sports turf talk
Challenges of the Municipal Sports Field Manager By Ken Edwards, Manager at Gulfport SportsPlex, Gulfport, MS; and Barry Stewart, Associate Professor, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS
“If
you build it, they will come…” At least that’s what worked in the 1989 film Field of Dreams. But the big issues for those of us in the industry aren’t whether we can build it, or even whether they’ll come. The big question is who are they? And are they your target market? Can we afford to maintain the field(s) as safe playing surfaces? And are we able to service the growing demands of sideline coaches that demand Major League (1989) diamonds on Bad News Bears (1976) or The Sand Lot (1993) budgets.
A rising tide should lift all boats.
A lot of municipalities are trying to break into the multi-billion dollar sports tourism market. Youth Sports Tourism ages 6 to 17 raked in $8.7 billion dollars in 2014 on team sports (SportsFacility Advisor.com). So, let’s say your community wants a piece of the pie and decides to build a sports complex. Since it is built with city tax dollars, citizens are going to want first dibs. After all, it’s not just a field for traveling teams. Naturally, everyone in the community wants to try out the new fields. What happens in 14 • Mississippi Turfgrass • spring 2016
many circumstances is that other fields in the local community get abandoned or suffer from neglect. But if communities organize and take a proactive approach, everyone can benefit. A proactive approach would be to welcome citizens at the new facility but also make needed renovations at existing fields. Failure to do so will mean all that has been accomplished was to add more poorly maintained fields. The construction of a new complex is an opportunity for the level of maintenance for all fields to rise. Although the planning stages for a new complex are not rocket science, equal emphasis should be made to rejuvenate older fields or evaluate their utility in the changing local market. This is an excellent time to examine the condition of the fields that already exist and renovate them if necessary. If the existing fields are in particularly bad shape, consider renovating them first to make them safe, playable and aesthetically pleasant. This will keep the fields in use long after the new fields are built, reducing the number of local contact hours on the new fields.
You must control usage.
Overuse can become a big safety and playability problem. Develop a use schedule to determine maximum field contact hours. Decide who is going to use the fields and when. A typical use schedule for Gulfport Sportsplex is divided into two categories; League play and Tournament play. Recreation League Play; March through July (Mon, Tue and Thu), 22 weeks, 3 nights per week or 66 nights. 2 games per night, 132 games X 1.5 hours = 198 field contact hours. Tournament play; February through October (Sat and Sun), 36 events, 2 days each or 72 days, 9 games each, 648 games X 1.5 hours = 972 field contact hours. Plus two additional events, 5 days each or 10 days, 10 games each, 100 games X 1.5 hours, 150 field contact hours. All total; 880 games = 1320 field contact hours per field per season. That many contact hours could be considered excessive on most sports