Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
|
Project Description
Project Start Date: November 2008
Project Completion Date: April 2009
Construction Cost: $1.112 Million
Synthetic Turf Athletic Field: $633,000
Natural Grass Athletc Field: $85,000
Segmental Retaining Walls: $394,000
Field Area: 80,840 s.f.
Since 1967, the Pittsburgh Steelers have traveled to the scenic Laurel Highlands in late July to begin training
camp for the upcoming NFL season at the campus of St. Vincent University in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Prior to
the 2009 training camp, the athletic facilities at the college were renovated to include replacement of the natural
grass on one of the existing fields with a new infill-type synthetic turf system. Addressing the need to maintain a
professional caliber surface despite the wear-and-tear of NFL athletes, the continued popularity of synthetic turf
surfacing utilized for game facilities by other NFL franchises and college programs, and seasonal demand by the
St. Vincent College athletic teams, the new synthetic turf field was installed along with expansion and renovation
of an adjoining natural grass field. Requiring an experienced and proven design and construction team, St.
Vincent College and one of the NFL’s most successful franchises retained the design/build team of FieldTurf
Tarkett and ELA Sport for the first synthetic turf facility to be utilized by the Pittsburgh Steelers and the College.
The synthetic turf field is designed for football practice/training by both the Steelers and the Bearcats (the Saint
Vincent college team) as well as competitive collegiate field hockey and soccer. The field size was increased
beyond the original natural grass field limits to accommodate the proposed sport uses, requiring construction of a
segmental retaining wall due to encroachment into the adjoining slope. A “buried” curb anchor was installed to
provide additional perimeter area and accommodate the overlap from an adjoining softball field. As part of the
project, the adjoining natural grass field was also expanded and renovated utilizing topsoil excavated from the
synthetic turf field. Expansion of the natural grass field also required construction of more than 450 linear feet of
segmental retaining wall.
ELA Sport worked closely with the college facilities staff and synthetic turf contractor, providing athletic field
consulting and design, civil engineering, structural design for the extensive segmental retaining walls, and permitprocessing
services for the project. The entire project, from design through the construction phase, was
completed in approximately 7 months.
|
){kind=link}
){kind=link}