Here in the SoccerPlex we use turf blankets on a total of 12 of our fields in the wintertime. On fields 1, 2, and 8 we use a turf blanket on the center strip of the field to help protect the highest trafficked area on the field. Fields 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 are fully covered. We fully cover our bermudagrass fields because they are more susceptible to plant desiccation being warm-season grasses. We also cover field 10 and 11 because that is the Washington Spirit’s practice and game field respectively and with a mid-March start time, the fields need to be ready to go much sooner than other fields at the Plex.
Wind and turf blankets are not always a great match. Turf blankets can act as sails when they catch a gust of wind causing them to be very dangerous. When we experience high winds our grounds crew must go out and re-enforce the covers as much as possible, but even with the reinforcement the blankets can still come undone. When this happens our grounds crew must wait until the winds die down to put the turf blankets back on due to the danger that can happen when a turf blanket catches a gust of wind.
As we go into the later part of winter, we normally experience more high winds that we will have to deal with, but with hard work our crew will do it’s best to maintain the turf blankets and bring back the fields to their pristine selves in the springtime.
