“ Sports Fields: Design, Construction, and Maintenance,” fourth edition, expands the book’ s global appeal and includes new content for the modern sports field manager
INDUSTRY RESOURCES
“ Sports Fields: Design, Construction, and Maintenance,” fourth edition, expands the book’ s global appeal and includes new content for the modern sports field manager
By John Kmitta
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Sports
Fields: Design, Construction, and Maintenance,” by James C. Puhalla, Jeffrey V. Krans and J. Michael Goatley, Jr., boasts a long and storied history as a resource for sports field management professionals.
Known by many in the industry as“ the blue book” for its signature cover color, the book has evolved with each edition to meet the changing needs of the sports field manager. The new fourth edition of“ Sports Fields: Design, Construction, and Maintenance” introduces a wide range of updates. It expands the book’ s global appeal; includes information on sports not previously covered, such as cricket, rugby, pickleball and beach volleyball; features a revised pest management section; and delves into current technological issues such as autonomous equipment, robotics and artificial intelligence( AI).
For a better understanding of what the“ blue book” has become, it helps to understand its origins, as well as its impact over the past several decades.
FROM IDEA TO REALITY In the late 1970s, Puhalla owned a landscape construction company and was asked to renovate an infield for a youth baseball association.
“ We were more than halfway done when I saw that the base paths weren’ t lining up with the foul poles,” said Puhalla.“ I assumed a baseball field was a diamond shape, so we made it a diamond instead of a 60-by-60-foot square. We tore up all the sod and re-laid it so everything lined up.”
The following year, Puhalla ran into similar issues with football field dimensions during an irrigation project. His search for information was to no avail.
“ Back then, there was no Google, no YouTube, and we didn’ t have Windows,” he said.“ I went to a library, and the only thing I found was a pre-World War II engineering book with a tiny baseball field diagram showing the field grading toward the outfield fence.”
Throughout the 1980s, Puhalla continued to learn from his own mistakes and the mistakes of others. He eventually joined the Sports Turf Managers Association( STMA) in 1987, and began reading articles in SportsTurf magazine.
But the true turning point for Puhalla came in 1993 when he lost a bid to build a new baseball field. The company that was chosen due to its lower bid ultimately
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