Green grass is difficult to find on Ohio State’s campus during the dreary winter months, but new landscaping is on the way courtesy of the Department of Recreational Sports.
An artificial turf field is being built adjacent to Larkins Hall in association with the department’s multipurpose turf project. The field is 395 feet long and 240 feet wide and will be used by the marching band, various athletic teams and recreational sports this spring.
“We wanted an athletic field large enough that clubs would be able to practice crossfield, so as to double the amount of participation on it,” said Bruce L. Maurer, associate director of Outdoor Facilities.
The decision to install such a large field was influenced by the Department of Recreational Sports, Student Affairs, Transportation and Parking and the marching band.
Maurer said most recreational fields are surrounded by a running track so they measure approximately 360 feet long and 200 feet wide. But with this massive field, multiple games can take place at the same time, giving the Department of Recreational Sports the flexibility it needs when scheduling various athletic events.
A major factor in choosing a turf field over a natural grass surface is that turf won’t wear down after repeated use.
“Along with the marching band using the turf field, different sports teams such as rugby, field hockey, lacrosse, football and soccer will be playing on it,” Maurer said.
Not only is the turf field an ideal playing surface for athletes, but it is also a significant step up for the marching band and its previous practice facility.
Jon R. Woods, director of the OSU Marching Band, said they are thrilled to be practicing on the new field.
“It’s a huge improvement for the marching band because the tennis courts next to Larkins Hall were not the length of a football field, which affected the rehearsing of our ramp entrance,” Woods said. “But, with this new field we have room to line up in the end zone when rehearsing the entrance. The turf should also be easier on many of the band members who got shin-splints when we practiced on the tennis courts.”
Sprinturf, a company from Pennsylvania first broke ground in early September to lay a rubber in-fill artificial turf field, different from past synthetic fields because it looks and feels like natural grass. Other synthetic fields place turf over a concrete or asphalt sub-base, giving the impression that its carpet.
The cost of the turf field was approximately $1 million, which is being paid for by the marching band, Transportation and Parking, the Recreation and Physical Activity Center and the Offices of Finance and Development. Recreational sports fees will not increase this spring as a result of the new turf field being put in.
Despite winter weather delaying the completion of the turf field, two 100-foot light poles are being constructed over the field, so it can be used at night. Maurer said when temperatures get into the 40s and its dry, the field should be finished in about two weeks.
In addition to the turf field, three grass fields and 12 to 16 tennis courts are being added next to Larkins Hall as part of the Recreation and Physical Activity Center project. The mound of dirt, which is near the construction site, was brought over from the architecture and physics building sites and will be used as fill for the project.
New fields and tennis courts will be built in the fall of 2004 and should be ready by spring of 2006, said Diane E. Jensen, associate director for the Department of Recreational Sports. The new tennis courts will be replacing approximately 55 old and cracked ones, some of which were constructed in the 1930s and others in the 1970s.
