Lunch & Learn: A Guide to Building Your First Field Sessions

Building a new synthetic turf field can feel overwhelming—especially if it’s your first time managing the process. This session walks park and recreation professionals through a practical, step-by-step “new field workflow,” from early visioning and budgeting through design, permitting, contractor selection, and product decisions. Attendees will learn how to set realistic expectations around schedule and procurement, define and prioritize programming objectives, and identify jurisdictional and permitting requirements that can impact timeline and scope. The session also covers key design considerations (field limits, runoff space, sport markings, line/color planning, and aesthetics such as end zones, borders, numbers, and logos) to help ensure the field meets standards and supports athlete needs. Finally, we’ll share best practices for qualifying contractors and evaluating products using a simple scorecard approach—covering proof and references, warranty considerations, recycling/sustainability planning, and performance criteria (lab and field testing). Time is reserved for Q&A to address real-world scenarios and common pitfalls. Learning Objectives: 1. Outline the key phases of a “new field workflow,” including early planning, permitting, design standards, contractor qualification, and product selection. 2. Identify the critical site and design factors that influence playability and compliance—such as grading/drainage, field dimensions/runoffs, sport markings, and multi-sport line/color strategy. 3. Apply a practical evaluation framework to compare contractors and turf systems based on experience/references, warranty, performance testing, and end-of-life recycling/sustainability considerations.