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Turf at B-DS

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Bamagator

Scout Team
Jan 12, 2000
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The turf at Bryant-Denny Stadium does not appear to be the best in the conference, to put it mildly. The commentators mentioned players slipping.

We have had some turf management issues since we went back to the good stuff in 1991. Do we need to hire someone from (gulp) AU, UF or Miss. St. that knows how to grow grass?

We should have the best. It may be, but it sure does not look like it.
 
I agree the field looks really bad. And they are having the high school football finals there on Dec. 3 and 4th. Would help in recruiting for the field to be in a little better shape. We need to contact whoever is in charge of Ole Miss' turf, their field looked good.:BigA:
 
ken01fan said:
I agree the field looks really bad. And they are having the high school football finals there on Dec. 3 and 4th. Would help in recruiting for the field to be in a little better shape. We need to contact whoever is in charge of Ole Miss' turf, their field looked good.:BigA:
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Ole Miss has Field Turf. They even had it replaced this year.
 
ken01fan said:
I agree the field looks really bad. And they are having the high school football finals there on Dec. 3 and 4th. Would help in recruiting for the field to be in a little better shape. We need to contact whoever is in charge of Ole Miss' turf, their field looked good.:BigA:
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Ole Miss field is not real grass, it`s an artificial sports turf.
 
I know how to grow grass. I'm a Certified Turfcare Professional, and I don't even manage turf professionally. Horticulture is a hobby of mine and I ran a site called Lawn-Tips.com through much of the 1990's.

I've also been a construction project manager for much of my adult life, and I have several showcase stands of sports and high-traffic fields in my portfolio, ranging from sports stadiums to parade grounds.

The problem is related to a deficiency in one of five key factors in maintaining healthy turf: Drainage, irrigation, mowing, pest/disease control and fertilization. Looking down at the north end zone yesterday, and at several locations on the east sideline, it looks like the soil is badly compacted and not draining properly.

I believe the turf we have is a hybrid Bermuda sports turf, like TifDwarf or a cultivar from it. Depending on the substrate and topsoil that was placed when the turf was first thrown, a single spring season's worth of aggressive aeration and topdressing may solve the problem.

If the wrong substrate was placed, or if it was placed incorrectly or compacted during construction, the only suitable course of action is to rip it up and replace it. Whoever is managing the turf is probably doing the best he can with what he's got to work with. That is, he's probably following a good strategy to address the issues not-related to the soil. But without conducting my own analysis of soil content and chemical analysis, it's hard to tell if a change in management strategy will solve the problem, or if the turf needs to be renovated.

Renovation would probably cost on the order of $1 million, depending on the amount of material that has to be removed and the amount of new material that has to be brought in and placed. I have several good contacts in the turf and sod industry. These are professionals I've worked with before, and at least one of them would do the work cheap as a demonstration project.
 
MegaVars said:
Careful. You might get a friendly fly over from the DEA. ;)
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That's what I call a momentum shifter right there! Hilarious! But I doubt it will matter in 5 years anywho.

Van said:
Gulf Coast for groundskeeper. Who is starting the petition and where do I sign?
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as long as I can supervise the mexicans doing the work. That's one of them jobs ExPresident Bush says an "American(s) won't do".
 
It does look bad... I visited Fenway Park in Boston a couple of years ago and was amazed at their field. I started using bluegrass too because of it. I researched what all they did and was floored at the amount of fertilizer they used. I've got mine almost perfect after 3 years but I don't allow my wife to walk on it much...lol I also overseed every fall which isn't an option for a football field. It's a full time job to keep turf looking good that's abused every Saturday. I'd hate to have the job, after slaving away trying to get it looking so good only to have 22 people tear it up...
 
GulfCoastTider said:
I know how to grow grass. I'm a Certified Turfcare Professional, and I don't even manage turf professionally. Horticulture is a hobby of mine and I ran a site called Lawn-Tips.com through much of the 1990's.

I've also been a construction project manager for much of my adult life, and I have several showcase stands of sports and high-traffic fields in my portfolio, ranging from sports stadiums to parade grounds.

