BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – We’re used to seeing Aggie Football played at Kyle Field, but over the next month, it will serve as a multipurpose event center, hosting Mexico and Brazil’s Men’s National Teams, and the King of country music, George Strait.
Nick McKenna, the Assistant Director of Sports Fields at Texas A&M has been working on the logistics of these events since last fall. The field management crew was finally able to get the ball rolling last weekend, when refrigerated truckloads of grass arrived at Kyle Field.
The normal layout of Kyle Field did not fit the regulations of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), so Nick and the rest of the crew had to make some adjustments. The length of the field remains the same, but FIFA required an additional 42 feet to be added to the width. Mckenna says the easiest and most efficient way to do that was to “lay grass over top of the track surface, while leaving the existing Kyle Field surface as undisturbed as possible”.
The new grass was rolled out to the edges of the stadium last Saturday, covering the track surface entirely. The new grass will have just three weeks to tie in with the existing field, but Nick McKenna says it would be ready to go today. That’s all thanks to the fact that this grass is specifically grown on a plastic base and is known in the industry as “instant play sod”. The field managers will tend to the grass around the clock, spending two hours each day hand-watering the field to ensure it is in tip-top shop for the big game.
After the final whistle blows, the crew will get right back to work to prepare for George Strait. They plan to work overnight to remove the newly-installed grass so that George’s team can start their instillation by midday on Sunday. A hard flooring will cover the entire playing surface to allow semi-trucks and cranes to drive into Kyle Field to assemble the stage on the 50 yard line.
George’s stage may be here for a good time, but not for a long time. After the concert ends, Kyle field will be restored to its original design, and the field crew will be start from scratch. All of the remaining grass will be removed, the sand root surface will be re-tilled, and the new sod will be laid out. This is all scheduled to be completed by July 12th, giving the grass plenty of time to reestablish its roots before Fall Camp kicks off for Aggie Football.
McKenna anticipates this will become a regular occurrence for offseasons at Kyle Field, with the goal to utilize the largest stadium in Texas for more than just seven home games in the fall.
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