FOOTBALL

All photos by Tyler Morris , CSFM to their legacy field layout from the 1990s . That logo takes a bit longer ; but in good conditions with three painters , the painting process took only eight hours to complete .

The team is a mix of union and nonunion members with two painters and 12 laborers . When the stadium switched from turf replacement to painting the end zones , our painters hit the ground running and learned how to operate the paint machines . Everyone learned how to use both the machines and aerosol . The laborers pull string and hold boards for straight lines , and are indispensable to the job . Concurrently with the people completing the on-field swap , the stadium changeover is happening as well , with a total of 35 to 40 people completing that monumental task in less than 16 hours from the end of the game the night before .

We are often asked what happens when conditions are not favorable and we are dealing with high winds , rain , snow , ice , etc . But there is no room for any part of the building to not be changed . Due to the high standards both club ’ s ownership groups have for successful changeovers , the field staff must follow suit . Specifically in rain events , our team works closely with meteorologists to plan the best windows to remove and repaint the field .

In situations when two games are on back-to-back days ( which has occurred five times in the last two seasons ) our team will first work diligently to remove the existing field logos to make way for a 40-by-170-foot tent to be built over each end zone , and a 40-by-40-foot tent to be erected over the midfield logo . Once the tents are in place , our team lays out the stencils under the tent , then completes the painting process completely protected from the elements . We can also utilize tent sides to protect the painted product from rain and wind .

For games later in the season , our stadium can also be hit with cold weather , snow and ice . In those circumstances , it is unsafe to construct tents as they may not be able to hold the weight of the snow , and the conditions are typically not safe for the tents to be built . In those situations , our team deploys field tarps that cover the entire field to ensure any snow that falls is caught by the tarps . Once the snow has eased , we shovel / plow any accumulation off the tarps to provide enough room to peel back the tarps in the painted areas and complete the paint removal or new painting as needed . If there is potential for more inclement weather following the repainting , we will take steps to protect the

sportsfieldmanagementonline . com March 2025 | SportsField Management

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