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''We're a team," explains GaryVandenberg, director of grounds for

the MilwaukeeBrewers BaseballClub, when speak-ing of assistantDave Mellor."Dave and I getalong very welland think a lotalike. Davehandles theday-to-day

scheduling of the crew whileDave Mellor (left) Ihandle the budgeting andand Gary Vandenberg management chores."

One thing they both agree on is JohnDeere. "Our John Deere equipment allowsus to do a better job," says Mellor. "Forexample, the 1200A is so fast and efficientthat we can groom the entire infield in justfive minutes. That means we can go out andsmooth the skinned area between pregamebatting and infield practices. Players appreci-ate that extra touch."Vandenberg and Mellor's equipment fleet

includes a John Deere 1200A Field Rake,

2653 Utility Mower, 220 Greens Mower,Gator" Utility Vehicles, and 1800 Sprayer.'The 1800 is like a Cadillac," says

Vandenberg. ''You have all the controls atyour fingertips and the wide boom allowsyou to make fewer passes. I've never seenanything better."

"If one thing stands out about the JohnDeere equipment, it's that we've had virtu-ally no downtime," concludes Mellor.''We count on themachines and theyhaven't let us down -and that goes for theentire John Deereorganization."For the name of

your nearest distrib-utor, or free literature,ca1l80Q-537-8233.Or write John Deere,PO Box 12217, RTl?,NC 27709-9601.www.deere.com

NOTHING RUNS LIKE A DEERE®

spllrtsT'RfPROGRAM

~~Managers Association

THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THESPORTS TURF MANAGERS ASSOCIATION

STMA OFFICERSPRESIDENT MIKE SCHILLERPAST PRESIDENT GREG PETRYPRESIDENT-ELECT STEPHEN GUISECOMMERCIAL VICE PRESIDENT HENRY INDYK, PH.D.SECRETARY EUGENE MAYERTREASURER RICH MOFFITTSTMA BOARD MEMBERS L. MURRAY COOK,BUCKY TROTTER, MARY OWEN, BOB PATT, BOB CURRYEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR STEVE TRUSTYSTMAOFFICE1375 ROLLING HILLS LOOP, COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA51503

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MAGAZINE STAFF

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sportsTURF (ISSN 1061-687X) is published monthly by Adams/GreenIndustry Publishing, Inc. 68-860 Perez Rd., Ste. J, Cathedral City, CA92234. Material in this publication may not be reproduced or photocopiedin any form without the written permission of the publisher.

Copyright © 1997. Member of theBusiness Publications Audit of Circulation, Inc.

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VOLUME THIRTEEN, NUMBER FIVE MAY 1997

MAIN EVENTS8 Wausau's Athletic Park Wins Municipal

Diamond of the YearA limited budget, a packed schedule and Wisconsin's short growingseason make baseball field maintenance a constant challenge for ParkManager Greg Freixand his staff. So, it was a sweet moment when theirfield won the 1996-1997 Beam Clay Baseball Diamond of the YearAward in the Schools, Municipalities and Parkscategory.

74 Striping and Marking Athletic FieldsFrom the recreational to the professional sports level, the types of mate-rials and techniques to stripe and mark fields may be strikingly dissimilaror remarkably alike. STMAmembers Michael DePew and Gilbert Pulleydescribe the various materials and how to use them to your advantage.

20 Trends in Fitting Fields to StadiumsTojustify the financial commitment necessary to build and maintain amodern crowd-appealing, owner-pleasing stadium, a field must beable to accommodate multiple revenue-raising events day after day,rain or shine. Steve Guise outlines advances in design, construction andmaintenance that are making field longevity and the financial successof stadiums possible.

26 Sod & Squad Work Miracle at Lambeau FieldLast January, 600 tons of bluegrass and a sad squad from the Eastraced 1,000 miles to Wisconsin in an attempt to transform the pigpen ofLambeau Field into sure-footed turf for the onslaught of the Green BayPackers-Carolina Panthers playoff game. Overcoming near-zero-degree temperatures, snow storms and other adversities, they suc-ceeded beyond anyone's wildest expectations.

