1. Building Prothro Football Practice Fields
Tom Cook
Oregon State University

2. Design Group
Cameron, McCarthy, Gilbert, & Scheibe
Landscape Architects LLP
Eugene, OR
Contractor
Bernhardt Golf Construction
Darryl Bernhardt, Bob Short & Crew
Portland, OR
OSU liaison
Greg Goracke
OSU Intercollegiate Athletics

3. Design Features
1. Excavate existing field
2. Grade subgrade to 1.5% slope
3. Head-head multizoned irrigation, Hunter heads
4. Drains 15 ft on center, 8” mains, 4” laterals
5. Trenches lined with geotextile fabric
6. 90-10 sand/organic topmix approx. 12” depth
7. Sand grown perennial ryegrass sod
8. Fixed goals at south end of field
Scheduled start date April 1, 2003
Scheduled finish date July 9, 2003

4. Staging area set up at east end of existing fields

5. Stockpiling soil for removal

7. Irrigation lines trenched 2 ft deep into subgrade
so drainlines could be installed above irrigation lines

9. Main drainline at south end of field

10. Double walled corrugated pipe

11. Drain lines trenched to a constant depth

12. Spreading trench spoils away from trench

13. Packing down trench spoils after spreading

15. Connecting 20 ft drain sections prior to installation

16. Packing bottom of trench prior to drain placement

18. Unprotected drain 8 yrs after construction

19. Laying geotextile fabric on trench prior to placing pipes

20. Backfilling drains with gravel

22. Connecting laterals to main drain

23. Herringbone pattern on 15ft centers

24. Stockpiling sand + organic topmix from Fazio Bros.

29. Spreading topmix in preparation for final grading

31. Watering to firm surface for grading

32. Laser Grading to produce flat surface

33. Laser beacon
Finish grade slope is 1.5% from north to south

34. Rootzone depth approximately 12”

35. Float and roller to smooth for finish grade

36. Ryegrass from Bos Sod Co. in British Columbia

38. Cleanup drag just prior to laying sod

39. Positioning sod to get tight fitting seams

41. Sodding finished by July 3, 2003

42. Jess Lewis, Field mgr.

43. Root depth 3 wks after sodding

44. Two-a-day practices started
about 5 wks after sodding

45. Turf appearance
after 2 wks
of preseason
practice

46. How did it turn out?
1.Fixed goals = conc. wear at south end
2.Worn areas lost stability
3.Turf recovered well after season started
4.Need to rotate drill locations more