Building New Soccer Field - LawnSite.com™

Bootlegger · #1 08-11-2012, 10:13 PM

I am the Fields-VP for a Southern Indiana soccer club. We are about to acquire 22 acres of flat land. The club who currently owns the land is merging with us and they have tried unsuccessfully the last three years to build some good fields on the site. We can sell the land but flat land at this price is rare in our community so I am looking for solutions to the problems. The major issues are:

1) Crayfish!! The site is near the Ohio river and the dirt mounds and holes these critters leave make it almost impossible to grow a good, flat piece of turf.
2) The site is in a 15-year flood plain, is very flat, so it is prone to get very wet and doesn't drain well.
3) No real turf grass has been established.

My first inclination was "sell it, we'll never be able to build and maintain turf there." But after doing some research on building sports fields and the crayfish problem I have an idea that might work.

Build the field UP from the existing grade.
Start with a permeable barrier then 4 inches of drain rock, maybe 2's and 3's.
Dig a catch pond on the low end of the property. Use the dirt to start the field topsoil.
Complete the topsoil with sand and organic amendments.
Full irrigation for the dry months.

I think the barrier and rock will keep out the crayfish, while the elevated grade combined with a 1.5% slope will allow the field to dry quickly.

I would like your opinions on this method to keep the crayfish out of the field and deal with the "wet" site. I'd also like to hear any alternatives to my plan.

Thanks in advance.

beaglegun · #2 09-27-2012, 07:52 AM

Grade is everything!!! If you get the grade right and crown the field properly you will not have a water problem.

This is the first crawdad problem I've heard of. I would think the skunks, possoms and coons along the river would keep them from causing a problem on your field.