'I' · and landscape border the fields, and the facility includes a paved parking area that accom-modates 415 cars. The only building on the property is a combina-tion restroom facility/small

sportsTURf

'I'STMA's College Soccer Field of the Year

R·...ising to the peaks is nothing. new for Abby McNeal. She. ... has based her career in

Boulder, CO, in the foothills of themighty Rocky Mountains. She excelledat Colorado State University in thelandscape horticulture pro-gram, and chose a concentra-tion in turfgrass management.She did so well that she earnedthe Colorado Sports TurfManagers Association scholar-ship twice, and the nationalSTMA scholarship in 1993.

After completing her BSdegree in 1994, McNeal main-tained an active role in STMA.She currently serves asPresident of the ColoradoChapter, and continues tomaintain a standard of excel-lence in her work at PleasantView Sports Complex. Onceagain, McNeal's efforts haveearned her top honors, as theSTMA has named PleasantView its 1997 College SoccerField of the Year.

McNeal is TurfgrassManager of the facility. Shesays, "Pleasant View SportsComplex is state of the art.Owned and operated by the City ofBoulder, the 54-acre complex features30 acres of sand-based fields, includingthe award-winning field used bythe University of Colorado's women'ssoccer team."

by Bob Tracinski

Construction of the original 21acres offields began early in 1994, andthe initial seeding was completed thatfall. These fields opened for play inAugust 1995. The complex added anadditional nine acres of fields between

"All 30 acres of playing fields have athree-inch layer of pea gravel with anEljen sub-drainage system," explainsMcNeal. "It's a rockless French drainthat uses four-inch plastic perforateddrain pipe placed in a herringbone pat-

tern 25 feet on center. At leastthat's how the 'as-builts' arepresented. Actual layout of theoriginal 21 acres is about 75percent true to the 'as-builts'.We've been remapping thefield's underground system asit's discovered.

"The drainage layer is cov-ered by an eight-inch layer ofsand-based media. On theaward-winning field and theother fields in the first con-struction' that mix is 90-per-cent sand and 10-percentDakota Sedge Peat. The nineacres of new fields are 100-per-cent sand. The sand is from alocal source and meets thespecifications for golf coursegreens construction."

One and a half acres of turfand landscape border the fields,and the facility includes apaved parking area that accom-modates 415 cars. The only

building on the property is a combina-tion restroom facility/small office andstorage compound. There's also afenced, graveled, outdoor equipmentstorage area adjacent to the com-pound.

Beautifully set in the foothills of the RockyMountains, Pleasant View Sports Complex, Boulder,CO, earned top honors as STMA's College SoccerField of the Year. Courtesy: Abby McNeal

fall 1996 and summer 1997. In-housecrews installed the sub-drainage andirrigation system, and RBI completed thefinal grading and seeding. Crews com-pleted construction in time to meet thedeadline for a June 1998 tournament.

8 sports TURF• http://www.sportsturfonline.com

McNeal says, "We have an MRI5000F irrigation system with a 50-sta-tion Motorola controller. We use Toro '2001 heads in the sand-based turfareas, and Toro Super 700 and pop-upheads cover the surrounding turf andlandscape areas. The drip system irri-gates the 45 tree-filled islands in theparking lot.

"For full-circle coverage at 100-per-cent of the evapotranspiration (ET)rate, field irrigation takes 3-1/2 hourswith each part-circle head running forfive minutes, and each full-circle headfor 10 minutes. The five- and 10-minute timing makes it easier to cal-culate the amount of water put downand to adjust zones for additional irri-gation. It takes another 1-1/2 hours ofirrigation for the outside landscaping.

"To shift high-traffic wear, we alter-nate the field orientation during theyear. In the spring, we layout ninefields (one rugby and. eight soccer) inan east to west grid. In the fall, we goto eight fields (one rugby and sevensoccer) in a north to south grid.Because of this, few of the irrigationzones are consistent with field layout.

"The city water mainline runsaround the facility on the borderingedges. Our irrigation system is looped

Turfgrass Manager Abby McNeal cur-rently serves as president of theColorado STMA. Courtesy: Ray Fidler

with two points of connection and nopump. Quick couplers are spacedalong this mainline, so we could haveup to 300 feet of hose to drag to spot

water sections of the fields. With thecity water system, we have pressurefluctuations depending on thedemands on the system. So we canhave problems achieving head-to-headcoverage, resulting in donuts of dryspots eight to 10 feet around theheads. The donuts require what myboss calls 'foot watering.' You put yourfoot on the sprinkler head to force thewater into the dry spot. It's faster andless labor-intensive than dragging thehoses. We work with different nozzleconfigurations to improve coverage.Trouble spots also receive extra aera-tion, slit seeding, and topdressing."

The complex is not fenced in andhas no windbreaks. Heat and desicca-tion put added strain on the irrigationsystem.

