RISING STAR

Aaron Fink is no stranger to awards , having been named 2022 USL Groundskeeper of the Year and having earned a 2022 Pioneer Field of Excellence Award . Fink — who serves as field maintenance manager , ASM Global , Lynn Family Stadium , Louisville City FC and Racing Louisville FC — was also part of the crew that won both a 2019 Pioneer Field of Excellence Award and a 2019 SFMA Field of the Year Award . But accolades are the result of hard work , and adversity has only made him better .

Case in point : Kentucky Derby weekend in 2022 . With festivities throughout Louisville , and an extra million or so people visiting the city , Lynn Family Stadium hosted its first-ever concert . Things went well — at least until the flooring was removed from the field . It was then that Fink realized that the majority of the field was dead .

“ I estimate that 70 percent of our field was completely killed ,” said Fink . “ That was about 70,000 square feet , and we had only budgeted 20,000 square feet of sod . With two teams , the breaks aren ’ t really there . It ultimately took about three weeks to get that field completely grown back in .”

Fink didn ’ t sleep much during those three weeks , but he and his crew did whatever it took to turn the field around . It was a learning experience for not only the grounds crew , but for how concerts are scheduled and hosted at Lynn Family Stadium . In the end , Fink and his crew gained the respect of upper management , and earned industry recognition in the process .

“ It ’ s not about me , it ’ s about the team ,” said Fink . “ We had that concert ; we went through a rough patch as a team . Then , at the end of the year , we got that award . Sometimes , you don ’ t realize that people are paying attention . That was a pat on the back for the whole crew . It shows your work is noticed and you are important to the big picture here .”

Fink and his crew manage three different facilities : Lynn Family Stadium , which is the home field for both Louisville City FC and Racing Louisville FC ; their training facility ; and Thurman Hutchins Park .

“ We have to make sure we have a plan , and everything is scheduled out ,” he said . “ There are a lot of days where I might not see everyone , so communication has got to be really good .”

Because Lynn Family Stadium is home to two professional soccer clubs , there is a game practically every week . Occasionally , both teams will play at home during the same week with a Wednesday / Saturday or Friday / Saturday schedule .

The training facility is only a half mile from Lynn Family Stadium and features two natural grass fields on which the first teams train , as well as four synthetic fields for academies . “ We have 1,500 kids in our academy system ; so , from 4 p . m . to midnight every night there are kids out there playing on it ,” said Fink . “ During the week , that is where all of the teams are , and it ’ s busy working around team schedules to figure out what we can do . On Saturday and Sunday , they will have tournaments out there , so it ’ s never quiet .”

Thurman Hutchins Park is another half mile down the road and features two grass fields that are available to the academies and summer camps .

“ It ’ s really nice that all three of our facilities are within a mile of each other ,” said Fink . There is a fulltime field manager at each facility , so , counting Fink , there are four full-time staff supplemented by interns .

“ My role is to oversee all of them , help wherever needed , make sure everything looks right , and stay on schedule ,” he said . “ There are some days where I ’ m at all three facilities multiple times , bouncing around . Because they are doing the day-to-day work , I do what I can to make their days easier .”

20 SportsField Management | October 2023 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com