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The baseball strike offered a window of opportunity for the conversion of Kauffman Stadium from artificial to natural turf. Photo courtesy: Kansas City Royals. Kauffman Stadium Goes Green

By Richard Yach

he baseball strike was both good tions. They wanted the new field to be had to tear up and dispose of almost and bad news for the Kansas perfect from the elevation of the subgrade 120,000 square feet of the artificial sur- T City Royals. The premature end to the tiniest blade of grass. S.W. Franks face and the asphalt base underneath it," of the 1994 season was a difficult blow, Company of Cleveland, OR - the com- he says. "Since we had done the same but in the Royals' case, the strike pany contracted for the project - has thing to Arrowhead Stadium next door presented a window of opportunity for the spent the past 12 years specializing in during the summer, we had a good idea conversion of Kauffman Stadium from sports facility and general site devel- of what was in store for us." an artificial surface to natural turf. opment for commercial properties. Among The general scope of the job included When the average sports fan reads many others, the company built Jacobs the disposal of the old surface and instal- about a professional sports team changing Field, home of the Cleveland Indians, from lation of a drainage system consisting of from an artificial surface to natural the subgrade up and installed the new lateral drains under the playing field that turf, the last thing that comes to mind natural turf field for the Kansas City would tie into collection drains emp- is how it was accomplished and what was Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. This spe- tying into existing storm sewers. The job involved in making the transition. cialization earned the company a national also required setting up an entire irri- Certainly, the fans at a ballgame don't reputation gained by thorough plan- gation layout that would contain an know or perhaps even care why ning and the surgical-like care given automatic sprinkler head system, and the grass got to be as green as it is or to the irrigation and drainage layouts and installation of underground steel conduits why, during a rain-soaked game, the to the grass surface. that would carry communication, tele- field doesn't accumulate puddles in The Kauffman Stadium renovation job vision and electrical wire from the theoutfield. began the day after the baseball strike dugouts to the bullpens. It also included When the Kansas City Royals base- was announced, September 14, 1994. new drains under the first row of seats ball club wanted to make the changeover, The next day at 7 a.m. Ken Natterer, pro- that would collect and drain runoff they wanted their players to have the best ject manager for S.W. Franks, had his water from the stands. Along with these field in the league, free from imperfec- crew on site to begin the work. ''First, we steps, S.W. Franks regraded the entire 14 sporfsTURF FOR PRODUCT INFO FAXED TO YOU NOW! DIAL: 1(800) 817-1889

playing field, constructed a new warning on the panel would tell the operator track, put down pea gravel and a special when to raise or lower the crumber to rootzone base for the sod, set the sod and maintain the predetermined grade . . finally built the basepaths and the The laterals were cut 24 inches down, pitcher's mound with three different and with the aid of the conveyor and dirt kinds of dirt. drags on the T-455, the soil was moved Special Regrading away from the trench to produce a The ballclub and the players in par- cleaner cut. "We had to have clean ticular requested a special regrading of trenches for perfect drainage," N atterer the playing field. The old field rose to a explains, 'We don't want any dirt getting crown located near second base. The into the clean pea gravel that will cover slope dropped off toward the outfield the polypropylene drains. We spent a lot with a drop of almost three feet at its far- of time and effort keeping the pea gravel thest point in the outfield. The players clean and didn't want any dirt compro- not only felt as if they were throwing mising its drainage efficiency." uphill when they threw into the infield, After the trenches were cut, felt cloth but if they were playing deep, they was placed under the drains, and four couldn't see the ball leave the bat. The inches of pea gravel was placed over new grading called for raising the entire the entire field except for the basepaths, level of the outfield 15 inches. home plate and the pitcher's mound. Most of this work had to be com- Installation of the irrigation system fol- pleted before the second week of lowed. The irrigation laterals fed off December. Natterer explains the almost the four-inch diameter water main that frantic pace of the construction project. runs around the perimeter of the field. ''By the end of the first week in December, Placed inside the pea gravel, the irrigation I have to have sod down, because the laterals feed water to 53 pressure-acti- Pea gravel was spread four inches grass- root systems need some time to vated sprinkler heads throughout the field. thick over the entire playing field develop. Ifthat doesn't happen, according With the irrigation system in place, to the specs, I can't sod until the third except for the basepaths, home plate and the pitcher's mound. Photo the field was layered with a 14-inch week of March, and that's too late to be courtesy: Vermeer Manufacturing Co. base of a special rootzone mix for the sod. ready for opening day April 7." Consisting of 86-percent fine sand and After the field was stripped of the Half of the lateral drains from the 14-percent peat moss, 7,000 tons of this artificial surface and asphalt, some of the middle of center field drained toward the sterile mix was tested and retested for S.W. Franks crew started cutting trenches right field foul line collection drain, and purity to avoid contamination prior to for the collection drains. The drains the other half drained to the left field foul installation. started behind home plate at the edge of line collection drain. Both sides of the N atterer describes the care his crews the backstop wall andjutted out into three infield drain toward the collection drain directions. One drain went down the went to when they put down the sod base. aligned underneath the pitcher's mound. "We went through each machine and right field foul line, one down the left and Each of these lateral drains plus the examined them for any leaks, because one straight up the field toward the laterals that run from the stands toward they couldn't leak any fluid, and we pitcher's mound. These slotted 12- and the foul line collection drains on both sides brushed off the machine tracks to avoid 18-inch-diameter polypropylene drains of the field had anywhere from a half per- extraneous dirt or other grasses falling were set at a depth of three feet at their cent to a full one-percent decline overrun. in the mix," he explains. "It's a very farthest point to five-and-a-half feet The accuracy of this trench pitch is cru- tight spec for cleanliness, but then again, deep at the home plate storm sewer col- cial to fast drainage of the ballfield, the end result is what we're looking for. lection area. especially during a game if a cloud- This grass field should be perfect." The two-and-a-halfmiles offour- and burst happens to open up. Nobody - not All this behind-the-scenes planning six-inch-diameter lateral drain pipe the owners, players or the fans -likes were set in trenches cut with a Ver- washouts. and work were the key to having meer T-455. This 115-hp track trencher Kauffman Stadium ready for opening day. was set up with a ditcher boom to cut a Laser Accuracy The players in Kansas City, returned from trench up to five feet deep and 12 inches The accuracy of the trench grades their long work stoppage to enjoy playing wide, a crumber with a crumber shoe, and was accomplished by clamping a laser on the new, natural-turf surface, and the outfitted with a laser system so the receiver to a mast mounted to the special regrading makes life a little ditcher and crumber could maintain trencher's crumber. This receiver accepted easier in the Kansas City outfield. Now proper grade for the drainage. N atterer a signal from a laser light stationed the Royals have a surface that truly notes, "We knew we needed a unit like perpendicular to the trench, and the fits their name. this that would allow us to efficiently get receiver sent a signal to a light on the this much drain pipe in the ground and operator's panel. If the laser was set Richard Yach is a technical writer give us clean, smooth trenches." for the proper one-percent grade, the light based in Des Moines, IA. October 1995 15