Donnell Stadium is "ready" for the installation of the artificial surface. All site work is complete (Helms & Sons Excavating). Installation was supposed to begin Wednesday, but for some unknown reason, FieldTurf was not there to install, nor had delivery been made.
New goalposts have "sleeves" installed at the surface and are awaiting installation. Yes, they are college adaptable.
Interesting note regarding the field "location":
For as long as my memory can stretch, there has always been an unleveled playing surface at Donnell. This was most notable in the NE and NW corners of the north end zone. Not only was there a drop off outside the end zone, one of the corners actually dropped down in the playing area. For the first time, the playing surface will be level, as the field has been moved 4 ft. to the south and 2 ft. to the east. This effectively has allowed the excavators to take out the "dreaded Donnell Drop."
Tuesday's rainstorm was not only well-timed for farmers (my family are farmers!) but perfect to test the drainage system at Donnell Stadium. The stadium received 1.1 inches of rain in a 20 minute time period. After the rain ended, rollers were on the field continuing work as though no precipitation had ever fallen. With the OLD draining system still intact (lower than the one currently put in), it aids drainage. It was as dry as could be.
These photos show the compacted top layer. The underlayer is an approved "mixture" of stone that meets specifications of FieldTurf. Specifications required are essentially for good drainage. FieldTurf refers to the top layer as "sand"; however, in our terms we call them "screenings." They are rolled, watered, rolled, etc., and the artificial grass will be installed on top.
Many people have asked, "Is this like Lima Senior and Fremont Ross' turf?" Despite the fact they are rivals and the belief we would never put what they have, that didn't have anything to do with the differences in our turf and their turf. They are entirely different products.
Both Lima Senior and Fremont Ross installed an artificial surface called "Pro-Grass." They are headquartered in Michigan and you can check out their Web site. We have installed FieldTurf, the same product installed at BGSU and Ohio State. BGSU's field is approximately a week or so behind the work of ours, and OSU's field is complete. After our field is finished, I will post pics of Lima/Fremont's and ours and you will be able to see the difference in the "blades" of grass, etc.
Years ago the "dreaded Donnell Drop" was even worst. We used to use that to our advantage in games when throwing into the end-zone.
Posted by: CtrlAltDel | July 13, 2007 at 01:19 PM
The Don Paul Stadium at Harmon Field was installed with FieldTurf, not ProGrass.
For further conformation, the FieldTurf website even shows the installion for Fremont Ross, May 13, 2005.
Posted by: Scott Bartlett | July 14, 2007 at 05:39 AM
Any word when the turf will be laid?
Posted by: Ken | July 17, 2007 at 11:31 PM