Central Michigan University Athletics
Work Continues on Baseball Field
7/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
July 21, 2004
Theuissen Stadium has been the site of construction the past two weeks as a new drainage system and grass surface are installed.
A new drainage system and field are necessary after it was found that the original system, which was installed when the stadium was built in 2002, was not draining properly because of poor compaction below the sod. This problem also caused poor grass growth in the field.
"What happened is a two-fold problem," said CMU director of athletic facilities Clint Huhn. "The first problem is that the field wasn't draining up to the specifications we had planned. We realized this right away and started to investigate the problem. We later found that the soil was so hard the grass couldn't build a solid root base"
Involved in the project was a removal of all the grass areas on the field and about three feet of soil and sand below the grass. The infield and home plate area along with the pitchers mound remained untouched. The old drainage system was removed and the new one put in place. The construction crews are laying sand this week to help improve the drainage and the soil layer and sod are set to be put in next week.
"The cost of this construction is being covered by multiple sources," said Huhn. "The most of what CMU is paying is money that was withheld from the original construction. When we realized there was a problem, we stopped payment for the field until the problem was resolved, so that is the money we are using. The other sources paying include the old architect, the construction company and deferred maintenance money."
An interim drainage system was put in place after shortly after the completion of the field. The interim system, called the water wick system, helped the drainage but did not soften the field to help the grass growth.
"The interim system did a good job draining the water, but the grass was never able to build a solid root system," said baseball head coach Steve Jaksa. "This new system is reliable and time-tested, and will give us a great surface to play on for years to come. It will give us a little firmer infield and the grass that will be more durable. That field gets a lot of use throughout the season, so it is important to have a field that can stand up to that amount of use."
