Stadia managers visit the Gabba, Brisbane, to see the preparation of the wicket block.

Hosts and participants

Leading multi-use stadia turf managers recently took part in a two-day symposium on coping with ground usage pressure.

The symposium in October 2007 was hosted by the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) turf research group, in conjunction with the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute (STI).

The invitation-only event was held at Redlands Research Station and Suncorp Stadium. It was attended by turf managers and curators from 25 leading Australian and New Zealand sports venues, along with scientists and advisors from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Shade a major issue

Paul Sargeant, General Manager for Suncorp Stadium, clearly defined a number of challenges facing curators, including the problem of shading. HOK's Shaun Gallagher also emphasised that major venues such Wimbeldon (UK) and Telstra Dome (Melbourne, Australia) are being challenged by inadequate natural light for optimal grass growth.

Participants in the two-day program also heard from Dr Andy Newell of the UK Sports Turf Research Institute about his work modelling the lighting requirements of stadia playing surfaces.

Dr Newell has worked with many of the world's leading stadia. He has developed software and systems to demonstrate light levels on a surface throughout the year and to calculate how much supplementary light would be needed to ensure adequate turf growth.

Other issues

In addition to shade issues, the seminar offered sessions on key design and management issues, including logo marking, use of root zone stabiliser products and surface performance benchmarking. Participants heard from leading curators, such as Graeme Logan from Telstra Stadium (Sydney, Australia) and Mark Perham, Eden Park (Auckland, New Zealand), about how they have dealt with the challenges of managing playing surfaces which are used intensively and for multiple purposes.

A significant part of the first day of the symposium was allocated to presenting recent and current research being conducted by the DPI&F and STI. Presentations were made by Dr Don Loch, Matt Roche, David Nickson, Keith McAuliffe and Alex Glascow.

Field visits

The curators toured turf facilties and research plots at Redlands Research Station, travelling on to the Gabba to see curator Kevin Mitchell add the finishing touches to the one-day cricket wicket for play the following day. The remainder of the afternoon was spent at Suncorp Stadium being shown around the venue by Paul Sargeant and head curator Mal Caddies.

A performance testing and benchmarking demonstration was also carried out by Matt Roche to highlight the importance of these techniques as a management and safety tool.

Attendees of the first multi-use stadia workshop at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane.

Plans for a 2009 symposium

In two days participants only scratched the surface of several critical issues and there was not enough time to satisfy the audience's appetite for knowledge.

Participants were well aware of the need to embrace new technology to manage the challenges being presented to them by major venue owners. Participant feedback strongly supported the need for more of these events and both DPI&F and STI are working together to organise a follow-on program to be held on the Gold Coast in Queensland (Australia) in 2009.

Curators and sports turf managers of elite playing surfaces are invited to register their interest in attending the second multi-use stadia managers symposium by emailing Matt Roche at Matt.Roche@dpi.qld.gov.au

Proceedings and further information

Proceedings of the 2007 Brisbane symposium are for sale and are available through the New Zealand Sports Turf Institute shop. The 2007 Multi-Use Stadia Symposium CD costs NZ$25. The CD contains PowerPoint Presentations and papers relevant to the symposium.

Focus on playing surfaces - A symposium for multi-use stadia managers and curators Brisbane, Australia October 9-10, 2007

List of papers/contents

• Press Release - workshop for turf managers/curators of major outdoor multi-use sports stadia
• About Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries turf research and the Sports Turf Institute
• New technology for sports fields
• Logo and line marking management
• The role of performance testing and standards in the sports turf industry: A case study approach
• Sports field best use modelling and benchmarking in New Zealand
• Wear tolerance studies on turfgrass at Redlands Research Station
• DPI&F turf research and STI (Aust.) - benchmarking of elite stadia within Australia
• Measuring the traction profile on sportsfields - equipment development and testing
• Thatch - real or perceived problem.?
• Soil profile improvement - field studies
• Effects of four different levels of shade on the performance of three grass mixtures for use in lawn tennis courts
• Organic matter accumulation and control on a sand profile
• Measuring and managing organic matter accumulation on sand-based sports pitches
• I have seen the future and it doesn't work! - can we grow grass in tomorrow's stadia.?