Right on Schedule

Weekly update on Piqua's Alexander Stadium / Purk Field

WORK CONTINUES ON TURF PROJECT
By Rob Kiser ~ rkiser@dailycall.com

Piqua Daily Call Sports Editor

The heat hasn't slowed the progress at Alexander Stadium/Purk Field as Twenty-Four/Seven® Synthetic Turf is installed by The Motz Group for the 2010 football season.

Project Superintendent Chad Lavender said every site is different.

"When I say every site is different, I mean as far as access roads, drainage system things like that," Lavender said. "For example, here the system takes the water out to the practice field. You have to work around things like that. This field was pretty standard."

Steel plates provided by Piqua Steel make it possible to get the heavy equipment in the field area, without damaging the track and piles containing as much as 3,000 yards of top soil can be seen at the stadium.

"Right now, we are in the process of stripping the top soil," he said. "If you push dirt with a bulldozer, it just rolls into a ball. So, that is why you have to strip it. There are places allocated where we take the top soil. Piqua is going to use the sub soil for different locations out here."
Approximately half the field has had the soil stripped and is in the process of being graded, while the top soil is still being removed from the other half of the field.

Piqua made the decision to put the turf all the way out to the track.

On a lot of fields, the turf is stopped about eight yards beyond the curvature of the goal posts and rest is paved.

"It costs a little more, but it makes it really nice," Lavender said.

Some other improvements have been made as well. At the end where the long jump and pole vault pits are located, both runways have been paved and there is an improved pole vault pit.

"The pole vault pit was almost going out to the track," Lavender said. "We centered it, put in a new pit and repaved the two runways.

"Having it (the turf in that area) will make it nice for the kids.

"It will give them somewhere they can sit while they are waiting for their event."

And it will give Piqua a field that can be showcased.

Original article can be found here: http://www.dailycall.com/main.asp?Search=1&ArticleID=166148&SectionID=87&SubSectionID=165&S=1