ATHLETIC SURFACES

Photo courtesy of RossTarrant Architects

By Mary Helen Sprecher

Track and field may be one of the oldest sports in the world , but that doesn ’ t mean it ’ s staying static . And although it ’ s no secret that the granular surfaces such as cinder , fired clay and expanded shale have been left in the dust , it ’ s easy to lose sight of what really is new in facilities these days .

According to Sam Fisher of Fisher Tracks in Boone , Iowa , the arms race to have the best and newest sports venues is showing no signs of slowing down — at both the high school and college levels .

“ I think one of the biggest trends I am seeing is the desire for a competition track ,” said Fisher . “ This seems to be true regardless of the size of the district . Depending upon the school ’ s conference , this may mean an opportunity to hold a big track meet of some stature only once every six or eight years . At the same time , the thought of building a full competition track seems to be the biggest driver . The difference in cost between a six-lane versus an eight-lane , between one or two runways versus four to six runways , and even multiple high jumps does not seem to faze most .”

Photo courtesy of Iowa Sports Turf Management

26 SportsField Management | February 2025 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com