Deadlines need to be met for the Spartans to enjoy their first full season on natural turf in 32 years.
Associate Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Greg Ianni - one of the masterminds behind the $2 million Spartan Stadium transformation - said the project should begin next spring if weather permits.
“A date is not set, but we’ll begin working when the weather breaks,” Ianni said. “The important thing is we have to put asphalt in and in Michigan, asphalt plants don’t open until May. We can do whatever the weather will allow us to do until then.”
But the weather will need to be cooperative. The second and final phase of the project - putting in the natural turf - needs to happen by mid-June.
“The construction needs to be 100 percent complete to enter the next phase in June,” Ianni said.
The MSU Board of Trustees hired Haussman Construction Co. of Lansing last week for the stadium’s construction. It priced its services at $649,832.
When Haussman workers hit the field they will remove the stadium’s artificial turf, cut asphalt, remove the drainage system, reconfigure the electric and gas systems, replace the irrigation system and asphalt and place a rubber walkway around the field to keep people off the grass.
Crop and soil sciences Professor Trey Rogers heads the grass assignment for Spartan Stadium and said cultivating the new lawn will cost about $500,000.
The field preparation has become a hands-on learning experience for students in the turf management program.
“There’s a class,” Rogers said. “Students work on this for pay. We pay them through research and the Office of Land Management.”
With Spartan Stadium converting to natural grass, field management will take more effort than in years past, MSU Trustee David Porteous said.
“Natural grass requires more maintenance,” he said. “It’s not going to make it easier for us.”
But Porteous said everyone involved looks forward to the work ahead.
“When he (Professor Rogers) talks about natural grass and the program we are putting into this stadium, it’s exciting,” Porteous said.
