Q&A 2005
Our end-of-the-year compilation of questions and answers is always a big hit,
particularly since so many of the Q&As have universal application.
Furthermore, the following Q&As represent a year’s worth of troubleshooting
and lessons learned, often the hard way, hands-on, with the hope
that each contributor’s experience will make the way smoother for you.
If you get a chance, and you’ve been helped by any of this year’s contributors
to the annual Q&A feature, please drop them a line and let them know.
And, let us know if you have any questions you’d like to have answered and
we’ll do our best to find one for you, and publish it for others who might have
the same question.
We’ve divided this year’s Q&As into our four general editorial categories—
parks + playgrounds, grounds + sports turf, everything H2O and sports + fitness
+ recreation—plus a special category devoted to management + mission.
If you have any questions or comments along the way, or would like to contribute
your own experiences, please send us an e-mail at editor@northstarpubs.
com or go
to www.parksandrecbusiness.com. Thanks again…
Q: Is there a difference in cost of a synthetic
turf installation vs. an irrigated
blue grass turf installation?
A: Yes. In the Denver area synthetic turf
costs approximately three times more to
install than irrigated blue grass turf.
But
we feel that we will be able to amortize
the additional costs in six to eight years
through the following factors:
By using
synthetic turf there is a significant reduction
in the amount of maintenance hours
per field, materials needed (paint) to line
fields, no fertilizer, no irrigation supplies,
no weed control, no aeration, no water
costs and no mowing.
In doing the calculations
on amortization we used present
water rates and present usage rates, but
we expect water rates to rise significantly
in the next ten years and we presently
use our irrigated turf fields about seven
months per year and are using our synthetic
turf 12 months per year, which will
account for an additional five months
of revenue.
We also charge a 25 percent
higher use fee for the synthetic turf fields.
We feel that all of these factors combined
will actually help to amortize the additional
synthetic turf costs at a much higher
rate than projected.
—Randy Burkhardt is a landscape
architect employed by Douglas County as
the parks and trails planner. Randy is scheduled
to give related presentations at Parks &
Rec Business LIVE! at Deer Creek State
Park, near Columbus, Ohio, Sept. 19-20.
Q: Has the irrigated blue grass turf in
your park system benefited from the use
of synthetic turf?
A: Yes. We expected the irrigated turf to
begin to recover when we removed the
majority of the soccer and football use,
but were pleasantly surprised by how fast
the turf recovered and how we are now
able to keep our irrigated turf fields in
good condition with much less maintenance
time than in the past.
—Randy Burkhardt
Q: Is synthetic turf right for all park
applications where irrigated turf has
been used in the past?
A: No. I feel that synthetic turf used on
highly programmed sports fields is
exceptional, but we still use irrigated blue
grass turf in non-programmed areas, seating
areas adjacent to the synthetic fields,
and around picnic shelters and buildings.
—Randy Burkhardt
Q: Have you seen a revenue increase
because of the synthetic turf fields?
A: Yes. This can be attributed to two factors…
First, as mentioned earlier, we
charge 25 percent higher rental fees on
our synthetic turf fields. We feel that they
are premium fields and the rental fee
reflects that.
There have been no issues
with the teams regarding these higher
fees, and we now have a waiting list of
teams wanting to rent our synthetic turf
fields.
Secondly, we have increased the
time that we are able to play on our fields
from seven months per year to yearround.
The only time that our synthetic
turf fields are down is when there is snow
covering the field.
These two factors have
led to an almost 100 percent increase in
our projected revenue for our synthetic
turf fields in 2005.
—Randy Burkhardt
Q: What are some of the best tips you’ve
learned over the years for maintaining
sports fields?
A: 1. On fields (like football/soccer)
where you have enough space, try to
move the field over or turn it 180 degrees
to try to spread out the high-wear areas.
If it’s a combination game and practice
field ask the teams to move the practices
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