Two collegiate turf fields are being replaced after just two years due to similar issues, according to media reports.
The Gazette reports that Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium will replace its turf and review its drainage system due to “flooding in and around the stadium last summer,” according to a release.
Meanwhile, at Colorado State University, the Fort Collins Coloradoan reports that the turf at Colorado State’s Canvas Stadium will also be replaced in order “to meet the required percolation performance specifications,” according to a school release.
Iowa’s open spring football practice will be canceled as a result of the work, which it expects to occur during the spring and summer. The release said that construction crews will begin the turf replacement as soon as the weather allows and a contractor can be selected for the drainage system review.
At CSU, spring practice has already been completed. Their turf and the underlying substrate will be replaced at no cost to the school. Work is scheduled to begin today and wrap up by mid-July, prior to preseason camp.
Colorado State was able to avoid additional costs, according to the Coloradoan, because “school officials never signed off on the field’s installation and drainage systems while certifying that the $220 million facility was built to the specifications called for in the original ‘guaranteed maximum price’ contract.” A spokesperson told the Coloradoan that all other elements of the stadium’s design and construction were signed off on by the school.
