[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/main.asp?Sectio...amp;TM=39782.25

The Best We Can Offer
Money On Mondays

Nick Dettmann
The News-Dispatch

Installing synthetic turf at Ames Field is a great addition to an already stellar facility, and it looks terrific. It was something that needed to be done, and it is something our community should be proud of.

Michigan City football coach Craig Buzea said officials told him the field at Ames could have been considered too dangerous. In its 14-year history, the sod was never replaced. It is usually recommended to be replaced every five or six years.

When the project to install the synthetic turf was announced, MCHS athletic director Bob "Bear" Falls said, "If you're gonna have a successful athletic program, then your facilities have gotta move up. ... Our kids deserve to play on the very best we can offer."

That thought should be applied to the next project which should be on the radar of the school system - the pool at MCHS.

Over the past few years, City's swimming & diving program has elevated itself to be a strong program in the region, thanks largely to an much-improved feeder program.

Cameron Miller has qualified for state in consecutive years in the breaststroke, and is the leading favorite to win the 100-meter breast next winter. The Wolves sent a relay team to state for the first time in school history in 2008, and if it weren't for a suspension, Justin Kramer could've won the state diving championship.

Plenty more talent is on its way.

MCHS has just one pool. In numerous high schools around the region, there are separate lap and diving pools. The quarters are tight, not allowing the swimmers enough practice space and time.

If any team at City deserves a new facility, it's the swimming & diving team. If our community wants to get serious about the talent level of its swimmers here, we should be striving to put that project on the "To Do" list.

Many wrote to the N-D their pros and cons about Ames Field. Some were confused with the difference between artificial and synthetic turf.

The difference is artificial is a harder surface, almost like playing on a parking lot. Old NFL stadiums such as Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia and the old Busch Stadium were among many stadiums that installed artificial turf when it became popular in the 1980s. But it has faded out in favor of the synthetic turf.

Synthetic turf is a softer

surface, but its performance is similar to artificial surface. It's also much cheaper to maintain and has a longer lifespan than natural grass, especially for a facility located in the upper Midwest. It makes sense in the long run economically, and is safer for the student-athletes.

The biggest complaint was the cost of the project ($700,000 plus).

Of course the money could've been put elsewhere. But this was a one-time cost, and our community will be better off.

One major benefit of synthetic turf is it pays for itself within a couple years due to the savings on maintenance costs. Ames cost $53,000 annually to maintain.

To re-sod it, the cost would've been roughly $75,000. It would've been a short-term gain, a long-term loss.

Synthetic turf will drive those costs down, which will open up budget money down the road for future projects.

Contact sports writer Nick Dettmann at ndettmann@thenewsdispatch.com or 874-7211, Ext. 447.

[taxthedeer]

So if anyone went to the drum and bugel show how did the turf look?

I'm glad to see the plastic grass put in. The old natural turf really did never recover from that fungus problem it developed a few years ago. Hopefully the investment will payoff in the form of a few more wins at Ames.

[CaddyRich]

Great photo...not only of the field, but the surrounding area. Welcome to CBTL.

[Southsider2k12]

Thanks for the pic, it looks very nice!

[eric.hanke]

I'm glad to see the plastic grass put in. The old natural turf really did never recover from that fungus problem it developed a few years ago. Hopefully the investment will payoff in the form of a few more wins at Ames.

What are all those lines running east to west? For a field less than 2 weeks old it sure does not look it.

[taxthedeer]

What are all those lines running east to west? For a field less than 2 weeks old it sure does not look it.

I found the pic on the HS football teams website at mcwolvesfootball.com. Those lines appear to be left by those two maintence vehicles shown parked at the North East corner of Ames Field.

My question is why did they have to turn on the lights in broad daylight?

[Southsider2k12]

I found the pic on the HS football teams website at mcwolvesfootball.com. Those lines appear to be left by those two maintence vehicles shown parked at the North East corner of Ames Field.

My question is why did they have to turn on the lights in broad daylight?

I totally missed that the lights were on! Good observation. Oh, and welcome to Citybythelake!

[Southsider2k12]

I said it in the Wolves football thread, but the turf looks great, as does the new scoreboard (which I didn't know we were getting). The impressive thing was after a rainy night, I didn't see a single player lose their footing.

