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Hugh Boyd field will be huge At 24,000 square metres, artificial turf will be Canada’s largest
Richmond’s Hugh Boyd park will become home to Canada’s largest artificial turf field when it’s completed later this year, big enough to simultaneously accommodate two soccer matches and a football game.
The park is in the midst of the transformation, with the large natural grass soccer pitch at the park’s northern perimeter on Francis Road scalped to make way for the 24,000-square-metre project that will cost the city almost $1.4 million.
The new facility will feature the latest version of FieldTurf, a synthetic surface produced by Montreal-based FieldTurf. Company marketing manager Darren Gill says Hugh Boyd’s field will boast an improved version of the plastic surface used at Richmond’s first outdoor artificial turf field at Minoru Park.
Like the new field in front of Richmond High, Hugh Boyd’s year-round playing surface will sport monofilament fibres, which look more like grass and perform more like grass.
Instead of the flat-blade plastic fibres in the older version, the new monofilament are more spaghetti-like and are less abrasive.
Gill said he’s certain this will be Canada’s largest continuous artificial surface, and it may in fact be the largest in North America.
Gill says when you look at all of the costs associated with a field, including maintenance and installation, FieldTurf is only about one-third the price of a grass field from a cost-per-use perspective.
The field will be usable year-round, including during the wet and cold fall and winter months when most natural grass fields become soaked and are seriously damaged by play.
The new field will last about a decade and comes with an eight-year warranty, Gill says.
Not only are the monofilament fibres more grass-like, but this type of field provides better cushioning and is easier on the body than other forms of artificial grass.
The FieldTurf comprises three layers, with sand at the bottom, which is covered by a mixture of sand and rubber, and then coated with tiny rubber shavings.
Project engineer Marcus Liu said the new field should be opening in October, depending on if there’s enough consecutive warm days to allow the gluing of the field onto the concrete base. That is scheduled to be done toward the end of August.
The massive field will be surrounded by a four-foot chain-link fence, save for the areas behind the nets, which will reach 16 feet high.
Liu explained that concrete curbing is currently being install and then a drainage system will be put in place to keep the surface dry throughout the year. That should make it usable 365 days per year.
Plans for the park include the installation of a spectator viewing area and bleachers.
Richmond’s Hugh Boyd park will become home to Canada’s largest artificial turf field when it’s completed later this year, big enough to simultaneously accommodate two soccer matches and a football game.
The park is in the midst of the transformation, with the large natural grass soccer pitch at the park’s northern perimeter on Francis Road scalped to make way for the 24,000-square-metre project that will cost the city almost $1.4 million.
The new facility will feature the latest version of FieldTurf, a synthetic surface produced by Montreal-based FieldTurf. Company marketing manager Darren Gill says Hugh Boyd’s field will boast an improved version of the plastic surface used at Richmond’s first outdoor artificial turf field at Minoru Park.
Like the new field in front of Richmond High, Hugh Boyd’s year-round playing surface will sport monofilament fibres, which look more like grass and perform more like grass.
Instead of the flat-blade plastic fibres in the older version, the new monofilament are more spaghetti-like and are less abrasive.
Gill said he’s certain this will be Canada’s largest continuous artificial surface, and it may in fact be the largest in North America.
Gill says when you look at all of the costs associated with a field, including maintenance and installation, FieldTurf is only about one-third the price of a grass field from a cost-per-use perspective.
The field will be usable year-round, including during the wet and cold fall and winter months when most natural grass fields become soaked and are seriously damaged by play.
The new field will last about a decade and comes with an eight-year warranty, Gill says.
Not only are the monofilament fibres more grass-like, but this type of field provides better cushioning and is easier on the body than other forms of artificial grass.
The FieldTurf comprises three layers, with sand at the bottom, which is covered by a mixture of sand and rubber, and then coated with tiny rubber shavings.
Project engineer Marcus Liu said the new field should be opening in October, depending on if there’s enough consecutive warm days to allow the gluing of the field onto the concrete base. That is scheduled to be done toward the end of August.
The massive field will be surrounded by a four-foot chain-link fence, save for the areas behind the nets, which will reach 16 feet high.
Liu explained that concrete curbing is currently being install and then a drainage system will be put in place to keep the surface dry throughout the year. That should make it usable 365 days per year.
Plans for the park include the installation of a spectator viewing area and bleachers.
