Soccer & Lacrosse Fields
Soccer and Lacrosse Athletic Fields
Athletic fields are where communities come together. Local rivalries compete, and memories are made. As we cheer on our favorite team, we expect and deserve a healthy playing environment for athletes to perform at their best. RZ Sports Turf can help you improve the existing conditions of your soccer and lacrosse fields. With years of experience installing, growing, and managing turfgrass, RZ Sports Turf is committed to your success.
Both soccer and lacrosse are played on rectangular fields 120 yards in length. Like most athletic fields, they are typically built on native soils and sometimes fail due to saturated soil conditions. Heavy foot traffic is often concentrated in the areas where the goalies stand and often cause reduced soil cohesion and low shear strength. All of these factors lead to localized wear patterns and the ultimate demise of your turfgrass.
Issues That Can Occur to Your Field
Standing Water
Grass will not grow properly covered in standing water. Standing water does not only become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other insects, but anaerobic conditions will build up and turfgrass will die off. It is usually caused by poorly drained soil and low spots in the grass area.
Saturated Soil Conditions
Since both of these sports are typically played in the spring and fall, soil conditions tend to be higher in moisture and evapotranspiration is low.
Worn Out Areas
Field overuse and heavily trafficked areas can cause areas of the turf to become unsafe and unstable.
Low to No Infiltration Capacity
Turf with low or no infiltration capacity prevents water from moving through the soil, which can lead to ponding, erosion from surface runoff on sloping fields, or inadequate moisture to sustain health.
Loss of Soil Cohesion and Low Strength
Soil cohesion is an essential factor in soil consistency. When lost, the turf grass plants lose their strength and durability.
Unstable Surface Stability and Playing Conditions
Unstable turf surfaces can cause unfavorable turf tear up and unsafe traction for athletes and players.
RZ Sports Turf Can Help!
RZ Sports Turf has invested in the technology to produce superior athletic turf using the Built-Up Sand-Capped Athletic Field Drainage System. The Built-Up Sand-Capped Athletic Field Drainage System is a natural, cost-effective solution that causes minimum disturbance to the field. It is an environmentally sustainable approach to artificial turf.
In the Built-Up Sand-Capped Athletic Field Drainage System process, first, a sub-surface drainage system is installed using laser-controlled trenchers from 10 to sixteen inches in depth and 10 to twenty-two-foot spacings and backfilled with pea stone gravel and sand to the top. This allows excess surface water from the sand cap to enter the drain line. Over the next two growing seasons, a total of two inches of USGA sand will be used to top-dress the field, providing a “sand capped” playing surface. With the 2-inch sand cap, hydro-conductivity is achieved, and surface moisture is controlled. This all leads to a more stable playing surface and creates a better growing environment for the turfgrass plant.
Benefits of using our Built-Up Sand-Capped Athletic Field Drainage System
It Speeds Up the Infiltration Rate
RZ Sports Turf’s Built-Up Sand-Capped Athletic Field Drainage System increases the rate at which water exits the playing surface. Infiltration rates from one to two inches per hour have been observed. Many native soil fields have infiltration rates less than .25 inches per hour and some as low as one-tenth an inch per hour. This means a 1-inch rainfall would take up to 10 hours to move through or off the surface.
Stability
Our Built-Up Sand-Capped Athletic Field Drainage System helps the field turf to maintain its endurance, strength, and structure even through heavy traffic and repeated use. Having the ability to control soil moisture levels between 25% and 35% during use will greatly decrease damage caused by foot traffic. After use, however, the turfgrass should be watered, bringing the soil moisture up to 50%.
More Economical
Improving your field playing surface with a Built-Up Sand-Capped Athletic Field Drainage System is not only less costly to install, it can substantially reduce your annual maintenance budget. This is because annual reestablishment can be minimized.
Uninterrupted Use
The Built-Up Sand-Capped Athletic Field Drainage System offers uninterrupted use of play, so you never have to worry about your soccer or any other athletic field being out of commission. With sod and other types of field turf, you have to wait several weeks before using your athletic field.
Some of the Communities We Provide Soccer & Lacrosse Fields
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