[taxthedeer]

List of some drawbacks with Ames Field is:

• 1. Lack of Bleacher space on the visiting side, only eight rows of seating spread just 50 yards out makes for congested seating space for a large visiting crowd.
• 2. Ames Field runs East and West, most stadiums run North and South.
• 3. Home bleachers face to the due North, makes for a blustery evening if you'd ever have sit in the stands facing a cold wind off Lake Michigan in the middle of November.
• 4. The fact that Ames Field is in a different part of town from the High School campus it means cannot be utillized during the school day for things such as PE class.
• 5. Students need to be bussed from the High School for practice.
• 6. Equiptment needs to be constantly transported to and from the High School and Ames Field .
• 5. No track surrounding the field makes it less of a multi-activity facillity.
• 6. Remains completely shut down during the winter months.
• 7. Underutilized, multi-million dollar venue sits along Franklin Street empty quite alot.
• 8. Parking space for an overflow crowd could be a problem

[IndyTransplant]

List of some drawbacks with Ames Field is:

• 1. Lack of Bleacher space on the visiting side, only eight rows of seating spread just 50 yards out makes for congested seating space for a large visiting crowd. What do you suggest?
• 2. Ames Field runs East and West, most stadiums run North and South. It was built in the 1950's originally and rebuilt in 1995. Would you rather we tear it down now and start over?
• 3. Home bleachers face to the due North, makes for a blustery evening if you'd ever have sit in the stands facing a cold wind off Lake Michigan in the middle of November. Most HS and college football games are blustery anywhere in Indiana. People dress for the weather and fo anyway. What changes do you suggest?
• 4. The fact that Ames Field is in a different part of town from the High School campus it means cannot be utillized during the school day for things such as PE class. Do we not already have open fields and a gym at the HS for PE classes. For what purpose, would a PE class use a football field?
• 5. Students need to be bussed from the High School for practice. That occurs in many other towns and cities also.
• 6. Equiptment needs to be constantly transported to and from the High School and Ames Field .
• 5. No track surrounding the field makes it less of a multi-activity facillity. That is a shame, but there are tracks all around town.
• 6. Remains completely shut down during the winter months. Does it really - no events at all? What are the winter months to you? Do not most HS football fields remain empty after football season?
• 7. Underutilized, multi-million dollar venue sits along Franklin Street empty quite alot. With all of the above remarks - what would you like to see happen now that would not waste the history or all of the dollars paid for this facility (original and rebuilt) over the past 60 years?

Wikipedia entry for Ames Field
Michigan City's premier athletic facility, the new Ames Field was opened in 1995. Home to the Michigan City Wolves high school football, Ames Field also hosts the Drum and Bugle Corps Showcase every summer. The original Ames Field was home to the Michigan City White Caps from 1950-1959. The original multipurpose sports facility was demolished in 1995 to make room for expanded stadium. Ames field is named after Mr. George Ames, an early businessman and mayor of Michigan City in the late 1800s. In the spring of 2009, the stadium's playing surface was replaced with artificial field turf at the price $718,396 in lieu of resodding the heavily damaged turf.

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My comments on your remarks are in blue above




My final comments are:

This is a beautiful facility in an otherwise not necessarily over attractive area.


It is a piece of Michigan City history that is still being used and kept up (unlike a few of the privately owned business buildings further uptown).


I think this is a huge asset to Michigan City.

[MC Born & Raised]

List of some drawbacks with Ames Field is:

• 1. Lack of Bleacher space on the visiting side, only eight rows of seating spread just 50 yards out makes for congested seating space for a large visiting crowd. Agreed, though I've never seen it become a problem.
• 2. Ames Field runs East and West, most stadiums run North and South. I'm not sure why this matters, but you're probably right.
• 3. Home bleachers face to the due North, makes for a blustery evening if you'd ever have sit in the stands facing a cold wind off Lake Michigan in the middle of November. This is true. I've often heard this complaint from fans, though I'm usually nice and cozy in the press box.
• 4. The fact that Ames Field is in a different part of town from the High School campus it means cannot be utillized during the school day for things such as PE class. I see both sides of this. I love its current location, but the fact it's so far away from MCHS seems odd.
• 5. Students need to be bussed from the High School for practice. They only practice there once a week, to my knowledge, usually the day before the game. Otherwise they use the practice field at MCHS. But, agreed, it's kind of a pain, I'm sure.
• 6. Equiptment needs to be constantly transported to and from the High School and Ames Field . Same as above.
• 5. No track surrounding the field makes it less of a multi-activity facillity. Probably my biggest complaint with Ames. I'd also like to see it used for soccer, but they would require a massive construction project.
• 6. Remains completely shut down during the winter months. Not sure what could be held there during the winter ...
• 7. Underutilized, multi-million dollar venue sits along Franklin Street empty quite alot. I'd love to see it used once a week or more for something. City and schools need to do a better job showcasing it.
• 8. Parking space for an overflow crowd could be a problem. [color=#3366FF] Yeah, the parking lot is quite small. Hopefully this becomes a problem, because that would mean the team is good enough to require extra parking.

