THE summer of 2010 was a season to remember in Moncton, N.B. The city
played host to not one, but two premier sporting events which demanded
the absolute best in athletic field conditions.
Following on the heels of a highly-successful International Association of Athletics Federation under 19 world track and field championships in July (see Turf & Recreation, March 2010), the city next prepared for a neutral-site Canadian Football League game in September, involving the Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Eskimos. 
Both events took place at a brand new stadium at the Universite de Moncton.
Gord Horsman, supervisor of Class A fields for the City of Moncton, said field preparations for the track and field championships demanded so much of his time that he was able to manage only a few days off over a period of more than 70 work days. Between the track meet and the CFL game, 10 games of soccer were played on the field by the university’s varsity team. Then it was round-the-clock work for Horsman and his staff to get the field ready for professional football.
With one corner of the field freshly sodded after the track and field championships, a shift was made to “skew” the playing area for soccer over to one side so that the wear areas wouldn’t be on the main part of the field.
Horsman said the field got “beat up a little bit” from the soccer games, but he overseeded it with ryegrass and green sand to fill the array of divots. There was only one week available between the final soccer game and the football contest in order to get the field ready for the CFL. Although there was little time available for the worn areas to completely heal before the football game, Horsman said the seed and sand mix helped to blend everything in.
“At least the green sand made the bare patches disappear.
One of the biggest tasks to prepare the field for football was to cover the Mondo-surfaced D-zones (at either end of the field) with artificial turf which would serve as the end zones beyond the goal lines. Dol Turf Restoration Ltd. of Bond Head, Ont. provided and installed 42,000 square feet of synthetic turf to meet the demands of the CFL.
“The biggest challenge we had was where the transition was (between the artificial and natural turf),” Horsman said. “It was quite close to the goal line. If I had to do it over again, I would have had the transition back further from the goal line, but the problem was there was a lot of sod that wasn’t in very good shape, so we decided to bring the artificial out a little bit further which led to a debate about whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.”
CFL officials were impressed with how well the natural turf transitioned into synthetic turf in the end zones. Horsman said the artificial turf was placed in a trench about six inches deep and stapled in place with staples normally used for sod. The turf was then rolled in. He said league officials were impressed with how well the artificial turf was knit into place, and that any concern about how it would fare once the players “dug in” wouldn’t be an issue.
“It was one of those anxious moments.”
The artificial turf was placed directly above the Mondo as well as a portion of the natural surface to lessen the transition off the Mondo. Horsman said if the transition had begun at the edge of the Mondo, a big lip would have been made.
The synthetic surface will remain in place until another major track and field competition warrants its removal.
Members of both the Argonauts and Eskimos praised Horsman, Dol and their respective crews for their efforts in getting the field ready for professional football.
“It was all very well orchestrated,” Horsman said, noting the work involved included line painting and the painting of logos atop the field. In the days before the game, poor weather demanded that the areas bearing logos were covered by tarp.
During Horsman’s final field inspection prior to the game, players on both teams gave him a “thumbs up” to show their appreciation for the field conditions. For many of the players, the game marked a special treat for them to play on natural turf. Edmonton was the last holdout for natural turf, but now every team in the CFL plays on a synthetic surface.
“When they’re used to playing on artificial, there’s an adjustment to make to play on natural. Some of them have probably never played on natural grass.”
Horsman mowed the field the night before the game to help speed up play to a level that would simulate what the players were accustomed to on artificial turf.
Little damage was incurred to the field during the game. Horsman said the only real damage done was a series of small divots similar to those found on a golf course. The weather took a turn for the worse in the days after the game, but Horsman said he planned to overseed the field the first chance he gets “to put it to bed for the season.”
The university soccer team still had a handful of games to play before season’s end, but since it doesn’t have an Atlantic Conference varsity football team, further damage was expected to be kept to a minimum.
Horsman praised the efforts of Dol and his staff of seven who worked long hours to get the artificially-turfed end zones ready by game time. A delay by the supplier in getting the turf to the stadium in ample time before the game precipitated the long working hours and some anxious moments.
Everything was ready by Friday night in time for the Sunday contest. Finishing touches were applied on Saturday.
“That’s how close to the wire it was,” Horsman said. “Kudos to Gord and his crew. One night they stayed until 1 o’clock (after beginning their work day at 8 a.m.)”
Horsman said his debut working with the CFL was unforgettable.
“It was an amazing event to be involved with.”
The football game drew 22,000 spectators. All seats were sold out within two days from the start of ticket sales.
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