McNeal says, "Play and practicesfill the fields regularly, but unautho-rized use still occurs. Rules and regu-lations are posted, but the size of thecomplex makes enforcement difficult.There's a gate at the parking lotentrance that is closed when the facil-ity is not open. But the other threesides are exposed, and two are

Circle 103 on Postage Free Card

August 1998 9

bordered by community roads, so peo- methods that put most procedures inple can just park and walk in. These the one-person or two-person category.unauthorized users are the least Their commitment, flexibility, andrespectful of the facility and causethe greatest damage. To discour-age unauthorized use, we removesoccer goals in the summer, reset-ting them only for scheduled play.Goals are removed and stored atthe close of fall play. Vandalism,though not severe, is an on-goingproblem with the unfenced com-plex.';

McNeal was hired in April1995. At that time the facility hadfields, but no office, restrooms, orequipment. Her boss is DaveBrown, golf course superinten-dent for the City of Boulder.Before Abby came on board, he Taken four months into the spring season, thishandled both the course and the picture illustrates the excellent condition ofcomplex. Brown still does the pur- Pleasant View's fields. Courtesy: Abby McNeal

chasing, and he combines theneeds of both facili ties for costsavings. He coordinates specialproject needs with other citypersonnel.

Ray Fidler is classified as a part-time maintenance staff member. Heand McNeal developed maintenance

mutual respect help them manage theworkload.

A seasonal, part-time worker helpsin the summer. McNeal and Fidlerconcentrate their efforts on the fieldsand work their way to the outer turfand landscape. The third person tack-

les such tasks as weeding flower bedsand pruning shrubbery. McNeal andFidler focus additional maintenance

on the high-traffic areas: goalmouths, penalty areas, sidelines,field centers, and spots needingrepair.

Always on the lookout for bettertechniques, they're experimentingwith Crown III Crushed Rubber.They've been topdressing a 1/8-in.layer of the recycled material inthree different goal mouths andalong three different sidelines· onthe established turf. They mixZeopro in their divot mix to speedgermination and establishment,and they add Primo to the linepaint to slow upward turf growthand extend the painting intervalfrom 10 to 14 days.

A polymer-coated, slow-releasefertilizer with a one-to-one ratio of

nitrogen and potassium generally car-ries the complex for 12 weeks follow-ing mid-June application. Soil tests atleast three times a year help identifyfertility problems and allow McNeal tofine-tune the program to counteractthem.

Continued on pg. 14

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Continued from pg. 10 eties and five perennial ryegrass vari-eties. McNeal uses the same ratio foroverseeding, though she varies thevarieties within the mix according toperformance and availability.

McNeal and Fidler are responsiblefor general and corrective mainte-nance on the complex's 10 to 12 piecesof equipment. They also serve as thefirst-response team for general facilitycare, such as plumbing problems inthe restrooms.

The new 100-percent sand fields dorequire maintenance adjustments.They need a bit more fertilizer to buildup the organics in the profile.

In 1997, the crew core aerified thefields in July, and then sliced in thespring and fall. Topdressing mediamatches the soil profile.

All of the fields were initially seed-ed with a mix of five bluegrass vari-

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Field use"Colorado's temperate climate

allows regular field usage fromMarch up to Thanksgiving," explainsMcNeal. "Each year they want to playearlier. Our first 1998 event wasFebruary 28."

Field use is scheduled in three cat-egories: adult, youth, and collegiate.The adult league has competitive andrecreational teams which play 380games during two eight-week seasons.

The youth league is primarily com-petitive. Teams play two ten-week,700-game seasons.

The University of Colorado NCAADivision I women's soccer team usesthe fields from August to November.They hold three-hour practices fourdays a week and play up to nine homegames on the championship field.

Pleasant View also hosts two eight-week youth soccer camps during thesummer, and each averages 50participants. Up to six summer tour-naments bring in 1,000 more fieldusers at all levels of play. In 1998,Pleasant View will host the Triple-Crown Youth National Playoffs.

Rugby adds to the facility's busyschedule. The Boulder Rugby Clubholds two practices a week for approxi-mately six months, and plays 17 homegames during the year. In 1997, thecomplex hosted several semi-profes-sional team competitions and the three-day All-Star Collegiate RugbyTournament.

In 1997, Pleasant View also hosted athree-day Ultimate Frisbee tourna-ment and a EuroCross cross-countryrace. McNeal says, "Field use is by per-mit only and is scheduled by the City'sRecreation Supervisor, Teri Olander. AsTurfgrass Manager, I am able to influ-ence what usage the fields can handle.Teri and I work closely together on bothlong-term and day-to-day scheduling. Imake the call if it's too wet to play, butI've done that less than 10 times inthree years. I occasionally may cancelmorning games only for league play.

"This complex is maxed out forspace. If we had a facility twice thissize, it might be enough to meet theneeds of the community. We focus onexcellence, on providing safe, highlyplayable fields by doing the best withwhat we have and putting in thatextra effort each day." 0

Bob Tracinski is business communi-cations manager for John Deere WorldwideCommercial & Consumer EquipmentDivision in Raleigh, NC. He ispublic rela-tions co-chair for the national SportsTurf Managers Association.