LINE-UP6 Front Office6 Calendar7 STMA Message

31 Applicator's Log35 STMA in Action

40 Rookies41 Classifieds41 Ad Index42 Front Lines

On the Cover: Chief Scientist Jim Beard (right) of International SportsTurf Research Institute (ISTRI)and Bob Vaughn of Pure Seed Researchconduct tests with ISTRI'swear machine at Pure Seed's facility near

Canby, Oregon, Photo courtesy: Steve Guise.

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

Circle 102 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 suitedfor the strenuous conditions your stadium turf is accustomed to enduring.Washed for your convenience, these warm season grasses are available onsand, meeting USGA specifications, as well as peat soil.

For over a decade, Delta Bluegrass has been producing and installing theindustry's highest quality peat sod. Give us a call for

more information on Hybrid Bermudas andother varieties of our premium sods -

Your turf will be glad you did!

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THE FRONT OFFICET

OPINION PAGEMore and More Recognition

Inlast month's article about 1996-97 Beam ClayCollege Baseball Diamond of the Year award win-ner Mark Light Stadium (University of Miami),

we neglected to mention that Head GroundskeeperKevin C. Hardy and his crew provide maintenancefor the university through Unicco Service Company,a multi-service provider that deserves to be recog-

nized for its support of Hardy's efforts.While on the subject of recognition, we'd like to note that the one prob-

lem with the Beam Clay Baseball Diamond of the Year awards, now adecade old, is that there just aren't enough of them to go around. So manysports turf managers are doing so much with so little that three awardsjust don't seem enough to recognize all the hard work and dedication goinginto baseball diamonds. For this reason, we're glad that the AmericanBaseball Coaches Association (ABCA) and Turface Sports Field Productsbegan sponsoring the Outstanding Field Maintenance Awards three yearsago, and we are pleased to announce the results.During ABCA's annual banquet last winter, the Outstanding Field

Maintenance Award at the college level was given to Baylor University,Waco, Texas. At the high school level, Deerfield Beach High School,Deerfield Beach, Florida, won the award.The awards were presented by Joe Betulius, Turface product manager.

Each winner received $400, a plaque and one ton of Turface sports field con-ditioner.Two other awards, the Field Maintenance Scholarships, were presented

to Franklin College, Franklin, Indiana, and Camelback High School,Phoenix, Arizona. The scholarships are awarded "to coaches and teams thatbest demonstrated a need and a strong desire to improve their fields formaximum athletic performance and safety for their athletes."Additional recognition for the work sports turf managers are doing

comes from the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), which announced theresults of its latest league-wide player survey concerning NFL clubs' play-ing surfaces.The written survey was conducted by NFLPA staff members at team

meetings during the 1996 NFL season, as a follow-up to a similar surveyconducted during the 1994 NFL season. The 1996 survey revealed that86.7% of the 1,034 players who answered preferred to play on natural grass(up from 85.1% in 1994), while only 6.3% preferred artificial turf (downfrom 7% in 1994), and 7% had no preference (8% in 1994). Almost three-quarters (74%) of NFL players in this survey also indicated that playing ona natural grass surface was either very important or somewhat importantin selecting the teams they would consider signing with as free agents (upfrom 70% in 1994).The players also chose the five "best" NFL playing fields, all of which are

natural grass surfaces. In order of preference, they are Tampa Stadium,Miami's Pro Player Park (formerly Joe Robbie Stadium), JacksonvilleStadium, Arizona's Sun Devil Stadium and Kansas City's ArrowheadStadium.Does it surprise you that, at the bottom of the list, the five "worst" sta-

diums all had artificial turf? We refrain from mentioning the stadiums'names, but if you'd like to knowwho they are or want a copy of the r ~survey, call the NFLPA at (202) .. ~(~ ........::.-_--463-2200.

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

EVENTST

CALENDARMay28 Pesticide Applicators Professional

Association's (PAPA's) Hands-OnPesticide Applicators Seminar. 'Iwo loca-tions: Santa Rosa and Davis, California.Contact: PAPA. Phone: (408) 442-3536.

June18 Landscape Entomology Symposium,

sponsored by DC CooperativeExtension. Fee: $50 (includes lunch andproceedings). Rancho Del Rey ConferenceCenter, Oak View, California. Eight ISAand 9 PCA CED s approved. Contact:Jim Downer, DC Farm Advisor. Phone:(805) 645-1458. Fax: (805) 645-1474.

19 PAPAPesticide Applicators Seminar.Eureka, California. Contact: PAPA.

Phone: (408) 442-3536.

