New lights, scoreboard, seating & world-class turf for Guido Kauls Field

The morning of August 2, 2017, Josh Thurow, the Minnehaha Academy athletic director, was meeting with contractors at Minnehaha’s Upper School campus to finally start the long-awaited athletic field renovation.

Later that day, the school exploded.

Due to the sudden tragedy, the athletic field renovations were put off. Eventually, because the explosion had sent broken glass onto the field, the grass would be replaced and home soccer and lacrosse games could be played again.

Now, eight years later, the long-planned major athletic field renovations have finally gotten the green light again. The project will consist of state-of-the-art hybrid turf, including two large Redhawks along the west side and lettering along the north and south sides, a new scoreboard, new bleachers with a press box and new stadium lights, along with a small upgrade to the concession stand.

“As athletic director of Minnehaha Academy, I want people to know that athletics are a priority to us,” Thurow said. “The message that gets sent to prospective families [when they see a turf field] is, okay, they care about their athletics.”

The overall cost for the project will end up being around $1.6 million to $2 million, said Mike Huray, Minnehaha’s chief financial officer.

Turf/Field

The new hybrid turf is the biggest upgrade to the project, the new field is of professional quality. Minnehaha leaders are excited about its quality.

GrassMaster turf combines synthetic fibers and blades of natural grass. Image from GrassMaster.

Target Field has a similar drainage system and Allianz Field has the same turf as Minnehaha will have, said Kevin Vander Schaaf, the head groundskeeper at Minnehaha Academy, who has been working this job for nearly 10 years.

“This hybrid system field is what they use in major soccer stadiums all over the world,” said Huray. “There’s 800 of these being used all over the world, mainly in Europe.”

“It should be one of the best playing surfaces available in the state of Minnesota,” said Thurow.

Vander Schaaf said they had the initial plan to go with a full synthetic field.

“A lot of schools are doing it,” Vander Schaaf said. “It’s great for multi-use, [but] the city denied our request for that.”

They then looked into other options, which led them to choose a hybrid field.

“It’s a hybrid system called GrassMaster, and it’s a really unique state of the art system,” said Huray. “The city did not allow us to do our original full-synthetic field, but this new design is actually a better option.”

The hybrid playing surface will be surrounded on all sides by a synthetic border, where logos and lettering can be added.

GrassMaster Solutions, based in the Netherlands, is shipping a special, enormous machine from Europe to the United States to install fields in Boston and at Minnehaha this summer.

First, beginning May 5, the old grass field was dug up and the bleachers removed. Next, the area will be dug down almost two feet, then filled up with rocks and sand to help with drainage.

“We’re doing a sandbase field, with the synthetic stitching,” said Vander Schaaf.

The playing surface Minnehaha is getting is made up of synthetic blades of grass woven into the natural grass.

“It’s about 90% to 95% natural grass,” Vander Schaaf said. “We’re playing on a field that grows, takes care of carbon emissions.”

The installation machine shipped from Europe will insert 20 million artificial threads of grass deep into the ground, about every 3/4”, leaving about an inch sticking above ground. Natural grass roots grow around the fibers, making the field more durable and more tolerant of weather conditions.

“On a typical grass field, you end up canceling [games and practices],” Thurow said. “Now, with a newer surface, we won’t have to cancel out on people.”

When working on large projects in an urban area, there tend to be pushbacks and difficulties, causing projects to be postponed.

“The neighborhood people were not kind to us in our process,” Thurow said, “They seemed to try to get in our way at every turn, so that made it difficult.”

Despite the planning and approval struggles, school leaders are pleased with the outcome.

“The end result is a field with four times the playing time, eight times the drainage and a safer playing surface than synthetic turf,” Huray said. “It meets all city requirements and ultimately can be recycled at the end of its life cycle.”

Lights

In order to get approval to install lights, making night games possible, Minnehaha had to install specific lights that would not impact the neighbors. Taller lights were chosen over shorter alternatives because they can be directed downward to the field, not out to the neighborhood.

There are 26 lights, which are “a flat, sleek design,” said Huray. The lights are two sets of 70-foot and 80-foot tall light posts, resulting in a light post near each corner of the field.

“These are state of the art lights. They’re LED and very directional,” said Huray.

Bleachers & press box

Minnehaha Academy has had the same bleachers for nearly 65 years, with wood planks that have been replaced as needed. The new bleachers, which will hold about 500 people, will offer better sightlines.

“The bleachers will be taller in front, allowing for better viewing of the field,” said Vander Schaff. “They are also handicap-accessible so anyone who is bound to a wheelchair or has to sit in that front row, they’re not blocked by players.”

At the top of the bleachers will be an enclosed press box for media, team videographers, announcers and scoreboard operators.

“We’ll have enhanced internet and electricity out there, so they’ll be able to stream games better,” said Huray.

Scoreboard

The school installed a new scoreboard earlier this year.

“This one is much bigger than the other one,” said Huray. “It has a lot more statistics and data on it. It’s a much better display.”

The upgrades are a huge benefit for not just the soccer, lacrosse and possibly softball players, but also for other students.

“It’s going to be an opportunity for all Minnehaha students who want to use it. It’s not going to be just for the soccer players, not just for the lacrosse players,” Thurow said. “We’re going to use it for assemblies, Homecoming, fun things like that. I want everybody to feel like, ‘this is something for me, too,’ not just our athletes that play those particular sports.”