Yale Invests in Turf
2018 marked a big year for Yale’s athletics department, the historic program overhauled its softball and baseball facilities, installing FieldTurf DoublePlay for both surfaces. Yale, accustomed to play on artificial turf, strengthens their partnership with FieldTurf, now installed on four surfaces on campus. The Bulldogs soccer and lacrosse teams currently play on FieldTurf at Reese Stadium, while the football team practices on FieldTurf at Frank Field.
The FieldTurf DoublePlay system used on the new 5K Corral Field at DeWitt Family Stadium showcases all-weather playability, low maintenance compared to grass, safety and high performance. Yale is adding to a growing trend of collegiate softball and baseball teams making the transition to turf which greatly reduces the number of cancellations due to rain and adds the ability to use the surfaces earlier in the spring and later in the fall.
"The upgrades to DeWitt Family Field will give us an edge in so many ways," said Yale Head Softball Coach Jen Goodwin. "Weather is one of our biggest challenges here in the Northeast in the spring, and the turf changes that quite a bit. The number of cancellations we have had over the past few years has been unreal. The frost, the rain, the field prep… the turf will allow us to get on the field in February on those mild days we tend to have. When it comes to a rainy April, the drainage will assure us that no matter how much it rains overnight, we will be able to get onto our field the next day."
"For Yale Softball to have a field that we can call our home year round is huge for our program," said team captain Allison Skinner. "Every year we start our season without having touched a regulation softball field until that day. The turf gives us the opportunity to get outside earlier in the year, allows us to play games that weather in the past has gotten in the way of. We had 14 of our 48 games cancelled my freshman year so to know having turf could stop that from happening in the future is exciting for me and for future Yale Softball teams."
The project at Yale was successfully completed due to strong collaboration between FieldTurf, field designer Milone & MacBroom, Inc. (MMI), and DeRosa Sports Construction. MMI is one of the leading sports fields designers in the Northeast. Their attention to design detail and assistance during construction is invaluable. DeRosa Sports did a meticulous job as the general contractor in preparing the base for the FieldTurf.
FieldTurf is also the surface of elite collegiate softball programs at Cornell University, George Washington University and Dartmouth College, along with hundreds of municipal diamonds around the United States. FieldTurf DoublePlay is utilized by Division 1 baseball programs including Oregon State University, University of Texas, University of Washington, Texas Tech University, University of Oregon, and University of Louisville.
To contact our turf experts and get started on your FieldTurf installation click HERE.