West Ottawa’s new stadium consists of two turf playing fields and creates a one-of-a-kind intimate experience for fans and athletes alike. The west field was designed deliberately without a surrounding track to bring the stands and field closer together with a central tunnel beneath the grandstands for the home team to enter onto the field. The same synthetic turf, light posts, and state-of-the-art AV systems are utilized on both fields for an equitable experience for all users. Multiple ground-level entry points with access to the fields, barrier-free locker rooms and multiple seating options with elevator access also creates accessibility for spectators, players, coaches, and support staff.

“This facility allows our students the opportunity to play in one of the premier complexes in the state of Michigan,” said Jeff Malloch, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services at West Ottawa Public Schools. “We have seen continued interest in lacrosse, football, and soccer, and this complex will be utilized by our community youth from elementary age to high school student-athletes.”

Adding elevated fan experiences, such as a concourse level between the upper and lower sections of the home stands, bigger bleachers, and updated concession stands and restrooms, establishes a venue for multiple sports and attracts the entire community to utilize the facility.

“This is a one-of-a kind facility for West Michigan, and it’s been wonderful to see student athletes from across the state enjoy the complex’s unique amenities,” said Nate Bosch, a Landscape Architect with GMB. “The collaboration needed to make this project come to life was an inspiring process to be a part of, and we are so pleased to celebrate this accomplishment with West Ottawa.”

This is the first time a GMB project has been awarded a multi-field facility of the year honor by the ASBA. GMB has also received four project of the year honors in the outdoor tennis category and 20 distinguished awards from ASBA for other athletic facility projects in the past twelve years.

Awards are presented each year to facilities built by ASBA members, which best exemplify excellence in sports facility design and construction, as well as an understanding of the technical requirements and current professional standards for athletics facilities. Projects are scored individually based on considerations such as layout and design, site work, drainage, base construction, surface, amenities, innovation, and overall impression.

Artificial Turf Elevates New Baseball and Softball Fields

As part of a larger bond program, Woodhaven-Brownstown School District was able to transition an open area on their campus that consisted of practice fields and underutilized space into premier baseball and softball fields complete with artificial turf. Extensive planning for the new storm drainage and impact on storm water detention/retention for the site was completed prior to installation. The turf fields help Woodhaven-Brownstown promote a sense of school pride with bold logos and school colors that evoke a collegiate feel to the complex.

Dual Turf Fields Centered Around Player and Fan Experience

West Ottawa Public Schools’ one-of-a-kind athletic complex delivers a world class experience for fans and athletes alike with two turf fields, concessions, and grandstands. There is a strong connection between the east and west fields to create an equitable experience for all stadium users, regardless of activity size. Wet weather no longer affects the fields, which used to flood, and the fields can transition quickly from football to cheerleading to band without the worry of uneven surfaces and holes created during game play. The same synthetic turf, light posts and state-of-the-art AV systems are utilized on both fields, as well as painted lines for men’s and women’s athletics on both fields for interchangeable play.

Clarkston High School Multi-Purpose Field

Clarkston, Michigan

As part of the district’s athletics upgrades, a new multi-purpose field was constructed to support Clarkston’s growing year-round needs and provide a premier facility for both their soccer and lacrosse programs. The project included a new durable and functional turf field, storage facility, lighting, scoreboard, and ADA access to the facility from the parking lot area up the hill. The facility offers the district scheduling flexibility for the entire athletics department and other student activities. Beyond sports, the field is used for marching band practice and student activities as well as community events and youth play. A similar color scheme and logo design as the main turf field creates a cohesive brand for outdoor athletics at the campus.

A highlight of the field’s design is the placement adjacent to an old-growth tree canopy and winding ADA accessible walkway down to the facility from the newly created ADA parking along the roadside. The pathway includes a continuous steel handrail and is wide enough to accommodate emergency and maintenance vehicle access.

Partners and Suppliers: Auch Construction (construction manager), G2 Consulting Group (geotechnical engineer), Sprinturf (turf surface and subbase), Cortis Bros Trucking & Excavating (Earthwork), Fessler & Bowman (concrete), Sportsfield Specialties, Musco, Daktronics, ADS, Keystone Retaining Wall Systems, Michigan Fence (Merchants Metals)

Mason High School Tennis Courts

Mason, Michigan

The Mason High School tennis courts are located within the heart of the Mason community and are the few publicly accessible courts in the greater area, serving thousands of players each year. The existing asphalt tennis courts were in complete disrepair resulting from age, improper drainage strategies, and organic subsoils and required a complete reconstruction. In late 2020, the Mason Public Schools district was notified by the United States Tennis Association that it was awarded their “Facilities Services Grant” and met their criteria for design and construction, largely because of the extensive programming the facility could support.

This project included the demolition and removal of eight existing, failing tennis courts and the associated fencing, replacing them with twelve post-tensioned concrete tennis courts. The redesigned space provides new electrical hookups for ball machines, windscreens, new netting, and better drainage around the tennis courts to ensure longevity of the facility. The landscaping is intentionally simple, utilizing the existing large canopy trees to the south and north to provide the context for the site, and the use of movable planters within the facility soften the area while keep maintenance requirements low.

Partners and Suppliers: Burgess Concrete Construction (general contractor), D.R. Parks & Assoc. (specialty contractor), Racquet Sports (surface), ACO Sport (trench drain), Douglas Sports (posts and nets), Edwards (scoring), Putterman (windscreens), Straight Line Fencing (fencing), Buist Electric (electrical), Rumsey & Sons (sub-contractor)

Delton Kellogg High School Turf Field

Delton, Michigan

Delton Kellogg High School sought to convert a natural grass field to an artificial turf field to enable multipurpose use year-round. The scope of work included full excavation and replacement of subgrade, removal of irrigation, installation of a new drainage system that ties into the site drainage, and the new artificial turf field as well as restoration of the existing football uprights and the addition of new soccer nets.

