A3-A4 construction update: it’s all about building a solid base

It’s all about building a solid base.

That’s what’s happening this week on the National Sports Center (NSC) campus, as we move forward on the construction of two full-size artificial turf fields on the A3 and A4 fields.

The contractor, Dimke Excavating, is in the final stages of removing black dirt from the site. Black dirt provides a great growing medium for grass, but it doesn’t provide a good foundation, or drainage, for artificial turf. The black dirt is being trucked to the north side of the NSC campus.

At the same time, using the same trucks, high-quality sand is being delivered to the site, ready to be spread and compacted into the turf base. Trucks arrive with sand, then leave with dirt.

This field project is the second step in what the NSC hopes will ultimately be the addition of up to 12 outdoor artificial turf fields to the campus over the coming years. Two turf fields were added to the Stadium last year. When this project is completed in early August the NSC will have four. Artificial turf is more durable under heavy play, impervious to hard winters and late spring warm-ups (as we had this season), and can be played through all but the heaviest rain storms.

In addition to the new turf, LED lighting will be added, a scoreboard installed on field A3 and improved fencing put in to keep balls from rolling into the adjacent parking lot.

This cost of this field improvement project will be shared by the NSC and Spring Lake Park Schools. The School District will have priority use of the fields during the school day and during normal after-school hours. The NSC will take over usage during the evening, on weekends, and during large tournaments, including USA CUP.