ONE OF 11 FIELDS MOTZ GROUP IS WORKING ON
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| Chad Lavender, The Motz Group |
By Rob Kiser ~ rkiser@dailycall.com
Piqua Daily Call Sports EditorProject Superintendent Chad Lavender had to laugh when asked the question about the synthetic turf installation that is currently underway at Alexander Stadium/Purk Field.
"That is what everybody wants to know," Lavender said. "Is the field going to be done on time? We (The Motz Group) have never missed a deadline. If it gets to a point where we have to turn the lights on and work 24/7, we will do that.
"We are currently working on 11 fields. And six of them are at about the same stage as Piqua's right now."
If Lavender's name sounds familiar, it should.
He was a standout athlete at Miami East and played for Rick Gold on the Piqua American Legion Post 184 baseball team. He later became an assistant coach for Gold at Piqua and is happy to be back in the area.
"I have been working full-time with Motz since 2000," Lavender said. "We have done about 100 fields in the Cincinnati area, now it is starting to move north.
"All the GWOC teams seem to be getting them."
While the conversion from grass to turf is in the early stages, you might wonder how they get the heavy equipment on to the field without damaging the track. Aluminum plates have been laid down.
"Piqua Steel donated the aluminum plates for that," Lavender said. "What that does is distribute the weight over the track. Every field is different, with weather and different elements. We come in and evaluate everything."
The Motz Group has a long history of success, from Twenty-Four/Seven® synthetic turf, like is being installed at Alexander Stadium/Purk Field, to TSII® Fields such as Great American Ball Park, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa and Olympic Stadium in Australia for the 2000 Olympic Games; to HPG® Fields such as Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore and Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus; to PAT® Fields such as Dodger Stadium, Dolphin Stadium and Turner Field.
One of the differences at Alexander Stadium will be the amount of turf laid.
"Normally, we just put turf down on the field," Lavender said. "But, they want this to be a showcase for playoff games and things like that, so we are putting turf everywhere, not just the field."
And the field will become a more level playing surface, so don't be surprised if you see large piles of dirt being removed next week.
"We are going to go from a 1.5 percent grade to a .5 percent grade," Lavender said. "So, we will be moving about 600 pounds of dirt from the middle of the field."
Lavender talked about the advancement of synthetic turf over the years. "You can do just about anything with it," Lavender said. "There are a number of different things (markings) you can put on it."
And yes, the field will be ready for football season - Lavender and Motz will make sure of that.
Editors Note: This is the first in a weekly series on the turf installation at Alexander Stadium/Purk Field.
You can find the original article here: http://www.dailycall.com/main.asp?SubSectionID=165&ArticleID=165937&SectionID=87
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