Football Field

• Design
• Construction
• Renovation
• Maintenance
• Rugby Fields
• Rugby Governing & Sanctioning

Football & Rugby Field Construction

Having surveyed the field carefully, and with grading plan in hand, construction begins. It's important to have an even grade from contour line to contour line, so grade stakes and spot elevation checks are vital. (Another option, of course, is to use laser grading.) Otherwise, the field will end up with puddles.
 
Since overcompacting the sub-base inhibits internal drainage, avoid any road-building equipment (see 12.2g, Installed Drain Systems). Bulldozer tracks and normal rainfall usually provide all the compaction a field needs. It's even a good idea to keep dozes and other heavy equipment off the field any time it's wet.
 
There are several other construction techniques that will help prevent drainage problems later. Grade the subsoil to match the final grade. Before applying topsoil, scarify or otherwise loosen the subsoil. Then, as soil is brought in to raise the grade, keep scarifying throughout the process. This practice eliminates the layering that can restrict the movement of water and roots deep into the soil profile.
 
On a project that calls for lowering the grade, it's important to apply this same principle. Loosen the subsoil before spreading any topsoil, so the layers are intermixed.
 
Reconstruction
In approaching the reconstruction of a football field, begin by surveying and setting proposed elevations. Then remove the existing sod and begin regrading. When filling low spots, scarify first to avoid layering. When making cuts, check to ensure that the excavated areas end up with as much topsoil as the fills. Don't leave some spots with 2" of growing medium and other spots with 10". If necessary, don't be afraid to remove all the topsoil, adjust the subsoil, and replace the topsoil.
 
When adding soil, match soil character with the existing soil at the site. When the final grade is achieved, it's a good time to add conditioners like calcined diatomaceous earth additives. Mix these products thoroughly into the soil.
 
Some fields have been built with sand added to the soil, but that's a temptation that should be resisted--unless the plan is to have 65 to 75% total sand content. Adding too little sand to a clay-based topsoil can actually inhibit field performance. Remember, if the field ends up with 50% total sand content, that is close the formula for making clay bricks. The field could end up with soil so tight that roots and water can't penetrate.
 
If it seems like a great deal of attention is being given to the problem of overcompaction, that's because the result can be a maintenance nightmare that's next to impossible to fix. For example, if the process makes fills of three feet and compacts it in 6" layers, the soil will remain compacted forever--or at least until someone gives up on the field and sells it for pasture. The deepest aeration the field is likely to get would be 12", so two-thirds of the fill is like rock. Every time the field gets 1" or more of rain, the loosened soil will quickly reach saturation and become a mud hole. So watch out for overcompaction.