The problem is related to a deficiency in one of five key factors in maintaining healthy turf: Drainage, irrigation, mowing, pest/disease control and fertilization. Looking down at the north end zone yesterday, and at several locations on the east sideline, it looks like the soil is badly compacted and not draining properly.

I believe the turf we have is a hybrid Bermuda sports turf, like TifDwarf or a cultivar from it. Depending on the substrate and topsoil that was placed when the turf was first thrown, a single spring season's worth of aggressive aeration and topdressing may solve the problem.

If the wrong substrate was placed, or if it was placed incorrectly or compacted during construction, the only suitable course of action is to rip it up and replace it. Whoever is managing the turf is probably doing the best he can with what he's got to work with. That is, he's probably following a good strategy to address the issues not-related to the soil. But without conducting my own analysis of soil content and chemical analysis, it's hard to tell if a change in management strategy will solve the problem, or if the turf needs to be renovated.

Renovation would probably cost on the order of $1 million, depending on the amount of material that has to be removed and the amount of new material that has to be brought in and placed. I have several good contacts in the turf and sod industry. These are professionals I've worked with before, and at least one of them would do the work cheap as a demonstration project.
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One of the groundskeepers used to post here and there was a long thread generated by his comments on the problems we have. It seems that there is an underground creek which runs under the field of play which greatly complicates the drainage issue. They've even discussed trying to divert the creek to another channel, but the engineering challenges are enormous. They've ripped out and replaced the turf numerous times. BTW, it's bad enough that they've had to plant annual rye just to get grass of any sort...
 
TIDE-HSV said:
One of the groundskeepers used to post here and there was a long thread generated by his comments on the problems we have. It seems that there is an underground creek which runs under the field of play which greatly complicates the drainage issue. They've even discussed trying to divert the creek to another channel, but the engineering challenges are enormous. They've ripped out and replaced the turf numerous times. BTW, it's bad enough that they've had to plant annual rye just to get grass of any sort...
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Has FieldTurf been considered?
 
Check with Mississippi State.... A few years ago they were saying How the Grass in the rose bowl Was from the Mississippi State AG Dept.
rings.gif
 
The current generation of Field Turf (Like what is used by Ole Miss, Arkansas, the Georgia Dome, etc.) has not shown an increase to injuries like Astro Turf did. Personally, I would not mind if BDS switch to it, especially when you consider how bad it was yesterday.
 
BamaDude06 said:
The current generation of Field Turf (Like what is used by Ole Miss, Arkansas, the Georgia Dome, etc.) has not shown an increase to injuries like Astro Turf did. Personally, I would not mind if BDS switch to it, especially when you consider how bad it was yesterday.
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I Disagree about the injuries.... But what about the toll the increase in heat takes on the players?
I can remember it being 98 in the stands and over a hundred and 10 plus on the field in August and September.
In fact the biggest complaint about Ole Miss's Turf is the Heat and the Ad said that when they went to look at it @ the Nebraska football Stadium it was late November and that if they had of went during the early fall they may not have gone with it.
rings.gif
 
TIDE-HSV said:
One of the groundskeepers used to post here and there was a long thread generated by his comments on the problems we have. It seems that there is an underground creek which runs under the field of play which greatly complicates the drainage issue. They've even discussed trying to divert the creek to another channel, but the engineering challenges are enormous. They've ripped out and replaced the turf numerous times. BTW, it's bad enough that they've had to plant annual rye just to get grass of any sort...
Click to expand...

By "drainage," I'm referring to how water drains vertically through the soil column. The soil properties should be such that water stays in the root zone long enough for the plant to take up as much water and dissolved nutrients as it needs.

In poorly drained soils (too much clay), water stands for too long and promotes rotting; or it simply runs off, taking precious nutrients and organic materials with it. In soils that drain too well (too much sand) water doesn't stay long enough in the root zone. The water and nutrients go straight down and don't stick around long enough for the plant to use them.

Looking at the field Saturday, it appears that the soil is too clayey or compacted. Clayey soils compact very easily. Sandy soils not so much. Soils with heavy clay content can be aerated and the turf growing on them topdressed with a combination of compost and sand to improve drainage.

That may be all that's needed.
 
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