July17-19 Turfgrass Producers

International SummerConvention and Field Days. Minneapolis,Minnesota. Contact: Tom Ford. Phone:(847) 705-9898. Fax: (847) 705-8347.

23 PAPAPesticide Applicators Seminar.San Jose, California. Contact: PAPA.

Phone: (408) 442-3536.

26- 28 International Lawn, Gardenand Power Equipment Expo

1997. Louisville, Kentucky. Contact:Sellers Expositions. Phone: (800) 558-8767or (502) 562-1962.

29 Midwest Regional 'Ib.rf Foundation'sTurf Field Day. West Lafayette,

Indiana. Contact: Bev Bratton. Phone:(765) 494-8039 or (317) 494-8039.

August5 PAPAPesticide Applicators Seminar.

Fresno, California. Contact: PAPA.Phone: (408) 442-3536.

18 Golf Course Seminar at SUNY-Delhi. Delhi, New York. Contact:

Dominic Morales at (607) 746-4413; orNYSTA at (800) 873-8873, (518) 783-1229.

Send announcements of your events two monthsin advance to: Editor, sporlsTURF, 68-860 Perez

Road, Suite J, Cathedral City, CA 92234. Fax: (619)770-8019.

\The STMA Certification

Committee held a day-long~ planning session on March

Ifith laying the preliminaryground work for a certificationprogram. The committee will bepresenting its recommendations tothe STMA Board for considerationat the July 11-12 board meeting.Because the committee, andSTMA, want the program toanswer the needs and concerns ofthe individual sports turf manag-er, and of the sports turf industry,a call for input from STMA mem-bers was issued in the March-April issue of our newsletter,Sports Turf Manager.Consider this message a call for

your input on the certification pro-gram and, further, a call to join the

STMAMESSAGE

ByMike Schiller

Moving Ahead

national association, if you have notalready done so. If you are an activeparticipant in the sports turf industryin any contributing capacity - admin-istrative or hands-on management,turf-related education and training,supplier of products or services -STMA needs you. And you need STMA.Responsiveness to industry demandsand needs comes through communica-tion and cooperation. Working togeth-er, we have the resources and strengthto accomplish great things.Speaking of great things, the 1998

Conference and Exhibition coming upJanuary 14-18 will be just that. TheSTMA Board met at the Walt DisneyWorld Sports- Complex on March 14and 15 to check out some of the excit-ing things that will be incorporatedinto the conference. This truly impres-sive 200-acre site offers athletic oppor-tunities for over 30 sports - and con-

~JUManagers Association

ference attendees will see it all. Ourheadquarters hotel is anotherDisney property, the CoronadoSprings Resort. We'll take fulladvantage of its unique design andexcellent meeting facilities. If youhave not had a Disney experience(like me before the March meeting),polish off your "Wow!" Every "castmember" (as Disney personnel arecalled) is there to serve you.There's more. The Conference

Committee is putting together twodifferent Seminar on Wheels oppor-tunities and a golf outing. And, justin case you'd like to tie this Floridatrip to family vacation time, thecommittee is working with Disney toset up special multi-day, multi-parkprograms for the Walt Disney Worldattractions.You'll want to come early or stay

late to fit it all in.

May 1997 7

SR!I!S1~Qlurionline.comT---

A member of STMA, Greg Freix attends "every sports turf seminar I can workinto the schedule." Photos courtesy: Greg Freix.

By Bob Tracinski

Alimited budget, a packedschedule and north-centralWisconsin's short growing

season make baseball field mainte-nance a constant challenge for ParkManager Greg Freix and his staff.So, the moment seemed even sweet-er when the 1996-1997 Beam ClayBaseball Diamond of the Year Awardin the Schools, Municipalities andParks category went to their field,Wausau's Athletic Park, the premierfacility of the City of Wausau andMarathon County Park Department.Freix says, "We strive to have the

field prepped consistently for everyevent. That's what it's all about." Andthat attitude and commitment payoffin quality.The baseball field ofAthletic Park is

one of 13 diamonds located throughoutthe city. The closest is a Little Leaguefield located behind Athletic Park.The Wausau Park area has been

