Stadium Fields: Can You Achieve this Perfection?

When you're watching a game, do you catch yourself comparing your lawn to sports stadium turf? Wondering how it stays so green and pristine - even through sliding catches and double plays? Here's a secret: Professional field managers use the same Prescription for a Healthy Lawn that our Yard Doctor suggests, but on a much larger scale, and pumped up with a few professional extras. Here's what they do and how they do it.

Mowing

Most field managers will mow every day in varying patterns, sticking to the one-third rule and never cutting more than one-third of the blade at a time.

This leads to stronger grass blades and denser roots that stand up to all that fancy footwork on the field. But when it comes to mowing, professional field managers to have a home advantage: the equipment. Professional stadiums use reel mowers, instead of standard consumer rotary mowers. These machines are designed for a better quality, lower cut and have "striping capabilities" that achieve that perfect patterned look. Something else: Field managers are maintenance maniacs. They check oils, lubricate the equipment and adjust reels before every mowing.

Watering

Regular watering is essential to any lawn. But you won't find a garden store sprinkler on the field. Most professional fields have high-end automatic irrigation systems. 

These systems help water soak deeply into the soil, encouraging deep root growth. Plus, they have the ability to quickly cool the turf on hot days. And rain gauges don't cut it in the stadium. Field managers use soil probes - tubes that pull small cores of soil - to check root depth and moisture.

Fertilizing

All lawns need nutrients through fertilization to grow and heal after wear and tear. To adequately feed stadium turf for all the activity on the field, field managers use a combination of organic and inorganic nitrogen, which produces more uniform and steady grass growth. In most sports field environments, fertilization is better when done lightly and frequently.

With an application about once every month during the season, the lawn will maintain steady growth and easily recover from injury.

Aeration

You don't get much more soil-compacting foot traffic than on an athletic field. That's why stadium turf requires aeration several times a year, but mainly during the off-season. After the field is aerated, a top dressing is applied. Usually this is some combination of peat, soil, and sand, which is spread a quarter of an inch over the entire field. After aeration, field managers fill in bare spots with seeds.

Weed control

Ever see dandelions or crabgrass growing on a professional field? Never! Field managers diligently protect their turf from weeds and disease. (Think Bill Murray versus the gopher). Preventive herbicides are applied to the field in mid-spring, another herbicide is applied in the fall to eliminate any weeds that have germinated.

Remember: Professional stadiums have full-time grounds crews to keep up with all these landscaping chores, so don't feel bad if your lawn isn't quite as perfect. Just follow the basics, and your lawn is sure to be a winner.

For more information on professional stadium turf, check out the Sports Turf Managers Association.