Goodman Stadium’s grass field, home to the Lehigh-Lafayette football rivalry since 1988, faced a particular challenge this year — a gray leaf fungus. This grass-killing pathogen appeared in August, marked by brown spots across the grass, according to Allen Biddinger, Lehigh’s facilities manager.
Eric Steckel, head of Lehigh’s BrightView team, said the fungus also affected the soccer fields. BrightView, a landscaping team, has been working with Lehigh Athletics since 1981, and sprayed fungicides to stop the spread, though the specific fungicide used was not disclosed.
Dork Sahagian, a professor of earth and environmental science at Lehigh, said depending on the fungicide, it could kill mycorrhizal – a fungal root that improves water absorption for the plant. However, he said he doesn’t believe the fungus will spread into the greater Bethlehem area
Steckel said BrightView’s fungicide prevents the fungus from spreading further, so they must be sprayed during dry weather as rain accelerates fungal growth. He said the fungus killed all infected grass by September, so the crew put down new grass.
The new grass faced additional stress as Lehigh’s football schedule continued as the field was torn up during the Lehigh-Wagner and the Bucknell game. However, the soccer field recovered faster because it hosted only one home game against Boston University at the end of the month.
Biddinger said both the soccer and football fields look much better now than they did in September.
The grass’s journey begins in April when the original seeds are sowed, and Steckel attributed the recovery to BrightView’s maintenance crew, Clemente Ramirez and Ramiro Mendez, who mow the grass every other day and fertilize it one to two times per month.
The grass, a mix of Kentucky Blue and Perennial Rye sourced from Canada, is watered daily using an underground irrigation system.
Steckel said the fields are also sprayed with growth regulators which cause the grass to grow sideways instead of vertically — a common practice in sports fields.
“We use fertilizers and growth regulators to try to get the best product out there that we can possibly get,” Steckel said.
In preparation for each game at Goodman Stadium, the grounds crew begin spraying the grass on Wednesday and Thursday. For this upcoming Rivalry game, they will begin spraying on Tuesday because there’s a chance of rain on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Football games also add a lot of stress onto the grass by squashing the field during tackles and ripping it up while players are running. So after each game, BrightView workers aerate the grass by creating holes to promote airflow to the roots.
Unlike other schools like Lafayette and Bucknell, which have switched to turf, Goodman Stadium retains its grass field. Biddinger said this choice is more cost-effective, as the field is only used five to six times each fall because the stadium doesn’t have lights.
Biddinger said, “If you’re going to put a turf field in, you really want to have lights so that you can get the maximum return on investment (by) using the field.”
If Lehigh were to make the switch to turf, Biddinger said it would need to be funded by a big donor.
Grass fields also have safety benefits.
According to a 2018 study by Mass General Brigham, about 20% more non-contact injuries occur per play on a turf surface than on a grass surface.
Quarterback Mathew Machalik, ‘28, said he thinks the grass field is soft.
“There’s a lot of injuries that can happen on turf, so I feel like grass lessens those injuries,” he said.
As temperatures drop in November, frost presents a new challenge for field maintenance. The grass becomes brittle when frozen, making it more prone to damage, Steckel said.
Biddinger said the crew ensures no one steps on the field until the frost has melted off — which usually happens around 8 a.m. He said the field is not open for public use, which helps limit the number of people on it.
With lows expected at 36 degrees on Saturday, Nov. 23, the same procedures can be expected for The Rivalry game. In addition, Steckel said the BrightView crew will be spray painting parking spots to accommodate the expected larger crowds.
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