ACCESSING THE ARCHIVES
Also in the May issue, Abby McNeal, CSFM, shared insights into field paint.“ You need to first make a plan as to how you are going to paint the field,” said McNeal.“ It is important to take the time to think about it so you do not track back across painted lines. Gather all of your painting strings, check all of your equipment, and finalize the method of painting with the crew.”
Darrian Daily, director of grounds for the Columbus Crew, wrote about soccer field maintenance in the June 2002 issue.“ The best time-saving practice to use is‘ cheater points,’” Daily wrote.“ Our cheater points are plastic anchors we drive into the ground. We have placed two sets of points to mark the corner of a soccer field and a football field. These points allow us to easily find the outer boundaries of each playing area.”
The July issue covered the Schools and Parks Soccer Field of the Year— Muscatine Soccer Complex, analyzing soil- and sandbased fields, the Chicago Bears training camp fields at Olivet Nazarene University, field maintenance checklists, and more.
The“ modular makeover of Michigan State” was the cover story for August SportsTurf. For the first time in 33 years, college football would be played on a natural grass surface at MSU’ s Spartan Stadium. That was thanks to a system of 4,800 GreenTech ITM modules measuring 46 inches square each. Each module weighed 1,300 pounds and was brought into the stadium via forklift. They were then reassembled in the same order in which they were grown over the prior year at the Hancock Turf Research Center so that the edges and seams would fit tightly together.
In the September 2002 issue of Sports Turf, legendary Chicago White Sox Groundskeeper, Roger Bossard( aka,“ The Sodfather”), shared his insights regarding
sports field projects.“ There are two main factors in the success of any sports field project. First is that the right decisions are made during construction. Second, that it is properly cared for and maintained. Building and maintenance is really a partnership. Sports field builder and groundskeeper work hand in hand. Either you both look good or you don’ t.”
Bossard added that three considerations for any project are, 1) Never forget the purpose of the field— athletics; 2) Common sense goes a long way in designing a field; and 3) The original design concept must not only keep the construction budget in mind, but the maintenance budget as well.
The expansion Houston Texans; their new home, Reliant Stadium; and their new head groundskeeper, Jon Strantz, were profiled in the October 2002 issue of SportsTurf. Reliant Stadium opted for a palletized turf system( StrathAyr). The entire module was only 7-1 / 2 inches tall including the metal drainage base, which consisted of nine honeycombed drain cell inserts.“ After the first scrimmage here, the players liked it a lot. It’ s definitely a fast surface,” said Strantz.“ It turned out really nice.”
The November 2002 issue previewed the 2003 STMA Conference in Texas, while the December issue wrapped up the year with a story about a high school field going from groundbreaking to game day in 83 days, as well as an article about the turf conditioning system at Gillette Stadium.
Overall, SportsTurf magazine in 2002 continued it’ s product tabloid format with a heavy emphasis on equipment and supplies, but also had some great guest contributors and a nice variety of in-depth articles on some interesting projects and topics.
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. sportsfieldmanagementonline. com June 2025 | SportsField Management
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