Columbia College installs new Shaw Sports Turf field

Columbia College has installed Shaw Sports Turf’s new Legion SpikeZone system. Legion SpikeZone is a hybrid product that features a combination of monofilament fibers, slit film fibers and a thatch layer.

Columbia College has received the first installation of the company’s new Legion SpikeZone system. Shaw’s HP+ monofilament fiber is made with a high-quality resin with a thick, diamond cross-section to prevent premature wear such as fraying and splitting.

The new field, in addition to being the home of the men’s and women’s soccer teams, will serve as the primary campus recreation playing surface and accommodate a number of intramurals sports and summer camps.

“Our institution can best be described as landlocked,” says Bob Burchard, director of athletics. “When our field was grass, we had to be very careful about usage. With the Shaw Sports Turf field, our objective has been to go from a ‘keep off the grass’ mentality to a ‘please come’ mentality.”

While the tall fibers provide performance and durability, the Spike Zone layer minimizes infill movement and reduces migration to other areas of the field, according to Shaw. This provides an extra layer of protection against inconsistent and unsafe playing surfaces.

All three fibers are run through one needle, a patented manufacturing process that Shaw says is unique to the company.

“We did a ton of research and looked at seven different companies,” Burchard says. “Shaw Sports Turf was the preferred surface and we were sold on the ability to have the SpikeZone thatch layer and the playability the system offers. We want a strong multi-use field, but our soccer programs are national caliber and we didn’t want to sacrifice performance. Shaw provided the best product for that.”

“We’re proud that Columbia College chose our product,” says Nate Henderson, territory manager with Shaw. “We believe it says a lot that such a great program selected us and chose to install the new Legion SpikeZone system. We know this field will contribute to their future athletic success and to the enhancement of the overall student experience at Columbia College.”

The new playing surface is complete, and there will be summer camps at the facility this summer. The first soccer game will be in August.