Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Football and Hockey Fields
The planning, construction and maintenance of football (called soccer in
the USA) and hockey fields are similar in many ways to those for rugby
and American football fields, but they also differ substantially. Football
and hockey balls continuously touch, roll and bounce on the turf surface
(Fig. 10.5). Furthermore, players rapidly start and stop running, fre-
quently change directions, deliberately slide to reach the ball with their
feet, and jump to reach it with their heads. These major tactical elements
of the game place a great deal of localized mechanical stress on the turf,
but these stresses are less forceful and more evenly distributed across the
field than in rugby. Football players are also much lighter than those in
rugby or American football, and their shoes are fitted with shorter, less
destructive cleats.
Football fields are about 90-120 m long and 45-90 m wide. Hockey
fields are about 90 m long and 55 m wide. Most are sloped toward one
side, but many are crowned longitudinally. In either case, football and
hockey fields should not be sloped more than 1%, so surface water
drainage is relatively slow and installation of underground drainage is
often necessary. Effective drainage on football or hockey fields is espe-
cially important, because when turf is wet the ball rolls very slowly and
rather than bouncing can be stopped dead in puddles of water. Especially
Fig. 10.5. In hockey, players frequently change directions, imposing wear stress on
the turf.