used since the early 1900s, which isreflected by the older residential

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

neighborhood that surrounds it.During the Work Projects era of the1930s, a stone wall was constructedthree-quarters of the way around thepark when the original infrastructurewas built. The only open section of thediamond ran from right center field toleft center field, a space now filled withbill boards added in the late 1970s as afund-raiser for the field's primary user.Freix says, "The park is essentially

land-locked, but that's not all bad. Thecommunity, and the city, consider it'theirs.' For all events, people parkalong the neighborhood streets andwalk to the facility. We have bleacherseating for 1,800 and, with a packedhouse, have reached attendance levelsof 2,500 to 2,700."Everyone enters through the main

gate behind the grandstand area andwalks up to the bleachers, so their firstglimpse of the field is similar to theexperience of entering a major leaguefacility."Freix and crew are very conscious of

the "wow" factor, the reaction of play-ers and spectators alike when they getthat first look at the field. The mainte-

nance program is focused on deliveringthe playing level anticipated by thosefirst perceptions.Freix says, "Because of our north-

ern location, we have an average of 115to 125 playing days available for anaverage 150 game schedule. An April1st season opener used to be planned,but we've moved that to April 15th,and we're lucky to get up to threegames in before early May. The seasonends in mid-August. In 1995, a recordof 162 games were played here. In1996, we worked in 161 games with111 days available for play. Obviously,there are lots of doubles."Until recently, the last major field

work had been completed in the 1940s,so with the combination of heavy useand the native clay soil, the infieldbecame "a lake" following rain. Attimes, crews resorted to digging holesand installing sump pumps to getwater off the field.Renovation began in August of 1993

to improve both surface and subsur-face drainage. The infield was excavat-ed to a three-foot depth and the origi-nal material hauled off site for fill on

SEE US ONLINE - http://www.sportsturfonline.com

other projects. A subsurface drainagesystem with perforated tile linesspaced at 15-foot intervals wasinstalled. The tiles are embedded ingravel and surrounded by geotextilematerial. Excess water flows throughthe tiles into the storm sewer system.A 10-inch layer of material covers

the drainage system. In the turf-cov-ered portion of the infield, the materi-al consists of a sandy-loam native soilthat was screened off-site and truckedin. A local landscaper laser graded thefield, establishing a one percent crown.Freix says, "The skinned area,

including the base paths, was filledwith a mixture of 60 percent sharpsand and 40 percent clay loam. Thiswas mixed off-site and trucked in. It'ssimilar to the infield material of theturfed area, just a little bit sandier.The renovation has allowed us to get inmost of our games as scheduled. Wegenerally can play except when it'sactually raining or there's lightning.Following the renovation, the skinnedarea was playable within 15 minutesof our heaviest rain."The city's budget for the field

improvement wouldn't stretch enoughfor an in-ground, automatic sprinklersystem. A quick coupler was installedbehind the mound for irrigation. Bymid-September, the reconstructionwas completed and the infield seededwith a ball-field mixture fromReinderers Brothers consisting of 75percent Kentucky bluegrass(Touchdown, America and Banff) and25 percent perennial ryegrass (CutterII).Freix says, "We overseeded with

annual ryegrass in the spring of 1994to create a nurse crop cover for theyoung field. At the end of the 1995 sea-son, we killed the existing outfield turfwith glyphosate and seeded with amixture from LaCrosse Seed Companyconsisting of 60 percent Kentuckybluegrass using Bartitia, Alene andKen-Blue and 40 percent perennialryegrass using Pinnacle and Premier."AGreat GroupFreix is in his sixth year as park

manager for the WausaulMarathonCounty Park Department. He earned aBS degree in forest management fromthe University of Wisconsin, StevensPoint, planning a career in forestry.Instead, he spent six years working forChemlawn in various capacities beforetaking a position as horticulturist forMarathon County. After a year, he

advanced to his current position in1989.A member of the national Sports

Turf Managers Association and theWisconsin Turfgrass Association, he'sattended "every sports turf seminar Ican work into the schedule." He espe-cially enjoys the tremendous variety,and challenge, of maintaining a topquality facility. He gives credit to hiswife, Yvonne, who is supportivethrough all the demands of his positionand keeps things running smoothly athome with three-year-old Clare andnine-month-old Jackson.Less than half of Freix's work time

is committed to the Athletic Park base-ball facility. For assistance, he calls onthe Parks Operations Department forsuch time- and equipment-intensiveprojects as aeration. He calls their sup-port "excellent."Freix says, "Though the rest of my

