Practice field Question

[SteelerSask2]

Watching NFL Network the reports from other teams all seem to be coming from practice facilities and wondering why the Steelers are at Heinz. Initially i thought all teams had to be at the stadiums, but obviously not. Why aren't they at UPMC with their 4 outdoor fields. Anyone who has ever seen a practice field used for an extensive period knows it will become parking lot hard from the lineman. Wonder wha ttheir plans are to get the field ready as it appears there will be regular season games at this point.

 

[slashsteel]

Good question I was wondering about that myself about using a field that usually isn't used as much.They have what Pitt not on it this year right? So wonder if that factored in..

 

[SteelerFan448]

Besides Pitt being there, the practice facility only has one locker room while Heinz Field has four plus all of the suites that could be used as well. It was simply the easiest place for the team to practice and social distance.

 

[SteelerSask2]

Besides Pitt being there, the practice facility only has one locker room while Heinz Field has four plus all of the suites that could be used as well. It was simply the easiest place for the team to practice and social distance.

This makes sense. But wait and see what the field is going to look like a the first home game. You can see it looks pretty rough already. We have a post secondary but not collegiate team here. My son used to go to their August high school camp. The field would look pristine at the beginning of the week and by Friday particularly the middle looked like concrete. Re-sod doesn't seem practical, but maybe that is the plan.

 

[Stryker]

This makes sense. But wait and see what the field is going to look like a the first home game. You can see it looks pretty rough already. We have a post secondary but not collegiate team here. My son used to go to their August high school camp. The field would look pristine at the beginning of the week and by Friday particularly the middle looked like concrete. Re-sod doesn't seem practical, but maybe that is the plan.

They have a professional field crew, and hybrid grass with synthetic grass interspersed to keep this turf intact. Also we have to keep in mind that without college and HS sports the Steelers are the only team using this field this year. Also no concerts, so this will be one of the best fields we have probably had in years. Games wreck fields. Drills don't. And now we're only looking at 8 games on this field.

 

[SteelerSask2]

They have a professional field crew, and hybrid grass with synthetic grass interspersed to keep this turf intact. Also we have to keep in mind that without college and HS sports the Steelers are the only team using this field this year. Also no concerts, so this will be one of the best fields we have probably had in years. Games wreck fields. Drills don't. And now we're only looking at 8 games on this field.

Its not the skill drills its the line play. honestly it already looks bad.

 

[Big Ben Rules]

Field looks pretty good to me

[video]https://www.steelers.com/video/watch-training-camp-1st-week-in-pads[/video]

 

[SteelerFan448]

This makes sense. But wait and see what the field is going to look like a the first home game. You can see it looks pretty rough already. We have a post secondary but not collegiate team here. My son used to go to their August high school camp. The field would look pristine at the beginning of the week and by Friday particularly the middle looked like concrete. Re-sod doesn't seem practical, but maybe that is the plan.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Mike Tomlin said his only concern about holding training camp at Heinz Field is the “wear and tear” on the field. Not to worry. Steelers will re-sod the field after camp and before start of regular season, according to source.</p>— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) <a href="https://twitter.com/gerrydulac/status/1275551674569031684?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 23, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

They've been re-sodding the field multiple times per year, usually between the hashes early in the season then the entire field after the high school playoffs.

They have a professional field crew, and hybrid grass with synthetic grass interspersed to keep this turf intact. Also we have to keep in mind that without college and HS sports the Steelers are the only team using this field this year. Also no concerts, so this will be one of the best fields we have probably had in years. Games wreck fields. Drills don't. And now we're only looking at 8 games on this field.

The Steelers switched back to a natural grass surface in 2009 so they could patch it and re-sod the field throughout the season. They could not do this with DDGrassmasters. Pitt also currently has 5 home games scheduled at Heinz Field and it will be 6 if they find a replacement for Miami (OH) for the opener. If they do get a new game, they'll start off the season with four home games in a row.

 

[SteelerSask2]

Case closed thanks 488. hopefully they get good conditions for re-sod not the tail end of a September Tropical storm. And no the field is not good it looks exactly like my HS field 30 years ago. giant brown strip right down the middle. They will have a solid two weeks or maybe more if they start using UPMC after cut down to get it right.

