Red Lion Area School District Athletic Field Improvements – York County

Size/Budget/Schedule:
17 acres over 1 year at $2.95 million.

Red Lion Area School District asked FCE to conduct a feasibility study to identify the existing conditions of the fields located at the Junior and Senior High Schools and provide recommendations on whether additional fields were warranted based on the fields’ current conditions and sports schedules.

Following completion of the feasibility study, it was determined that FCE would assist in improving two existing facilities (the district’s softball field and Horn field, the district’s stadium) and creating two new soccer fields for practice space. The Stadium, Horn Field, would be re-designed using artificial turf to allow for additional play on the field without harming the quality of the turf.

After the last diploma was handed out on June 10th, construction on Horn Field began. FCE was responsible for day-to-day construction management and observation to ensure the project stayed on schedule and design compliance was met. FCE inspected all aspects of land development, including retaining walls, grading, stormwater management and utilities. As the resident inspector, FCE was on site full time, if work was being performed.

• The hallmark of the overall project was the conversion of Horn Field to artificial turf. The installation of the artificial turf proved to be challenging, as there was a significant difference in elevation between the end zones. To correct this, FCE designed a retaining wall which was constructed in front of the existing bleachers. The new artificial surface extended into the baseball field, creating the only artificial baseball field in York County.
• The installation of the artificial turf necessitated the design of an underdrain system and subsurface stormwater infiltration bed, designed by FCE, which mitigated the increase in stormwater that occurred as a result. Due to the high permeability of the sand and rubber infill, the runoff from an artificial turf field is more akin to a parking lot than a natural grass field.
• The new soccer fields were designed on a former golf course, where grades over much of the site exceeded 15%, requiring a retaining wall, in order to create a level surface for the soccer fields. When construction began, significant rock blasting and removal was necessary in order to create the large, level space for the fields.
• The softball field improvement, which included the design of a high-quality playing field with dugouts and a concession stand, as well as a practice field, was a major part of this overall project. Pervious concrete was utilized around the concession stand to reduce the size of the required stormwater management system, which was designed to be placed below the practice field. The pervious concrete allows the rain to infiltrate into the water table, as it would prior to construction.

FCE’s efficient construction management and thorough inspection team ensured that construction was completed prior to the first home football game on September 2nd, and played as originally scheduled, less than three (3) full months after construction had begun.