crew members are seasonal, many ofthem were 'repeaters,' with some evenworking at the park before I came onboard. We've had a great group withtotal dedication to do the job right."Two people are assigned to the 11

ball diamonds at other sites and sixpeople are assigned to Athletic Park.Two of these people come on staff thefirst ofApril and work until mid to lateAugust. Most of the other six crewmembers are college students who join

us at the end of Mayor in early Juneand work until their class sessionsbegin in the fall, usually around theend of August. This will be a transi-tional year for us, because most of thiscrew have completed their formalschooling and are moving on to full-time positions in other areas."Seven Days a WeekBesides developing and overseeing

park maintenance, Freix handles allfield scheduling, no easy task with alighted facility open for play sevendays - and nights - a week. He says,"The park is home to the WausauWoodchucks baseball team, a summercollege team which is a member of theNorthwoods Baseball League. Thefield also is home for three local highschools, a Legion team, three adultleague teams, Babe Ruth baseball andSenior League baseball (LittleLeague). Many other non-local teamsuse the field if and when it's available."Athletic Park also is host to sever-

al tournaments each season and sever-al locally organized events, most ofwhich are held on weekends. This willbe the 25th year for the WisconsinState Baseball Tournament, whichbrings us 13 games in 3 days. For thelast 15 years, the Breakfast Optimistshave held a tournament for the SeniorLeague that packs 10 to 15 games into

"Wow" is generally the reaction of those who visit Wausau's Athletic Park forthe first time.

May 1997 9

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back to back, we haveto rely on the integrityof our overall mainte-nance program tocarry us through."That program

includes core aerationat least twice a year toat least a three-inchdepth. This is doneonce in the spring andonce in the fall, andmore frequently if con-ditions warrant. Thelevel of compaction,degree of heat andtime available are crit-ical factors. The coresare dragged in. Crewsoverseed weekly witha pregerminated seedmix. They also fill indivots with a mixtureof pregerminated seedand sand or calcinedclay. They do thisweekly for the infieldand on an "as needed"basis in the outfield.The field is fertil-

ized four or five timesa year with the timingand amount of nitro-gen and supplementalnutrients based on

soil-test results, weather patterns, andgrowing conditions. Soil tests are con-ducted every two years. Modifyingpotash and pH levels are usually thetwo basic adjustments needed. Thelast fertilization of the year is sched-uled for the end of October or thebeginning of November to prepare theturf for the following spring.The field is mowed every two days.

A tow-behind, 3-gang reel mower clipsthe outfield turf to 1 3/4 inches. Awalk-behind rotary mower trimmedthe infield turf to 1 1/2 inches in pastyears, but a riding reel mower will beadded this year.Insects and grassy weeds are not a

problem, and broadleaf weeds are min-imal. Those that do appear are spottreated with a Trimec solution admin-istered from a backpack sprayer dur-ing spring and fall field checks.But the same total enclosure that

helps keep weeds at bay creates condi-tions that increase the incidence of dis-eases, especially pythium. Freix fol-lows IPM principles of close observa-tion and cultural adjustments, apply-ing a combination of preventive andcurative fungicides as needed.Infield watering is basically by

continued on page 13

A typical day during the season begins at 8 a.m, andends well after midnight.

2 1/2 days, including a 6-game sessionon the opening night."The Park Department does allow

practice on the field, if the schedulepermits. A batting tunnel in the leftfield bullpen can also be used prior toa game if that activity doesn't disrupta scheduled event.All field users pay a game fee. The

Wausau Woodchucks have a primaryuse arrangement with the facility andmaintain a small office at the front ofthe grandstand. They also operate thethree concession stands and pay a per-centage of their profits to the city.Different Every DayDuring the season, a "typical" day

begins around 8 a.m. and wraps upwell after midnight. Freix says, "Westart the day with infield groomingand any maintenance needed alongthe grass/skin edge. We also try toallow a short break between games sothe crew can whip the field back intoshape. Plate and mound repairs and aquick drag of the baseline takebetween a half hour and 45 minutes.But circumstances are always chang-ing, so it's a different situation everyday and for every game. Sometimes,when games run long and fit together

Call 1(800) 817-1889 use Fast Fax # 1030597and/or Circle 103 on Postage Free Card

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