2004
This retrospective delves into the historic issues of SportsTurf magazine, predecessor to SportsField Management magazine. For this edition of Accessing the Archives, we take a look back at 2004.
The January 2004 issue kicked off with Steve Wightman detailing the preparation for Super Bowl XXXVII at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. According to Wightman, after the final painting of the field, crewmembers “donated their multi-colored shoes to the rafters above the main tunnel entrance” — a longtime tradition at Qualcomm Stadium.
Also, history was made at Super Bowl XXXVII, as it was the first time that female ground crew members helped prepare the Super Bowl field. Abby McNeal, CSFM, of the Denver Broncos, and Raechal Volkening of the Milwaukee Brewers contributed their hard work and expertise as members of the Super Bowl crew.
Sports Turf Manager of the Year Awards for Minor League Baseball were also detailed in the January 2004 issue, as Tom Nielsen, Ed Attalla, Tommy Walston and Joe Skrabek earned top honors.
The February issue focused on softball , with a feature on softball infield maintenance, as well as a profile of the 2003 STMA Softball Field of the Year winner. Top honors went to Oran Good 5, the fifth field of the Oran Good softball complex in the City of Farmers Branch, Texas.
“Oran Good 5 is just one example of our concentration on excellence,” said F. Jeff Fuller, director of parks and recreation. “Our entire system operates on the standard that mediocrity is intolerable, which puts us on track for continuous improvement.”
Petco Park, which was opening as the new home of the San Diego Padres, was the highlight of the March 2004 issue. Luke Yoder, who managed construction of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ PNC Park from 2000 to 2003, was responsible for the pristine field at Petco that debuted in April
2004. The field featured sod from West Coast Turf that contained Bull’s Eye bermudagrass overseeded with Chaparral ryegrass. According to Yoder, two key factors helping his efforts to maintain an exceptional field included San Diego’s year-round mild climate and the fact that the Padres would no longer have to share the field with the Chargers.
Hawks Field at Haymarket Park of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was the cover story for April 2004 as the winner of the STMA 2003 College/University Baseball Field of the Year. As home of University of Nebraska Baseball and the Lincoln Saltdogs professional baseball team, the field hosted more than 200 events over a 10-month period.
“We all communicate, bringing our perspective on the field and facility together with the coaches’ perspective and the administrators’’ perspective to develop and maintain the most beneficial program for all involved,” said Dan Bergstrom, athletic turf manager.
For the May 2004 issue of SportsTurf , Dr. Michael Goatley, Jr., wrote about “Matching Expectations with Limitations,” in which he detailed turfgrass considerations and limitations based on climate, sport and anticipated use.
“Bermudagrass is a logical choice for warm climates, and Kentucky bluegrass blends or Kentucky bluegrass/perennial ryegrass mixtures work well in cool-season climates,” he wrote. “Turf managers in transition zones face special challenges. Even after making the most informed decision possible, the grass you select will still have major limitations due to times of field use outside of seasons of growth. No matter how good a turf manager you are, there is no way that you can always be expected to deliver a top-notch playing surface.”
The June issue delved into Arizona State University winning College Softball Field of the Year, as well as athletic field fertility, relieving compaction, turfgrass education, and much more.
In July 2004, STMA President Bob Campbell, CSFM, announced “The next big step” for the association — the creation of a committee to bring on an executive director and staff.
“The STMA Board must consider many options as we go through this transition,” Campbell wrote. “We are confident that we will be interviewing very strong and capable candidates, and look forward to hiring a strong leader and association executive director, one that will open new doors and blaze new trails for us to travel.”
George Mason winning College Soccer Field of the Year was the cover story for August 2004, which also included articles on planning new field projects, sports turf in Spain, soccer facilities, and establishing bermudagrass.
In September 2004, STMA followed up on Campbell’s July article about an executive director and staff announcement with the news that the association had hired Kim Heck as its first full-time executive director. Heck came to STMA from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America with a strong background in marketing and association management.
“My goal for the association is to help it grow in size and influence in the agronomic and sports worlds,” Heck wrote in her introductory statement. “My pledge to the STMA members is to truly listen to your ideas and concerns, and design a road map that will lead to greater success for the individual member and for the association.”
Turf horse racing tracks were the focus of October 2004 with a feature about three horse racing tracks near New York City — Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga — and the track superintendent for all three tracks, Jerry Porcelli. All three tracks used a Kentucky bluegrass blend that includes Jefferson, Liberator, Rambo and Midnight, cut to about 4 inches, as well as use of a plant growth regulator.
November 2004 was dedicated to a preview of the 16th Annual STMA Conference & Exhibition in Phoenix; while the December issue focused on turfgrass research, irrigation and drainage, field construction, and career development.
All content for this section is pulled from the SportsTurf/ SportsField Management archives, an ongoing cooperative project of EPG Media , SFMA and the Michigan State University Libraries . Public access to the archive from 1985 to the present (less two months) is available at https://sturf.lib.msu.edu/index.html.