Overview
The Guilford College Armfield Athletic Center Athletic Field project is a synthetic turf conversion project. The existing natural Bermuda-grass field was experiencing significant deterioration and damage due to the heavy use of the field by multiple sports teams including men’s and women’s soccer, lacrosse, and men’s football. The areas of the field where heavy use occurred was requiring a significant amount of maintenance and attention. The college decided to convert the field to synthetic and received several donations from alumni to fund the field along with fund raising efforts by the college.
In addition to the removal of the existing field, the existing cinder track and irrigation system were removed as well. To provide access for spectators, new sidewalk was designed from the existing field entrance to the existing grandstands at the stadium. A patio area was also designed at the north end of the field for filming and concession operations during events held on the field. There are also two large netting systems designed to be installed at each end of the field to contain play. The new turf field is permanently lined with NCAA Mens and womens soccer, NCAA mens and womens lacrosse, and NCAA football. Each set of lines is a different color to allow for multi-use of the facility. The field will also be used for summer camps which will divide the field in to three separate smaller soccer fields to allow for multiple games to be played at once.
The new artificial turf field was designed with a 0.5% cross slope. The drainage of the field is primarily obtained with a underdrain system designed under the stone base of the field to collect and drain all water that infiltrates through the surface of the turf. Experience with these systems has shown that these fields are playable immediately after heavy rain falls. The turf infill consists of a mixture of silica sand and cryogenic rubber designed to absorb impacts while maintaining the play and feel of a natural grass surface.
The plan was designed and submitted through the City of Greensboro for plan approval. Since the existing site plan yielded available built upon area, stormwater management and BMP computations were waived for this project.
