Thinking of turfing your yard this weekend? It may be a comparatively easy job compared to the work done at Dolphin Stadium recently. The new field surface includes sub soil and surface drainage, new irrigation and a breed of turf that is currently being used on one other venue in Australia which is Suncorp Stadium. Twin View turf, based at Wamuran, is the only supplier to grow the hybrid couch. They took us through the steps of the total ground reconstruction of the main oval at Dolphin Stadium (green thumbs take note!):
Preparation
- Two total kill applications (Glyphosate Sprays) were completed in November to kill off all weeds and existing turf grasses that were on the field
- The top 50mm of thatch and soil was removed to help prevent grow back of existing turf grasses
- The next step was to rotary hoe the surface to a fine tilth and the existing soil was laser graded
- TVT then installed a drainage system than ran across the field at 3.5m spacing fence to fence
- Turf Irrigation Services installed a new irrigation system to the field after TVT’s drainage installation
- The field was levelled ready for the installation of TifTuf
Installation
The washed TifTuf installation commenced the week of the 27th November, however it was disrupted by large rain events and wasn’t completed until the 6th of December.
Preparation for handover
- Application of Pre-emergent herbicide plus starter fertiliser
- Approximately 7mm of topdressing, completed twice
- Follow up fertiliser application
- Mowing program with a cylinder mower
- Monitoring and adjustment of the irrigation system prior to handover
The result
The new surface got a work out in February with two full days of rugby league played on it for the Commonwealth Championship. “Teams from ten countries played in the pouring rain on the new surface from 10am until 7pm at night,” General Manager of Football Grant Cleal said. “We couldn’t believe the condition of the field, if the previous surface had the same use in the same weather conditions it would have been unplayable for weeks afterwards. Representatives from Twin View came back on the Monday after the Championships and they too were really happy with how the ground handled the load”. The Village Motors Dolphins will play on the new surface for the first time this Sunday when they take on the Souths Logan Magpies. Gates open at 9.30am.