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PITTSBURG —
The 50-yard line at historic Hutchinson Field is now just a matter of gravel. Either end zone is much the same.
The hash marks and sidelines and other markings that lined the turf are now rolled up in the west parking lot, hardly recognizable compared to last fall, when “Hutch” was hosting football games for both Pittsburg and St. Mary’s Colgan.
Hutchinson Field is getting a brand-new turf over the course of the next week or so. By Thursday, the old turf had been removed, leaving a barren playing surface eerily different from what is expected under the Friday night lights.
Pittsburg USD 250 superintendent Destry Brown said that the turf is being replaced at no cost to the school district because of issues with the old turf.
“We started noticing when people walked out on the turf, they got a lot of green on their shoes,” Brown said. “We found there were a number of fields that were installed at the same time doing the same thing. There was a defect in the fibers. They’re in the process of creating a remedy for all those fields, and ours was one of them.”
The former turf was under a seven-year warranty. So when the turf began to fail, it fell to FieldTurf to replace it.
Pittsburg head football coach Tom Nickelson said the problem was obvious to almost anyone.
“You could see it from the stands. The black pellets would show right through. The filaments were breaking in half, and getting shorter,” he said. “A lot of pellets would show through.”
One crew, just finishing up, will be replacing the turf. Another crew will arrive soon to begin the process of installing the new FieldTurf on top of the crushed rock that has now been revealed.
“It’s basically gravel under there,” Brown said. “They’ll put the new turf down, and it’ll be a fiber 2-3 inches long. There’s all that rubber and sand, and you rub that in so the only part you see of the turf is about half an inch. So basically kids are being tackled on rubber and sand. That’s why it feels soft when you’re down there.”
Brown said the crews are recycling the rubber and sand from the older turf by shaking it loose from the pieces of old turf, then creating a pile from the material that falls off. Once the new crew arrives, work will take about a week to place the new turf.
Nickelson had only one hope for the new turf.
“I hope it makes us play better. It’s very similar to the old turf, the only difference is it’s all dark green. We weren’t getting burning or anything. Some turf fields give you burns as you slide over it,” he said. “I think it’ll be a fast field, like always. We weren’t having any major problems. This is more preventative than anything.”
Andrew Nash can be reached at andrew.nash@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 ext. 140.
The 50-yard line at historic Hutchinson Field is now just a matter of gravel. Either end zone is much the same.
The hash marks and sidelines and other markings that lined the turf are now rolled up in the west parking lot, hardly recognizable compared to last fall, when “Hutch” was hosting football games for both Pittsburg and St. Mary’s Colgan.
Hutchinson Field is getting a brand-new turf over the course of the next week or so. By Thursday, the old turf had been removed, leaving a barren playing surface eerily different from what is expected under the Friday night lights.
Pittsburg USD 250 superintendent Destry Brown said that the turf is being replaced at no cost to the school district because of issues with the old turf.
“We started noticing when people walked out on the turf, they got a lot of green on their shoes,” Brown said. “We found there were a number of fields that were installed at the same time doing the same thing. There was a defect in the fibers. They’re in the process of creating a remedy for all those fields, and ours was one of them.”
The former turf was under a seven-year warranty. So when the turf began to fail, it fell to FieldTurf to replace it.
Pittsburg head football coach Tom Nickelson said the problem was obvious to almost anyone.
“You could see it from the stands. The black pellets would show right through. The filaments were breaking in half, and getting shorter,” he said. “A lot of pellets would show through.”
One crew, just finishing up, will be replacing the turf. Another crew will arrive soon to begin the process of installing the new FieldTurf on top of the crushed rock that has now been revealed.
“It’s basically gravel under there,” Brown said. “They’ll put the new turf down, and it’ll be a fiber 2-3 inches long. There’s all that rubber and sand, and you rub that in so the only part you see of the turf is about half an inch. So basically kids are being tackled on rubber and sand. That’s why it feels soft when you’re down there.”
Brown said the crews are recycling the rubber and sand from the older turf by shaking it loose from the pieces of old turf, then creating a pile from the material that falls off. Once the new crew arrives, work will take about a week to place the new turf.
Nickelson had only one hope for the new turf.
“I hope it makes us play better. It’s very similar to the old turf, the only difference is it’s all dark green. We weren’t getting burning or anything. Some turf fields give you burns as you slide over it,” he said. “I think it’ll be a fast field, like always. We weren’t having any major problems. This is more preventative than anything.”
Andrew Nash can be reached at andrew.nash@morningsun.net or by calling 231-2600 ext. 140.
