Central Minnesota baseball field turf initiative:
SCSU Players'/coaches' perspective on field turf
How Do the SCSU Coaches and Players Feel About Playing on Field Turf?
Listed below are a collection of testimonials from St. Cloud State University players and coaches about the importance of creating a Field Turf baseball facility in Central Minnesota.
Here is my opinion on field turf, coming from a coach, umpire, and fan. It was a tremendous experience to be able to watch a doubleheader on Sunday on the Field Turf at Minnetonka HS in Minnesota on March 29th. Most people don't realize the advantages for players, coaches, schools, and fans when they know that they have a chance of playing baseball games in late March and early April. You do not have to worry about field maintenance, frost in the ground, rainy weather, and many other obstacles that regular fields would have to postpone or cancel games. You can have the advantages of being able to play many games over a field sitting idle because it is NOT READYTO BE PLAYED ON with a grass infield and outfield. If there are concerns about field turf, you should attend a game that is played on field turf and you would see why players, coaches, and fans enjoy it. Right now when the weather is so unpredictable, fields that have field turf would be providing a place to play and practice when other fields are not even close to playability this time of year. It isa no-brainer to have field turf if you want to have College, High School, and Amateur baseball games played in late March and early April. You can rent outfield turf fields to outside schools to help pay for the original cost of installing field turf. You can play many games at any time. Field Turf can last a long time and you have hardly any maintenance during its use.
Dean Jaacks-Coach, Umpire, Fan
Whether playing in March or July, field turf is a MUST in St. Cloud. Not only is it a relief on the grounds crew, but lighting is the only thing that will stop a team from playing. Rescheduling games, transportation expenses, and the revenue we would receive from the fans and concessions by having home games would far outweigh any negatives about a turf field. I am a member of the SCSU baseball team, and we had to travel to Minnetonka for a home game. Yes, it was nice to play on the turf field... but ask yourself this: “How nice would it be to play your home games anytime during the spring, and not have to miss class and pay for expensive trips down south.” From an athletic perspective, weather perspective, money perspective, and an academic perspective, having field turf shouldn't even be in question. Missing class to travel down south and pay to play on other fields and pay for trips is something that can be prevented. Let's act!
-Jeffrey Althoff, #21, Pitcher
I think field turf would be a great idea for Central Minnesota. As an employee of the MAC and a player at St. Cloud State, I think it would be a great idea. You can play games on it as early as possible and the field will always have true hops and bounces for the fielders. It makes rainy days a lot easier to play in instead of canceling or delaying games. Field Turf would make it easier for employees as well as players. I believe field turf is great… some people think it is not how baseball should be played but I think that you can almost always play on turf and not have games cancelled due to weather related issues. It just makes everything easier for everyone and you can get more games in.
-Nate Laudenbach
The St. Cloud State University baseball team played UW-Superior Sunday, March 29th at Minnetonka High School on an all turf field. My teammates and I were more than ecstatic to get outside and play baseball during the tough spring weather that prevents so many games. Having field turf in St. Cloud and central Minnesota would be a huge advantage for the University, surrounding high schools, and amateur teams.
An all-turf field in St. Cloud would pay for itself because of the high demand for the field. Minnetonka High School has had 14 games on it this spring. It also requires very little maintenance (dragging the infield, watering. chalking base lines, etc). I believe that a turf field in St. Cloud would be a very wise investmentthat would be beneficial to all of those who enjoy playing and watching baseball.
-Joe Kroc
After playing this weekend at Veterans Field in Minnetonka it really opened my eyes to the importance of Field Turf in the St. Cloud area. With the amount of baseball that is played in this area in a year, I think this is something everyone should get behind. From High School to amateur baseball everyone would benefit from an all turf field in thearea.
I know there are huge costs associated with installing field turf, however, I think the benefits far out way the costs. Over the course of time the price of the turf would pay for itself by the number of teams that will move games to the facility. When the Field Turf is installed it will create many opportunities for the game in the baseball rich Central Minnesota area. With that said let's get the ball rolling!
-Chris Koenig
The playing turf in Minnetonka was excellent. Being in Minnesota, it is hard enough to play on a field with real grass because of the unpredictable weather conditions. From a defensive standpoint, the field always had true hops. In addition, when base stealing and sliding the turf was smooth compared to most outdoor fields at this time of the year that are rough and hard. Knowing Alexandria and Minnetonka just got field turf, St. Cloud needs to get it so we can have a home game and don't have to travel to Freeman, SD. I think field turf will be seen more throughout the state because of travel costs and whatever happens to the Metrodome in the future. It may be expensive in the short run but beneficial in the long run.
