Luke Yoder, director of field operations for the San Diego Padres, looks back at how he got to where he is, and the unique challenges Petco Park provides. It doesn’t feel like 10 years since Luke Yoder arrived at Petco Park, home of Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres. But the calendar doesn’t lie — it was June of 2003... read more
College football’s second oldest playing field will have a new look by the time the season opener gets underway. The University of Cincinnati is installing new artificial turf on Carson Field in Nippert Stadium. The project, which cost an estimated $600,000, will be completed in time for the Bearcats’s 112th football season and the home opener against Purdue August 31.... read more
Irrigating turfgrasses with recycled water When the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge drafted his poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and penned the line “water, water, everywhere . . . nor any drop to drink,” he certainly wasn’t thinking about watering turfgrass or landscaping, but he could have been. Dr. Ali Harivandi, environmental horticulturist, University of California Cooperative Extension,... read more
Angel Stadium Head Groundskeeper Barney Lopas uses creativity and a lot of elbow grease to present a world-class playing surface. As the home ballpark of Major League Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Angel Stadium is one of the most storied and beloved sports venues in America. Famous milestones attained at the park include Mickey Mantle’s last game-winning home run,... read more
The high school in the Lago Vista, Texas, Independent School District will soon have a new look as construction begins on a new building and the athletic field goes from natural to artificial turf. School district officials chose Hellas Sports Construction, Austin, Texas, to install Matrix Turf, the company’s proprietary synthetic turf system. The conversion offers several benefits. Artificial turf... read more
