Cal Poly's Alex G. Spanos Stadium’s turf renovation has recently been completed ahead of schedule, on budget and just in time to host Cal Poly's 2022 Spring Commencement.
The $3.2 million project funded by the university, Cal Poly Corporation and many other sources, broke ground in December 2021. Led by Facilities Planning & Capital Projects Project Manager Brandon Medeiros, the design-build construction team Maino Construction, GF Garcia & Sons, Harris Architects and DPSI consulting, successfully delivered the project with the goal of being done in time for commencement.
The turf, FieldTurf Super Elite Vertex Prime with CORE 'System,' is a durable two-fiber product designed for excellent long-term performance. Made with a natural look and a keen focus on excellent ball performance, the patented FieldTurf ‘3 Layer’ infill includes a mix of sand, sand/rubber and rubber. This combination of materials has been studied and is backed by long-term independent safety data.
In line with the university's sustainability goals, the new turf will help save nearly 8.5 acre-feet of water per year, or about 2.8 million gallons annually. It will also save countless hours of landscape maintenance over its 15 year life expectancy.
Widely used, FieldTurf is also in National Football League stadiums, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Bank of America Stadium, Ford Field, Gillette Stadium and Lumen Field (formerly CenturyLink Field) in Seattle.
Among the work completed was the complete removal of the existing natural grass, subgrade preparations which included leveling the field and adding as much as 2.5 feet of infill to the existing field, and improving the field accessibility with new concrete flatwork and curbs as well as installing storm drain and sanitary sewer upgrades. The stadium also got new field goals and posts.
Serving as a football field as well as soccer pitch for NCAA Division I programs, the turf was striped for both and logos were installed. And, it being Cal Poly, the field is built to do a bit of everything, including host the largest college rodeo in the world, commencement, large gatherings and concerts.