SMU soccer's stake in the grass

[Cheesesteak]

SMU soccer's stake in the grass

From efficient watering to NCAA's attention, Westcott is stepping up

Dallas Morning News - Wednesday, August 9, 2006 - Steve Davis

One of the country's top college soccer programs just moved a little higher on the food chain.

Fresh off an NCAA Final Four appearance, SMU men's coach Schellas Hyndman mashed the accelerator on the school's ongoing efforts to improve Westcott Field.

Hyndman drove $650,000 of fund raising for a modern pitch that enhances the university's standing as a leader in environmental concerns and elevates SMU's ability to secure NCAA playoff contests.

Workers and top officials from Rehbein Environmental Solutions, out of Minneapolis, laid the sod last week. Hyndman and women's coach John Cossaboon must move a couple of late-August matches, but the field should be playable by the first week or so of September.

Mark Rehbein, CEO of the company, was here Tuesday to inspect the field's progress. He said the field's main attraction is an underground watering system that efficiently utilizes all the moisture applied.

A series of underground "ponds" waters the grass from below the surface. Other systems, he said, can waste about 40 percent of the water applied.

Rehbein's fields are in Houston's Reliant Stadium, among other places.

As for the competitive benefit: The new field is 118 by 75 yards. The added length (about 10 yards) and width (about 7 yards) should help SMU land the important playoff matches.

Previously, playoff opponents used Westcott's 68-yard width, slightly less than ideal, as leverage against SMU when bidding for postseason contests. Last year, for instance, SMU was seeded higher than UNC-Greensboro but had to travel to North Carolina for the teams' playoff match.

SMU added the space by relocating the jump pits, which are part of the track-and-field element of Westcott Field.

It also means the field is positioned a little closer to the grandstand, which is better for fans.

Small, gradual additions, such as lights, scoreboards and landscaping, have made Westcott a better place to play and watch games since its 1994 debut.

The next phase of improvements will include restrooms and concession areas – fans must now go next door to Gerald J. Ford Stadium – upgraded seating and a brick façade outside the west stands to match the rest of the campus buildings.

Because the field won't be ready in time, Cossaboon's women's team has already moved its high-profile Aug. 27 match against North Carolina, the standard bearer in women's college soccer, to Pizza Hut Park.

[Pony_Fan]

Pizza Hut park would be a great substitute for games while the field is getting back in order.

[Pony_Fan]

How is the field coming along?

[SMUFan]

Westcott Field looks great. Looks done, but I assume they're letting the grass really take hold, or something. Word is they expect it to be ready a couple of weeks into the season.

[mustangkip]

Pizza Hut park would be a great substitute for games while the field is getting back in order.

Pizza Hut Park is a wonderful soccer venue but I am glad that we are getting our own world class soccer facility.

[that's great raplh]

our team deserves it