Comments above in blue, just like Indy ...

[IndyTransplant]

Comments above in blue, just like Indy ...

Just curious - why would it take a massive construction to use it for soccer? You have to understand I am a huge soccer fan, and my son played in HS. They often played on what were otherwise football fields at many schools with portable soccer goals. My son's HS had a soccer field (they did not have a football team though), but many high schools in Indy combined the football field and soccer field.

[MC Born & Raised]

Just curious - why would it take a massive construction to use it for soccer? You have to understand I am a huge soccer fan, and my son played in HS. They often played on what were otherwise football fields at many schools with portable soccer goals. My son's HS had a soccer field (they did not have a football team though), but many high schools in Indy combined the football field and soccer field.

The problem, as it's been explained to me, is width. As you know, a soccer field is a wider than a football field, and there really isn't enough room at Ames as it's currently constructed. I think football fields are 53 yards in width and soccer fields are between 64 and 70. You might say 11 to 17 yards isn't that much, but if you take a close look at Ames' surface you'll see why it's an issue. The fix, I think, is to shove the road bleachers farther north, but of course there's a wall there, hence the massive (or at least quite large) construction project.

So, basically, when they first built Ames it wasn't built with the foresight of one day hosting a sport like soccer. Of course, there was no high school soccer program here until the consolidation. Now, you could also make the argument that the opening of Ames coincided with the reopening of Ames, and therefore it should have been considered. LOL. I wouldn't argue with that. Personally, I'd love to see soccer and track meets conducted at Ames. The track facility at MCHS isn't the best, to say the least. But that would be an even bigger project.

[IndyTransplant]

The problem, as it's been explained to me, is width. As you know, a soccer field is a wider than a football field, and there really isn't enough room at Ames as it's currently constructed. I think football fields are 53 yards in width and soccer fields are between 64 and 70. You might say 11 to 17 yards isn't that much, but if you take a close look at Ames' surface you'll see why it's an issue. The fix, I think, is to shove the road bleachers farther north, but of course there's a wall there, hence the massive (or at least quite large) construction project.

So, basically, when they first built Ames it wasn't built with the foresight of one day hosting a sport like soccer. Of course, there was no high school soccer program here until the consolidation. Now, you could also make the argument that the opening of Ames coincided with the reopening of Ames, and therefore it should have been considered. LOL. I wouldn't argue with that. Personally, I'd love to see soccer and track meets conducted at Ames. The track facility at MCHS isn't the best, to say the least. But that would be an even bigger project.

I looked at the FIFA laws of the game and found this

field size width must be a minimum of 50 yds (45 m) and a maximum of 100 yds (90 m)

length must be a minimum of 100 yds (90 m) and a maximum of 130 yds.



So it may be possible, but would be one of the smaller fields played on.



Anyway that would have been nice.

[Southsider2k12]

Is Ames Field owned by Michigan City or by the MCAS? To me, that question makes a very large difference in how the community is able to utilize it.

[Ang]

To my knowledge, it is owned by MCAS. Zilla Field is the only property occupied by MCAS that it does not own, as far as I know. I could be wrong, but I don't believe I am.

BTW, Elston has a very nice track field, why is it not used for HS track meets?

[taxthedeer]

It was announced that La Porte will be getting synthetic turf at Kiawanis Field and the outdated Burial Gounds at Lake Central will undergo a complete reconstruction project that will not only add synthetic turf but will move their field from facing east to west to north to south. This means all eight member schools in the Duneland conference will have synthetic turf for their football fields.

[Southsider2k12]

It was announced that La Porte will be getting synthetic turf at Kiawanis Field and the outdated Burial Gounds at Lake Central will undergo a complete reconstruction project that will not only add synthetic turf but will move their field from facing east to west to north to south. This means all eight member schools in the Duneland conference will have synthetic turf for their football fields.

No school needs a redo more than Lake Central. Their facilities are horrible.

[taxthedeer]

No school needs a redo more than Lake Central. Their facilities are horrible.

Here is what Lake Central's facility will look like once it's completed:

http://www.lchsroomconcepts.blogspot.com/2...-rooms.html?m=1

[taxthedeer]

La Porte High School's Kiwanis Field will begin synthetic turf installation next week. They are waiting for winter weather to subside.

When Lake Central High School's Burial Grounds reconstruction is completed next year all eight member schools of the Duneland conference will have made the transition from natural grass to synthetic turf.