com \ STMA inAction

STMA Chapter News Midwest Chapter: The Midwest Chapter of STMA hold its 3rd Annual Seminar on Wheels July 16. will meet on June 12 at Demaree Stadium of Merrillville Participants will gather at Midway Stadium, then board High School, Merrillville, Indiana, STMA's 1994 Football a bus for McMurray Fields, where vendors will show Field of the Year. Activities will include a tour of the their aeration equipment in action in a mini-aeration facility and sessions on field construction and mainte- clinic. Next, the group will take the bus for tours of the nance. City of Plymouth Athletic Facility; Goodrich Field, August 12 marks the chapter's Seminar on Wheels Anoka, Minnesota, where a high sand-based field is tour. Plan now to join this behind-the-scenes tour of the being constructed; Blaine Sports Center, site of USA Cup athletic fields of Northwestern University, Wrigley Field, Soccer; the Turfco factory; Bethel College; Urban Soldier Field and the University of - Chicago Ventures; and the Rice and Arlington Sports Dome. The campus. workshop will wrap up with a tail-gate party at Midway Because of injuries sustained in a serious accident Stadium and a St. Paul Saints game. this past fall, Midwest Chapter President Lonnie Berg For information, contact Connie Rudolph at (612) 644- felt that she couldn't devote the necessary time to the 0639. association and has resigned her position. Stepping up to Iowa STMA: The Iowa Sports Turf Managers the president's position for the remainder of Lonnie's Association will hold a Baseball Workshop from 1:30 to 4 term is Scott Pippen, Village of Lincolnshire. John continued on page 13 Anderson, Cannon Turf Supply Inc., has been asked to fill the vice president position. The rest of the board remains the same with Marc Van Landuyt, Van's Enterprises, as past president; Donald Michaels, TURF INSTALLATIONS Conserv FS, as treasurer; and Mike Trigg, Waukegan Park District as secretary. For more information, call The Chapter Hotline (847) 439-4727. Colorado Chapter: The Colorado Chapter of STMA will hold its next meeting on Friday, June 13, at Sky Sox Stadium. The meeting will open with Dave Rulli's President's Message and an introduction by Mark Leasure. Activities will include vendor talks, a session on infield mix presented by Ken Norkosky and a tour of the INSTALLEDCLEVELAND INDIANS STRIPPEDJACOBS FIELD stadium. Attendees will also enjoy a cook-out and the IN 42" AND 48" ROLLS CLEVELANDINDIANS Sky Sox baseball game. The Mid-Summer Workshop is scheduled for July 18th Who do the professionals call when they need a from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Wagner Park in Aspen, Colorado, field repaired or a new installation? More often than the home of the World Rugby Tournament. Topics will not CYGNET TURF. Our customer list reads like a include field renovation and irrigation. "WHO's WHO" of the sports industry. For fewer, The chapter's Second Annual Lawn Mower Man Open tighter seams, stability and performance, when you golf outing is scheduled for August 5 at West Wood Golf are ready to install give CYGNET a call. You can Course in Arvada, Colorado. use our quality sand-based sportsturf (bluegrass or Due to snow in April, the Spring Vendor Expo was bermuda) or yours. canceled. This event has been tentatively rescheduled for September 18 at Jeffco Stadium. Look for more details on this in August. For more information, call the 24-Hour CSTMA TUItF Chapter Hotline/FAX: (303) 438-9645. :. Equipment KAFMO: Keystone Athletic Field Managers Phone: (419) 354-1112 Organization (KAFMO Chapter STMA) is now in the Farm: (419) 655-2020 planning stages for its fall field day. Details will be Fax: (419) 352-1244 announced soon. For more information, contact Dan Douglas, Reading Phillies Baseball Club, at (610) 375-8469, extension 212. Call 1(800) 817-1889 use Fast Fax #1040697 and/or Minnesota Chapter: The Minnesota Chapter will Circle 104 on Postage Free Card

