The time of year and weather have a major impact on how often fields need to be cut. For example, in the direct heat of summer, bermudagrasses' favorite time of year it grows so quickly that our grounds crew finds themselves mowing it almost every other day. However, when we first open fields in spring, we barely will cut bermudagrass once a week because it is still dormant. During its growing season we cut Kentucky Bluegrass usually 2-3 times a week.

The weather is always a huge factor on when the fields need cutting. In the past two weeks we had over 7 inches of rain and of rain, and were unable to cut for almost that entire stretch.  This presents a challenge due to how tall the grass gets in that period.  As we have discussed in the past, you never want to cut off more than 1/3 of the living plant each time you mow, so when we finally were able to cut, we had to mow at almost 2" tall, then gradually take the height down over the next week or two afterwards. Mowing grass when very wet can cause trauma to the turf itself so it is best to mow when the weather is dryer.

The amount of time that it takes to cut a grass field depends on the number of mowers being used, and the pattern that is being cut. Patterns are used for multiple reasons! The pattern can actually assist the sideline referees judge offside calls. The most common pattern you will see at the SoccerPlex is the traditional checkerboard.

When we have two mowers on a field, the grounds crew can complete a whole field in about 25 minutes. When there is 1 mower the field takes about an hour to complete. Our stadium field takes the longest to mow due to the complex pattern that is normally being mowed in. Generally it will take about an hour and a half to mow the stadium field because it must be mowed north to south and then east to west to set the pattern in.