July 5, 2011
SEATTLE - Husky Soccer Stadium has been home to many great coaches, student-athletes and teams over the years and in 2011 it got a much needed renovation. The original Husky soccer field was opened in the fall of 1997. It was built on the site of a former sanitary landfill and calculated a large amount of differential settlement to the property was anticipated. Fourteen years later the settlement had reached an unacceptable tolerance and was sloping as much as 12 inches to the southeast. The department made a planning decision to regrade and replant the field during this past winter and spring. "We're pleased to provide our great soccer programs with the highest quality pitch out there," said Chip Lydum, Associate Director of Athletics, Facilities and Capital Projects. "The site conditions really demanded we take action and renovate the current field. The programs love the way natural grass plays and we now have another competitive resource as we start up the new Pac-12 Conference." The project included the removal of the previous turf and all underground irrigation (watering) systems. The existing drainage system was maintained. A design to deal with the complex site challenges was developed by Bruce Dees and Associates, a landscape design firm from Tacoma. Bruce Dees also designed the initial field. The General Contractor was Jansen Inc. The grass was laid as sod instead of grass. The sod was sand based Kentucky bluegrass and rye grass sod. A new irrigation system was installed and the existing drainage was partially maintained and all new drainage was installed above that. "The new field gives us the best surface in the PAC-12," said men's head soccer coach Jamie Clark. "We hope to be a team that keeps the ball and plays attacking soccer. A fast, good surface is key to this, so the renovation of the new field was a vital step in where we want to take this program." Due to the site being classified as a landfill, some of the excavated materials were repositioned to create a spectator hill or berm at the west end of the site to save extraordinary removal costs. An eight-foot strip of synthetic turf (FieldTurf), running from the west to the east end lines was installed to allow for maintenance advantages in the area of the team benches and warm-up sectors. The new turf allows the area to stay safe and clean during progressive inclement weather, which degrades grass. The synthetic turf can be used for training outside of game days. "Husky soccer field has been a great venue for us for over a decade and the field re-grade and new sod are absolutely brilliant and we can't wait for our players to get out there on it," said head coach Lesle Gallimore. "Dan Gaston, Scott MacVicar and Dean Pearson have been unbelievable in overseeing the construction and now taking care of and prepping the grass. August can't come soon enough." A more extensive network of asphalt paths were replaced and installed for better function and use and the total project cost was $650,000. |
