Transcript:
Heavy rain can flood sports fields and force games and practices to be canceled.
And Matt Libber, the executive director of Maryland SoccerPlex, a sprawling complex of 24 sports fields near Washington, D.C., says soggy conditions put athletes at risk.
Libber: “It could cause injuries if they’re slipping and sliding across the field, most commonly seen in like ACL tears or MCL tears, sprained ankles, things of that nature.”
On the other hand, drought can also damage grass fields. And both extreme rain and drought are getting more intense as the climate warms.
So the SoccerPlex is making its fields more resilient.
They’re switching their turf fields from bluegrass to Bermuda grass, which is more drought-tolerant.
And they’ve installed drainage pipes under the fields so rain can flow underground instead of pooling on the surface.
Libber: “Each field cost about $150,000 to retrofit.”
But Libber says he and his staff knew they’d recoup that cost quickly by avoiding lost revenue from canceled games.
Libber: “Since we put them in, I can count on my hand the number of days that we’ve actually closed fields completely because of rain incidents.”
So these upgrades help ensure that athletes can get out and play even as the climate changes.
Reporting credit: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
