THE RESEARCH PLAYBOOK

By Chengyan Yue , Ph . D ., and Chase Straw , Ph . D .

Sports fields — whether in a neighborhood park , school campus or public recreation area — are essential components of community recreation , and play a crucial role in promoting well-being and fostering community cohesion and social inclusion . However , managing and maintaining these fields presents challenges for administrators and managers , particularly when it comes to deciding between natural turfgrass and synthetic turf . Each field type presents its unique set of challenges — from costs to maintenance demands . In a recent preliminary study , we investigated the multifaceted challenges of community-level sports field management , providing key insights and suggesting actionable strategies to effectively address these challenges .

NATIONAL SURVEY We conducted an online survey targeting community sports fields managers and administrators in the United States during 2022-2023 . In total , 327 people responded to the survey , with 97 of them completing all questions , 95 working with natural turfgrass fields , 21 working with synthetic turf fields and 19 working with both natural turfgrass and synthetic turf fields . In the survey , we asked administrators and managers to select the top three challenges for both natural turfgrass and synthetic turf fields from a list of options . They were also asked to select the potential solutions to overcome the biggest challenges .

Figure 1 . Top three challenges faced by administrators and managers in managing natural turfgrass fields ( N = 95 ). Other challenges mainly relate to the lack of labor .

MAIN FINDINGS Figure 1 shows the percentage of top three challenges faced by natural turfgrass field managers and administrators . The primary challenge was budget constraints , with 32 % ranking it as the biggest challenge and 25 % as the second-biggest challenge . Use / scheduling was also a common challenge , identified as the top challenge by 26 % of the participants , the second-biggest challenge by 19 %, and the third-biggest challenge by 22 %. Weather / climate was another prevalent challenge , with 18 % ranking it the biggest challenge , 12 % as the second , and 22 % as the third .

Other challenges were ranked lower . For example , communication with users was chosen as the second challenge by 12 % and the third challenge by 20 %. Agronomic problems , which is a challenge specific to natural turfgrass fields , were ranked as the top challenge by 5 %, the second challenge by 9 % and the third challenge by 10 %. Lack of administrative support was ranked by 5 % as the top challenge , 8 % as the second and 10 % as the third . Construction problems were considered the top challenge by 5 %, the second challenge by 7 % and the third challenge by 12 %. Other challenges , mainly related to the lack of labor , were also mentioned by participants .

Budget constraints were also identified as a big challenge for participants working with synthetic turf fields ( see Figure 2 ), with 19 % ranking it as the biggest challenge and 35 % as the third biggest challenge . Moreover , use / scheduling was identified by 29 % as the biggest challenge ,

26 SportsField Management | May 2024 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com