 

[Drink IRON City]

With as big equipment I've seen them use I'd say they can re-sod entire field in 48-72 hours, of course then there is set time or time for it to take / firm up for a day or three. Start tear up couple hours after Sunday day game, have all sod in place Tuesday night, heavy water & because Hienz Field has great sub-drainage, pack if need but able to play Sunday game.




Salute the nation

 

[Hoot]

With as big equipment I've seen them use I'd say they can re-sod entire field in 48-72 hours, of course then there is set time or time for it to take / firm up for a day or three. Start tear up couple hours after Sunday day game, have all sod in place Tuesday night, heavy water & because Hienz Field has great sub-drainage, pack if need but able to play Sunday game.




Salute the nation

I don't know bumkis about re-sodding and how they do it, but when I had sod put down in my yard, it took a few weeks for the roots to grow and the sod to be really firm underfoot. Granted, those were small squares - on a football field I assume they use much larger rolls of sod so maybe the roots getting down aren't as important. Always wondered about it when they do resod the field.

 

[Stryker]

Thanks 488, I thought it was still DD!

Playing Surface: The turf is a blend of four varieties of Kentucky Bluegrass, covering just over two acres. The soil is a twelve inch, sand-based rootzone, meeting USGA specifications for particle size. Under the rootzone approximately 40 miles of ¾ inch piping heat the soil. Below the heating system there is a four inch layer of pea gravel that contains drain pipes that empty into a 22 inch collector pipe that surrounds the perimeter of the field.

Good thing about resoding, is we play our first game away! Give the field a little extra time to set.

 

[Drink IRON City]

I don't know bumkis about re-sodding and how they do it, but when I had sod put down in my yard, it took a few weeks for the roots to grow and the sod to be really firm underfoot. Granted, those were small squares - on a football field I assume they use much larger rolls of sod so maybe the roots getting down aren't as important. Always wondered about it when they do resod the field.

I'm NO expert either but I've seen VERY big rolls come off sod truck and a very big machine lay it down (the bigger the less seam). ALSO the firmness could be a lot manipulated by prep-pack and thickness of actual sod. ALSO by finish packing of sod. Residential would be at the bottom end of scale & technology sodding VS NFL field. Hienz Field actually has heating & drainage buried beneith it. For some reason I think they even have a method of sub-irrigating & fertilizing (I could be wrong on that).

I do know Rooney's put a lot of $$$coin$$$ in to the hidden aspects of the actual field of play.


You never know when they may need to ice over the sidelines and end zone corners.......





Salute the nation

 

[ZonaBurgh]

They have a professional field crew, and hybrid grass with synthetic grass interspersed to keep this turf intact. Also we have to keep in mind that without college and HS sports the Steelers are the only team using this field this year. Also no concerts, so this will be one of the best fields we have probably had in years. Games wreck fields. Drills don't. And now we're only looking at 8 games on this field.

Did I miss somewhere that Pitt won't be using Heinz this year? Haven't seen that they don't intend to play their first game there against Syracuse on September 19th.

 

[Stryker]

Did I miss somewhere that Pitt won't be using Heinz this year? Haven't seen that they don't intend to play their first game there against Syracuse on September 19th.

Not sure Zona. Looks like the ACC is still on schedule to play football.

 

[slashsteel]

I'm NO expert either but I've seen VERY big rolls come off sod truck and a very big machine lay it down (the bigger the less seam). ALSO the firmness could be a lot manipulated by prep-pack and thickness of actual sod. ALSO by finish packing of sod. Residential would be at the bottom end of scale & technology sodding VS NFL field. Hienz Field actually has heating & drainage buried beneith it. For some reason I think they even have a method of sub-irrigating & fertilizing (I could be wrong on that).

I do know Rooney's put a lot of $$$coin$$$ in to the hidden aspects of the actual field of play.


You never know when they may need to ice over the sidelines and end zone corners.......





Salute the nation

Big rolls,thickness lays a hand too. (That's what she said) You don't want it too thin, but you can also have it too thick. Lot of factors You can roll it to help, as there is a few different approaches they can take to help it adhere. Pretty sure you can play on it even if it isn't completely set. I one worked at Wide World of Sports where some Steelers players would train. You would be amazed what goes into prepping for football, baseball, golf field, etc. Packing those mounds is no joke. Racing around getting those golf courses done before the golfers hit the green is no joke either. Good workouts with one having a bigger time restraint factored in obviously.

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Steeler Nation mobile app