With an expanded drainage system to ensure limited maintenance and longevity of the field, the district is able to use the turf field throughout the year for gym, marching band practice, strength and conditioning, and even for special events and ceremonies.

Partners and Suppliers: Christman Construction (construction manager), SME (geotechnical engineer), Schmitz Foam Products (shock pad), Shaw Sports Turf (turf), Kwik Goal, Green Turf & Sports (installer), Lounsbarry Excavating, Inc. (stone base and drainage system), Circuit Electric, Inc. (electrical)

Sitting at over 56,500 square feet, the newly constructed Chippewa Champions Center includes a 7,000-square-foot state-of-the-art weight room, nutrition fuel stations, and an expanded sports medicine and rehabilitation facility. The multi-purpose, flexible meeting and academic space proves CMU’s investment in the training and development of all CMU student-athletes and fills a campus need for meeting and event space.

The $30 million facility also allows CMU’s football program to remain a leader in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Featuring a 4,200-square-foot football locker room, new equipment room, laundry, video operations, and support operations, the new space will support recruitment for the program and transform the game day experience at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

“The Chippewa Champions Center is not only transforming the athletics experience at CMU, but also is a testament to CMU’s commitment to elevating student success and attracting the next generation of student-leaders to CMU,” said Amy Folan, CMU’s Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics. “It’s the kind of project that has a positive impact reverberating across our campus and is nothing short of a game-changer for our university.”

Featuring new hospitality and premium spaces, the Chippewa Champions Center allows for revenue generation through hosting outside client, community and donor engagement events. On game days, the 4,000-square-foot Isabella Bank VIP Club offers both climate-controlled and outdoor patio spaces and the chance to be the last to cheer on the Chippewas as they take the field through the center of the club. Located directly behind the north end zone, it is one of the most unique fan experiences in the Mid-American Conference and is located just steps from the Chippewas’ locker room, bringing fans up close and personal to the action on the field.

One of the first MAC schools to offer loge seating as premium seating options for fans, the 16 new loge boxes on the second level offer one of the best premium seating experiences in the Mid-American Conference. These loge boxes offer a best-of-both-worlds blend of a traditional club seat and private suite experience with two TVs in each box, so fans won’t miss a second of the action.

The university celebrated a grand opening event in August by hosting leadership donors and key campus constitutes. Learn more about the Chippewa Champions Center and take a virtual tour at cmuchippewas.com.

Risk 5: Athletic Field Safety

A 2015 report by the Concussion Legacy Foundation found that 1 in 5 concussions in high school players are caused by surface impact.¹ Playing on a properly designed and maintained field can mitigate some risk of player injury. Understanding performance characteristics and maintenance requirements of different playing surfaces can help inform decision making in this process.

Selecting the right athletic playing surface will depend a lot on the sport, the climate, the coaching staff, and community preference. A well-maintained natural grass field can be considered “soft,” with a high level of shock attenuation. This type of field serves as the baseline against which all synthetic turf fields are measured. While natural grass fields can be safer for player to surface impact, their quality can fluctuate greatly depending on how well it is maintained and the time of year. In colder weather, the ground can become dangerously hard when compacted or frozen.

Synthetic turf fields provide a consistent playing experience. Their playing conditions don’t experience the same fluctuations from week to week or season to season like natural grass fields can. They also have a very good level of shock attenuation.

One drawback is that synthetic turf can get really hot. This is primarily due to the plastic fibers of the grass, rather than the rubber infill. Some manufacturers’ products use an infill that have a cooling effect, but turf surface temperatures can still reach very hot temperatures, especially in warmer climates during the summer months. Spraying these fields with water will grant a reprieve from the heat, but it tends to be short-lived (only around 20 minutes) and can get expensive. Some fibers are now treated to help minimize their heat retention and reduce the overall temp of the fields.  Fields in cooler climates may also experience hot summer days on their fields, but the warming properties play to their advantage in the spring and fall. When a natural grass field would normally be too hard or wet to play on, a well-designed field with synthetic grass helps add playable days to a calendar.

Synthetic turf is much more than just the green plastic fibers that you see on the field. The safety and performance of these fields lies beneath the surface in the infill and the pad. Historically, most systems did not involve a pad, and relied on a deeper infill to provide both proper footing (for speed and performance) and shock attenuation (or the cushioning). This usually meant compromising speed of play to achieve a desired level of safety.

New systems rely on the pad for protection and can have a more customized infill that is tailored to the desired footing. The biggest advantage to this separation of duties, so to speak, is that the pad isn’t affected by wear and tear like the infill, so the field maintains its shock attenuating properties better and more uniformly over time. Over the last 5 years, we’ve seen a substantial increase in the number of clients moving toward installing pads as a part of an overall synthetic turf system.

Field maintenance is important regardless of whether its composition is natural grass or synthetic turf. Synthetic turf fields can get compacted over time, and they need to be regularly groomed and cleaned to maintain their softness. Maintaining the infill helps the fiber stand up so that play happens on the top of the fiber versus the sides. This type of field will both play better and will last longer.

Conducting annual testing and inspection of your fields will help you track a maintenance program. Keeping the results of the testing and inspection on file is also a good risk management procedure. We recommend enlisting a 3^rd party to test fields annually, either at the conclusion of spring sports or prior to the beginning of the fall sports season.