-Tyler Horning
Playing on the field turf was nice, because otherwise we would not have played the games. Or we would have had to travel hours south to play. Another advantage of the field turf is that the hops off the turf are true and the field isn’t frozen like many of the fields that we play on early in the year. Also the field is easier to maintain and can be used weeks or even a month before we can use any other field.
-Matt Swanson
The field that we just recently played on at Minnetonka was the best field we have played on yet this year, including the Metrodome's surface. It would be awesome to see something like this being implemented in the St. Cloud area. This way we would be able to play earlier in the year because it would be able to handle all the snow melting and the amount of rain we get in late March and early April. It would also cut down on the travel costs of driving to places like South Dakota to play home games.
-Patrick DeLaHunt
Baseball in the spring for Minnesota teams is not an easy task. You are at the mercy of the weather every game day. Most of the time the grass is not playable until a quarter of your games have already been cancelled. This is why field turf is a must. Schools like Minnetonka, who have field turf, not only get to play each and every home game as scheduled, but they draw teams from every city in Minnesota with a baseball program in hopes of getting a chance to play there because their real grass fields are non playable. It is not an inexpensive task, but it will pay huge dividends in the long run.
-Tim Scott
Having field turf in St. Cloud would be a great thing for Central Minnesota baseball. More teams in the area could play more games early on in the season and WOULD not have worry about rescheduling or having series cancelled. The cost of the turf is great, but in the long run the cost is worth it because you do have to do any field maintenance. I think if we had field turf in St. Cloud it would get more people fired up to come watch a game and also create more revenue for the program. WE NEED THIS FIELD TURF!!
-Nate Hammes
What a treat it was to play on Minnetonka's turf baseball field. To be able to play a game outside in Minnesota in March is pretty remarkable. Just thinking of how much asynthetic turf field will save costs in painting lines, mowing, fertilizing, and especially watering, it just makes sense. The only maintenance that went on after the game was raking the mound. I think that this is a much needed upgrade that will be very beneficial to the entire St. Cloud area.
-Kent Koch
I thought that playing on the Turf Field in Minnetonka was a great experience. The ground surface was even better than I thought it would be. It was nice not having to worry about bad hops and it didn’t take much to get the field ready for us to play. Living in Minnesota and playing for St. Cloud State, I think that adding a turf field to St. Cloud would be a huge advantage in the long run. We would get to play more of our home games and not have to worry about frost and water on the field in the spring.
-Joey Benke
I really wish we had a ballpark like Minnetonka's here in St. Cloud because it is great to play on. We could have more home games on the best field in the conference during this time in the season. It would also allow us to practice more outside.
-Jared Johnson
I think field turf is a great playing surface, especially in Minnesota. It’s frustrating not being able to play baseball in the spring due to sloppy field conditions with snow and rain. Turf would solve a lot of problems that Minnesota baseball teams face.
-Tyler Maher
After playing this weekend in Minnetonka, it became apparent there needs to be a turf field in St. Cloud. Having afield that is turfeliminates much of the work that is put into keeping a normal grass field in good condition. Also, it would cut back on unnecessary travel and save money. Overall, a turf field would be a prime solution and give help to, not only St. Cloud State University, but to the community and the surrounding baseball teams.
-Nick Anderson
Playing on Minnetonka’s turf baseball field was a treat. I think it would be really helpful and nice to play on a field like that every day. It may cost a lot but it would all be worth it in the long run. We could get important games in instead of having to travel far away from home and spend even more money. I think field turf is a must for the Huskies in the near near future!!!
-Logan Birr
My experience playing on field turf is definitely a positive one. I think that with the way that the weather is in Minnesota,especially in the part of the state we are in, field turf would be the answer to being able to play earlier on in the season.I would strongly suggest implementing fieldturf for St. Cloud for the betterment of theUniversity and the student athlete.
-Tim Radmacher
I believe field turf would do a lot for this program. As we can see, the combination of the weather and the limited access to our home field make it difficult to get ample playing time. We have had to play home games hours away, and sometimes we do not find this out until the day before. Field turf would solve all of these problems. It's weatherproof.
-Josh Boyer
Playing on the field turf allows for all of the work you do in practice to pay off. The ball stays true for the defender and offensively, there are a lot of ways to play on turf. Overall, it’s soft and easy on the body and makes for a more pure game.
-Sam Radbil
Today we played at Minnetonka's high school field which is an all turf field. That playing surface is unreal. It is so nice to actually be playing on a dry field in March in MN. Something like this in St. Cloud would be unbelievable to play on.
-Mic Johnson
Field turf does not need to be taken care of as much as a regular field, much less maintenance.
By having field turf, it would eliminate the small scrapes and cuts from a regular playing surface that can really add up over the course of a playing season.
-Jeremy Ische
I think the field turf is important for getting games in for spring when we live in Minnesota. I like Minnetonka's setup a lot as I have played there many of times. .
-Jeff Heuer
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