Info:

• Project : Gold Mine on Airline Stadium
• Location : New Orleans, LA
• Product : Hydraway 12″
• Application : Baseball Field
• Challenge : Before the Gold Mine on Airline Stadium housed the New Orleans Gold rugby team, it was the home field for the New Orleans Zephyrs minor league baseball team. It was a natural grass baseball field with a unique challenge. The field was in a low-lying area below sea level, and the existing 4” drainage system had failed. Our contractor had to remove 17,000 feet of the previously installed failed drainage system before the renovation project could even begin.
• Solution : Several factors had to be considered for this field. Since the field was below sea level, it had an existing 30 mil liner 12” below the turf to keep groundwater from seeping into the field from the bottom. Additionally, the stadium has a concrete seating area, causing water to run off into the field. The only place to divert the water to was a single 12” CMP outlet that ran through the center of the field, with a pipe running through a levee to a creek behind it. Hydraway 12” was installed horizontally to maximize the best drainage possible, given that this area of the country receives frequent microburst rain events. The drainage system was installed with 13’ spacing and 7’ spacing in the tarp drop area. The project was completed in one month.
• Result : The field has been efficiently draining over the years, as it has seen many changes in names, teams, and sport. Since the installation of Hydraway, it has never had a rain-out despite heavy rains before a game. In fact, the client stated that once, before a baseball game, a thunderstorm hit at 3:00 p.m. By 3:30 p.m., the only things visible on the field were the infield and bullpen tarps. By 3:45 p.m., the stadium had received 3.17” of rain. Yet the Zephyrs baseball team were on the field by 7:30 p.m., playing their game with compliments from the Pacific Coast League and its umpires.