Construction/Renovation

Whether you are designing a brand new facility or renovating an old field, the following information provides facts and advice for building and maintaining a successful playing surface.


University of Virginia Scott Football Stadium Field
Photo courtesy of Carolina Green Corp


Construction

Construction of a new playing surface involves installing drainage and irrigation, choosing a rootzone, and establishing a turf species.


City of Wilmington - Legion Stadium & Hardee Baseball Stadium
Photo courtesy of Carolina Green Corp


Field Crowns and Slopes
Irrigation
Rootzone
Turfgrass Selection


Reconstruction

Field renovation is the process of restoring a field to its original condition after undergoing the stress of a competitive season. Once the season ends, it is good to renovate and then allow two to four weeks for recovery. Although renovation typically does not involve soil addition or removal for grading purposes, it is a good time to consider recrowning a field if necessary.

In baseball, renovation techniques include deep tilling of the skinned area, adding soil for drainage, seeding and sodding and lip removal.

In football, rugby, soccer, field hockey and lacrosse, renovation techniques include aggressive aeration, filling in low spots, topdressing, and seeding, sprigging, plugging and/or sodding. In the north, it is beneficial to seed in the late fall, which is called dormant seeding. This way, in the spring, there will be optimum seed germination. In the south, it is best to seed in the spring to prevent cold temperature injury to Bermudagrass seed.



Soccer, hockey and lacrosse require additional attention to the goal mouth areas as they become extremely worn and compacted. The soil needs to be broken up, regraded to match the rest of the field, then seeded or sodded.

Croquet court renovation techniques include aerating and topdressing.

Renovation on nonporous tennis courts includes repainting and sealing cracks. On clay and fast dry courts, the surface should be loosened, leveled and topdressed once per year. On grass courts, aeration, topdressing, and leveling are necessary for the best performance.

Renovation to all weather track surfaces includes cleaning and line painting. Sometimes they need to be resurfaced, but this should only take place every 4-7 years. Cinder tracks require the addition of cinders once a year.

References: The information for this section was taken from the book Sports Fields: A Manual for Design, Construction and Maintenance by Jim Pulhalla, Jeff Krans, and Mike Goatley.