Little League Complex

[DLAWNS]

Okay, so I have never worked on sports fields before. I have the opportunity to bid on a Little League complex in my town. It is 5 baseball fields that need to be mowed and bagged weekly. A few weeks in the summer it has to be done twice for a big tournament they host. Plus there is also some common grounds there that also needs to be mowed every other week. They also need fert however I am not worried about that as I will figure that out once I get there and measure it. Plus some aeration, dethatching, and seeding.

I am just lost as to where to start with the bid as I have never done something like this before. I have the equipment (Exmark Navigator/Toro w/Bagger/Truck Loader, etc. I will get measurements and pictures asap and post them. I just need some help getting this started. Thanks for reading and I look forward to the responses. They will be greatly appreciated.

[DLAWNS]

Bump Bump Bump

[DLAWNS]

Nothin guys?

[Yard Green]

How about just figure your sq. ft. and compare it to existing things you do to get an idea. Then maybe you can figure in something for the exposure it will get you to cut them a little of a break. Just a thought.

[AintNoFun]

well first thing i would do is not put your location and where the job is.. if i was in the grass cutting biz, id be calling manchester little league! not trying to be a dic, but you should always watch how much info you give out..

[foreplease]

My approach would be to break it down as to what, exactly, they want you to do. Sounds like the mowing expectations are clear. Don't be surprised if it changes though.

Think about things, in no particular order, such as:

• Are they interested in improving what they have or finding someone to maintain it as it has been done in the past?
• Something you will want to find out discretely: who used to take care of it and why are they interested in having someone else do it?
• Do they want game prep work such as marking lines and maintaining infield dirt areas?
• Insist on knowing the schedule for use of the place. Around here, youth fields get almost constant use and no one person seems to know the entire schedule or have the authority or desire to step in. It will impact you in terms of delays. If you show up to do what you planned to do and find the field(s) full with unscheduled practices and others lined up behind, somebody is going to be inconvenienced or unhappy.
• Is bagging your idea or theirs? Since, in my opinion frequent and proper mowing is the first thing (and cheapest) you can do to make an improvement or impact, I think you could deliver better quality grass by mowing more often and not bagging – at not much price difference. I have never bagged a field and cannot think of a time when I should have. Have had to double cut once in a great while.
• If you do bag, where are you going to get rid of the clippings? Figure in more fertilizer as you will effectively be mining some of it out.
• Figure out you square footages for each field. Much of the non-mowing work will be based on size. It will be helpful for your mowing somewhat too just knowing what is there.
• Fences: they slow you down, obviously, and need to be trimmed or sprayed around or both. How often?
• Are the fields irrigated? If so, who runs or controls the system? You? Will you maintain it? Your mowing will be less dependent on the weather if they have water.
• Try to get a feel for how your standards and theirs line up. If there is a big difference, you may end up putting in a lot of time free because you can’t stand it. Example, if they want minimum quality and attention to detail and you cannot stand the idea of running popcorn bags and candy wrappers through your mower (might be a different matter if you do bag) and leaving them on the field – how and how often is that resolved (times 5).

Once your photos are up people will be able to give you ideas more easily. It’s rewarding work. Try to spec it out in terms of what would make them happy and price it how it will make you happy. Once you are there and working, if you are delivering results, what they want will probably increase. Good luck.

[DLAWNS]

That makes sense, it's just that I don't have something that size to compare to, but I do see what you're saying.

Aintnofun--I appreciate the advice, but I did think about that, it is not Manchester Little League. Manchester is kind of part of another town, and there is also another boro of Manchester so there would be a bunch of township ball fields for people to try to contact. I do appreciate it, though as you gave me a reminder to not throw so much info out there.

[DLAWNS]

Originally Posted by foreplease

My approach would be to break it down as to what, exactly, they want you to do. Sounds like the mowing expectations are clear. Don't be surprised if it changes though.

Think about things, in no particular order, such as:

• Are they interested in improving what they have or finding someone to maintain it as it has been done in the past?
• Something you will want to find out discretely: who used to take care of it and why are they interested in having someone else do it?
• Do they want game prep work such as marking lines and maintaining infield dirt areas?
• Insist on knowing the schedule for use of the place. Around here, youth fields get almost constant use and no one person seems to know the entire schedule or have the authority or desire to step in. It will impact you in terms of delays. If you show up to do what you planned to do and find the field(s) full with unscheduled practices and others lined up behind, somebody is going to be inconvenienced or unhappy.
• Is bagging your idea or theirs? Since, in my opinion frequent and proper mowing is the first thing (and cheapest) you can do to make an improvement or impact, I think you could deliver better quality grass by mowing more often and not bagging – at not much price difference. I have never bagged a field and cannot think of a time when I should have. Have had to double cut once in a great while.
• If you do bag, where are you going to get rid of the clippings? Figure in more fertilizer as you will effectively be mining some of it out.
• Figure out you square footages for each field. Much of the non-mowing work will be based on size. It will be helpful for your mowing somewhat too just knowing what is there.
• Fences: they slow you down, obviously, and need to be trimmed or sprayed around or both. How often?
• Are the fields irrigated? If so, who runs or controls the system? You? Will you maintain it? Your mowing will be less dependent on the weather if they have water.
• Try to get a feel for how your standards and theirs line up. If there is a big difference, you may end up putting in a lot of time free because you can’t stand it. Example, if they want minimum quality and attention to detail and you cannot stand the idea of running popcorn bags and candy wrappers through your mower (might be a different matter if you do bag) and leaving them on the field – how and how often is that resolved (times 5).

Once your photos are up people will be able to give you ideas more easily. It’s rewarding work. Try to spec it out in terms of what would make them happy and price it how it will make you happy. Once you are there and working, if you are delivering results, what they want will probably increase. Good luck.

Thank you so much for the detailed post. It really helped me think about things.
-I do know who took care of it previously and they probably became unhappy with him as his work has declined.
-I got a scope of work from them and they want it bagged, and I do have a lace to dump clippings. They did not mention anything about pregame things such as marking lines, etc.
-I'm 99.9 % sure it is irrigated as the fields weren't in the worst shape when I took a quick look.

I guess I just need to measure it out and take some pics and that should get me a lot further than where I'm at now. Thanks again for your input.

[foreplease]

Hey, you're welcome. We're all experimenters on a (sometimes) fun ride with someone else changing the variables.

Do your own figures, of course, but if it helps you as a guide,:I figure 30 M of grass on a Little League field with a 180' fence (corners) and grass infield. On a larger field I work on where it's 330 corners, 385 center field, I have 92 M in grass and 12 infield dirt. Size of aprons and backstop areas change things.

Might be fun to see if they will let you do four fields to their specs and one to yours and see how they compare. Make sure yours is better. Consider more frequent mowing, in four directions, and skip bagging on that one

I don’t have all the answers that is for sure. I look forward to seeing your pictures posted.

[DLAWNS]

Originally Posted by foreplease

Hey, you're welcome. We're all experimenters on a (sometimes) fun ride with someone else changing the variables.

Do your own figures, of course, but if it helps you as a guide,:I figure 30 M of grass on a Little League field with a 180' fence (corners) and grass infield. On a larger field I work on where it's 330 corners, 385 center field, I have 92 M in grass and 12 infield dirt. Size of aprons and backstop areas change things.

Might be fun to see if they will let you do four fields to their specs and one to yours and see how they compare. Make sure yours is better. Consider more frequent mowing, in four directions, and skip bagging on that one

I don’t have all the answers that is for sure. I look forward to seeing your pictures posted.

I hate to sound naive but do you mean by 30M? Do you mean meters? I will get those pictures ASAP.