Turfgrass Management for out of Season Events

How Off Season Events Affect Turfgrass.

As turf agronomists we are constantly trying to offer our clients the best solutions to sports ground management problems.

Not only do we offer the latest in product innovations we also strive to create solutions to common issues. 

One of these is the Increasing use of venues in Australia for are traditionally regarded as ‘’off season’’ use.  

Concerts, moto cross and even large scale theatrical productions are now more the norm than the unusual. 

This, coupled with the greater use from more traditional sports such as Rugby League, Rugby Union and soccer mean that the playing surface has come under increased pressure.

TV is an unforgiving mistress. Many of these events are televised and have come under an unprecedented level of scrutiny from many ‘’arm chair’’ experts.

Is it possible that we are at a point where the demands on these surfaces has reached a tip off point? One where recovery is not going to occur due to pressure from use?

Once the turf becomes damaged it seldom gets time to recover in a season due to consistent use. We can use this fact to determine better scheduling for any turf replacement.

There are certain measures that can be taken to reduce the potential for damage. However, these are often not taken simply from the perspective of cost. 

In reality. failure to take the appropriate action is just a gamble. It can lead to a significant cost to rectify any damage and provides poor publicity and a loss in revenue. 

History of Managing Turfgrass for off-season events.

Historically, non-sport events in a Stadium occur in a gap in a venues sporting calendar. 

However, with the cross over of playing seasons for A-League, Super Rugby, NRL, AFL and Cricket, it is now common for stadia to operate all year round.

Generally, concerts and events happen from October to March. This is when the weather is more predictable. This ensures that the event is on when there is less risk of inclement weather. 

This window for events is more attractive to event promoters, and almost always guarantees a better ROI for all parties.

The hosting of events does however have an impact on the turfgrass quality. There is therefore a knock on effect for both the agronomic and performance of the surface.

 

New Challenges For Turf Managers.

This article looks into the current challenges of Stadium Turf Management. It examines the options to turn venues from non-sport use back to sports surface mode. 

Previously, once the Winter sports season finishes, Stadiums are put to sleep until the next season. Now Turf Managers have to make plans up to 12 months into the future.

This increase in off season events, occurs at the same time there is a massive increase in women’s sport. 

The result is that Turf Managers are now coming under increased pressure to produce a high turf quality surface. This is despite vastly more use on the surface. It has created a completely new range of out-of-season management challenges for turf managers.

Coupled with this, there is also a big increase in weekend events. This is when stadia host double headers or multiple codes in succession.

Events such as Super Round in the SRP, Gather Round in AFL and Magic Round in NRL, have become the norm and challenge the patience and abilities of the finest turf managers.

 

The Quick Fix.

The easiest, quickest and most common fix is to replace the damaged surface with a “lay and play” product. 

These systems from companies like HG Turf Group and Evergreen Turf, allow a full field replacement in 3 to 5 days. Once it finishes use can occur almost immediately after installation.

The aim is that after an event the damaged turf is replaced, and any replacement cost is passed onto the hirer.

However, there are several challenges with this approach:

• It takes around 12 months to have an entire surface ready. How do you know exactly how much turf to grow?
• If there are several consecutive events, how do you know who causes the damage to the playing surface? Who gets the bill?
• Nothing is guaranteed. Who pays for the turf maintenance on the off chance it is used in the future?
• In Sydney, many of turf farms are in an area that regularly floods. This raises the possibility of silt or fines contamination of these replacement systems which means an increase in the potential for root zone contamination.

 

“Lay and Play” vs Hybrid Turf Systems.

Lay and Play Turf Systems have been in Australia for over 15 years. Newer hybrid technology has now superseded older stabilised or profile enhanced lay and play turf systems.

A “Lay and Play System” or stabilised turf is not a Hybrid Turf System. In the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia FIFA stipulated that the turf surface has to be a hybrid.

There are two hybrid turf systems in use. 

• A carpet type system. This produces a ready to play turf.
• A stitched hybrid system. This uses a sowing machine to stitch synthetic fibres into the turf surface.

Professional sports use these because they can to meet strict performance criteria. These include tests on surface hardness, rotational traction, shear testing, ball bounce, ball roll and a range of agronomic requirements on drainage, infiltration, and organic matter.

These turf systems have a proven history. Most if not all the Premier League grounds in the UK are hybrid systems. 

 

Hybrid Pitches in Australia.

In Australia AAMI Park in Melbourne, Optus Stadium in Perth, MCG in Melbourne, Adelaide Oval in South Australia and Suncorp Stadium in Queensland all use these systems. These look like they are100% natural turf, but the surface is in fact 3 to 5% synthetic fibres.

In contrast, a “Lay and Play System” does not have these synthetic fibres. This means they can be a turf system grown on a plastic mesh. 

Yes they allow you to rapidly replace turf, but they do not offer the support and surface stability of a hybrid. This is important from a players safety perspective.

 

Research.

Research in 2018 at Michigan State University (MSU), Iowa State University (ISU) and the University of Tennessee (UT) shows that the Hero hybrid system, in use in Australia gives a safe and stable surface even when there is little grass cover.

Stadium grow Lights.

You find these in top tier Venues to manage turf grass in shade. Most were based on High Pressure Sodium (HPS). However, there has been a move toward LED units. These use significantly less power, and have a much smaller environmental footprint.

Companies like SeeGrow have taken the Turf Grow Light concept. These not only allow better turf growth in shade, but increase turf recovery after events.

These mobile units have a CO2 canopy. They can generate up to 10 mm shoot and root growth in 24 hours. 

 

Protective Flooring.

There is a huge range of protective flooring available. However, the choice of flooring depends on what event is being held. 

 

 

 

Range of Options For Turf Protection.

 

Concert Flooring.

For a concert, the turf cover is placed directly over the playing surface. In fact in this situation 
there are two areas where protective flooring is used.

• High traffic areas. These can be entry and exit points, and any vehicle roadways.
• As an all purpose pitch cover. This protects the turf from general wear and tear, and foot traffic.

The choice of protective flooring allows the turf manager to get the turf back much quicker, and for a significantly lower cost than turf replacement. 

 

 

Technology.

Flooring systems use a range of materials. However they should all: 

• Cope with heavy loads such as vehicles, cranes, and staging equipment, whilst also protecting the turf from compaction and damage. Good options are: Stadia XHD, TerraTrak and Supa-Trac.
• Allow the passage of light and air. If they allow light to reach he turf canopy, photosynthesis can continue. This reduces turf stress under long-term coverage. Options that allow this include: Terraplas translucent tiles and Covermaster’s MasterShield.
• Be modular. There is often only a small amount of time between events, and so any flooring system must allow for quick installation and removal without the use of specialised equipment. For example Stadia XHD is a plug and play modular system has installation rates of 55 m2 per man hour, without the use of any tools.
• A flooring system must ideally be suitable for a range of situations, Products like Stadia XHD cater to diverse needs, and offer appropriate solutions for specific event.
• Not be metal. 

Conclusion.

These are just some of the options that turf managers now have to consider when venues stage out of season events. So next time you watch a game on TV and criticise the state of the ground give a thought to the staff who have to look after it!