June 1997 5 THE FRONT.. OFFICE EVENTS.. OPINION PAGE CALENDAR June Stadium of the Near Future? Pesticide Applicators 25 Professional Association's hen the idea for grass squares originated (PAPA's) Pesticide Applicators Seminar. seven years ago, several factors had pro- Ventura, California. Contact: PAPA. W voked a brainstorming session among mem- Phone: (408) 442-3536. bers of the Greenway Group (pictured on page 19): 1. the increasing interest being expressed by athletes for a natural-turf playing surface, particularly at the July professional level; 17- Turfgrass Producers 2. the economic necessity for the multi-purpose use of International Summer stadiums, including many activities that did not require a natural-turf surface; Convention and Field Days. 3. the World Cup Soccer standards requiring a natural-turf playing sur- Minneapolis, Minnesota. Contact: Tom face (certain venues under consideration utilized a synthetic surface for Ford. Phone: (847) 705-9898. Fax: athletic activities). (847) 705-8347. From the brainstorming session came a set of criteria required to con- vert a synthetic surface to a natural-turf surface: (1) rapid conversion, (2) instant playability, (3) instant restoration. To meet those criteria, Dr. 23 PAPA Pesticide Applicators Henry Indyk proposed a transportable modular system. This led to the Seminar. San Jose, development of the original one-foot-square model, followed by improve- California. Contact: PAPA. Phone: ments that evolved into the present system. (408) 442-3536. The present system, however, is only one step in a grander scheme. When Indyk proposed the idea of grass squares, he envisioned their use within a "Stadium of the Future." Pursuing the concept, GreenTech has 26-28 International L~wn, Garden developed a proprietary prototype design for such a venue where a field is and Power Equipment Expo 1997. Louisville, Kentucky. Contact: moved directly into a stadium on a platform - truly a field-on-wheels. If the present experiment at Giants Stadium succeeds, the Stadium of the Sellers Expositions. Phone: (800-) 558- Future may be right around the corner. 8767 or (502) 562-1962. Turf Training for the Future Midwest Regional Turf In other areas, Disney's Wide World of Sports heralds things to come. As 29 Foundation's Turf Field a "theme park" for athletes, it is the first of its kind and will likely spawn Day. West Lafayette, Indiana. Contact: others down the road, at the same time providing a professional boost to the Bev Bratton. Phone: (765) 494-8039 or sports turf industry. (317) 494-8039. Among other present and future activities, the 110 acres of sports fields will supply a training ground for young and old sports-turf managers to broaden their skills in sports they may not have experience in handling. August The complex has established a new Department of Sporticulture, which is August 5 PAPA Pesticide beginning to organize a Central Florida Chapter for the STMA. Also, dis- 5 Applicators Seminar. Fresno, cussions have taken place about STMA's proposed Certified Sports Turf California. Contact: PAPA. Phone: (408) Manager Program using the complex for its yearly training grounds - a 442-3536. program Major and Associations along with other professional sports are planning to endorse. Golf Course Seminar at As things shape up now, the complex will likely become not only a pre- 5 SUNY- Delhi. Delhi, New mier sports destination in the world, but a premier sports turf destination York. Contact: Dominic Morales at as well. Under the guidance of Murray Cook, sports TURFs Man of the Year (607) 746-4413; or NYSTA at (800) 873- in 1991, and his staff, the complex may be blazing trails for both the sports 8873, (518) 783-1229. and the sports-turf industries to follow into the millennium. Correction PAPA Hands-On Pesticide In the April 1997 sports TURF, on page 9 under the heading 6 Applicators Seminar. "Maintenance," the products of the following manufacturers should be Ventura, California. Contact: PAPA. included in the list of additives for drying turfed and skinned areas after a Phone: (408) 442-3536. rain: Diamond Pro, Partac/Beam Clay, and Turface/Aimcor. Send announcements of your events two months in advance to: Editor, sportsTURF, 68-860 Perez Road, Suite J, Cathedral City, CA 92234. Fax: (619) 770-8019.

6 sporfsTURF· http://www.sporsturfonline.com STMA MESSAGE Networking Pays Dividends ~uManagers Association

