Turf Care and Management

There are plenty of good reasons to install turf fields at your recreation center or sports complex. If you do decide to have turf fields, you should understand what kind of care and maintenance is required to keep them in good shape. Today on the Sports Facilities Management blog, we’ll talk about turf maintenance.

Routine Maintenance Measures

Although you may think that installing turf means you won’t need to do maintenance anymore, this is not the case. While it’s true that turf is easier to maintain than real grass, you still have to enact a maintenance regimen to keep the turf safe and pristine. Here are some things you’ll need to do on a regular basis:

• Remove debris after games or as necessary – After a game, the field will probably have debris on it from the players and the crowd. Debris, like leaves, may fall on the field in between games too. Make sure to go over the field with a leaf blower to get rid of excess debris.
• Disinfect the field – Believe it or not, turf fields are prone to bacterial growth. You’ll need to treat your turf every once in a while with antimicrobial products.
• Sweep and drag – Sweep and drag the field to keep your grass standing straight and to prevent matting.
• Remove stains – Parts of the field may get stained from time to time. Use turf cleaner to remove these stains.
• Check Infill – If you have synthetic turf, you’ll need to check and make sure infill is properly distributed, and make sure you replace infill in areas that get a lot of use.

Keeping up with your maintenance program is the best way to ensure your turf stays clean and ready for use.

Preventative Measures

You can make maintenance a little easier by putting some preventative measures in place to minimize damage to your turf fields. Here are some ideas to prevent mess and damage:

• Proper Footwear – Make sure that athletes using your turf fields are wearing the proper shoes for playing on turf. Athletes wearing improper footwear may damage your field.
• Cleanliness – Patrons should have plenty of places to dispose of their trash. Debris like chewing gum can add unwanted mess and stress for your field maintenance team to clean up.
• Signage – Simply putting up proper signage to politely let patrons know to please keep the field clean should help to minimize the amount of trash you find on your field.

Choose Sports Facilities Management

If you’re looking to make an addition to your sports complex, or even if you’re looking to outsource your management, Sports Facilities Management can help. We have years of knowledge and expertise in the sports facility industry. Contact us today for more information and to see how we can help you.