By programmed for your field, on equip- and probably gain a better perspec- Mike Schiller ment or supplies you're thinking about tive on how others - including field purchasing, on personnel management users and spectators - view it. issues, or on suggestions that will help I'm sure you'll be fortunate make your tasks more efficient. enough to discover, as I have, that A few minutes of this kind of con- some of those "networking" contacts aveyou ever found yourself versation can become a "mini-seminar" develop into long-term friendships. in a social setting trying to giving you ideas you can put to work. You'll find yourself picking up the Hexplain to a group of casual Another key educational experience phone to ask some of these network- acquaintances just what it is you comes in visiting other sports turf ing friends for their perspective on a actually "do" as a sports turf man- managers at their facilities. This may tough problem you're facing (and ager? If, like me, you've been there, be part of a national or chapter work- they may have already solved); or to done that, you've likely seen a shop or seminar-on-wheels tour, or a share a success story with someone glazed look of total incomprehension one-on-one session you've arranged as who understands the reason it's a come into their eyes. The more you part of a business or family trip. success; or to garner some sympa- try to clarify, the less they seem to Welcoming another sports turfman- thy and encouragement after a fail- understand. ager to your facility can be as much a ure. And you'll be on the giving end Contrast that experience to one learning experience for you as for the of those conversations as well. of your recent conversations with a visitor. A question about how you han- So - what does all this have to group of your peers. The idea dle a certain problem or perform a spe- do with STMA? Everything! STMA exchange is fast and furious, with cific procedure may help put some of can be your conduit to these net- technical terms dropped into the your "standard" practices in better working opportunities, as current conversation and comprehended as focus for both of you. Or, it may raise members already know. easily as those secret codes you an issue or bring up a solution you If you're not yet a member and probably shared with friends as a hadn't previously considered. want to find out more about how this kid. You focus on key bits of infor- If nothing else, you'll gather infor- networking works, just call our mation that have a direct bearing on mation on your facility from the view- headquarters at 800/323-3875. We'd the maintenancepractices you've point of a knowledgeable "outsider," love to share the good news with you.

June 1997 9 Because of the field's busy schedule, maintenance must be worked in between morning league games, day-time practices and games. Photo courtesy: Mike Varner. I

I:ilt······.·.,h'·irl'; .'.. .~H ,j! I···I· fJ."z.j

By Bob Tracinski Working in Maintenance down," Varner says. "We plan to run Weekday evening games begin at 6 each of these heads two or three times consistent, safe and highly p.m. On weekends, fields are in use a day for 10-minute intervals during playable surface is the rule, not from 9 a.m. to dark - and longer on the driest periods." A the exception, at Jim Drikakis the lighted fields. Maintenance proce- During daily infield maintenance, Field in John Bailey Park, Battle dures are worked in between the morn- the front blade on the field rake is used Creek, . The STMA's 1996- ing league games, day-time practices to push material back into holes and 1997 Softball Field of the Year is a and games. depressions. With the stone-dust sur- shining example of a successful balanc- "Checklists are provided," Varner face, the broom is used by itself unless ing act between heavy use and a good says, "for each of the three mainte- wet conditions require use of the maintenance program. nance categories: daily, weekly and spikes to promote better drying. "Bailey Park is the center of outdoor periodically - so no one can forget Spiking is needed only occasionally activity in Battle Creek," says Head what needs to be done." once the freeze-thaw cycles of March Groundskeeper Mike Varner. "Our infield playing surfaces," and April have passed. Stone dust is The park has 11 playing fields, Varner says, "are made of crushed added to the infields as needed, and limestone screenings [also called 'stone lips are washed twice a year. including C.O. Brown Stadium (home dust']. Good native clay/sand mixtures For some supplies, Varner has an of the Michigan Battle Cats, the Class are hard to find in Michigan, and then innovative arrangement. A affiliate of the we face the additional challenge of get- "We have an advertising/ticket ). Drikakis Field in ting them screened properly because trade-out," Varner says, "with Flannery Complex opened in 1993 and most of the native clay is very rocky. TruGreeniChemlawn for the granular is where all the important games are Stone dust is relatively inexpensive at fertilization of all the park fields. This played: adult slow-pitch, adult fast- $13 per ton. It's easy to maintain and includes signage in the C.O. Brown pitch, high school and college fast- works well when wet. The only draw- Stadium, an ad in the Battle Cats pro- pitch, and the Michigan High School backs are that it does not compact very gram, and advertising during the radio Athletic Association girls fast-pitch well in batter's boxes and gets pretty broadcasts of the Battle Cats games." state finals. , dusty when it dries out." He keeps a master record of all All that differentiates Drikakis Added to the middle of each of the games scheduled on each of the 10 Field from the other seven softball infields this year is an additional fields and the stadium field each day, fields in the complex is that "it faces the sprinkler head. and makes adjustments for rain-outs main entrance and that's where they "We can manually turn a ball valve and other cancellations. The actual put the bleachers," Varner observes. to activate this head to keep the dust game figures are totaled for each field

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