McAnany Construction Upgrades Rockhurst High School Athletic Field with TigerTurf

Hawklets cap the 2010 season with football and soccer state championships

The Rockhurst High School football and soccer teams earned an unexpected bonus when the synthetic turf on their athletic field was replaced with TIGER XQ 48 by McAnany Construction Company: both teams won state championships, an achievement school leaders attribute in part to a higher quality field that increased player performance.

Rockhurst High School, a Jesuit preparatory school for boys headquartered in Kansas City, engaged McAnany Construction of Shawnee, Kansas, in July 2010 to replace the existing synthetic turf for its athletic field over a period of only 17 days. The Rockhurst field is used for football, soccer, lacrosse, and gym classes. By August, McAnany had completed the installation of 103,000 square feet of TIGER XQ 48. Athletes find that TIGER XQ 48 offers them the feel and playability of real grass. This synthetic turf product is made of high quality yarn that offers better recovery and durability, which enables it to retain its integrity and deliver optimum performance for the life of the turf installation.

“We chose McAnany and TigerTurf because we were assured a very quick turn-around time for replacement of the old turf. We also knew they could complete a quality installation that included re-grading of the sub-surface.  The TigerTurf product proved to be as durable as promised, and our coaches and players loved playing on it this past fall season. No doubt, it contributed to our state championships in both soccer and football!” explained Father Terrence A. Baum, S.J., president of Rockhurst High School.

Ed Huggins, vice president responsible for athletic fields and golf course renovation with McAnany Construction, served as the project manager for the Rockhurst High School project. Huggins explained that the Rockhurst High School Athletic Department chose McAnany and TigerTurf because of key competitive advantages. For example, McAnany and TigerTurf committed to a competitive price and had the ability to complete the upgrades to the athletic field before the start of the Fall 2010 football season, whereas competitors had told school officials that the project would have to be done after the football season ended.

“McAnany had the resources to get the job done quickly and efficiently.  We started in July and were finished in August,” Huggins said. “TigerTurf was the best match for this project. We have worked with TigerTurf since 2008 and have built a solid relationship with the company. We knew the quality of TigerTurf’s product is very good.  Because the McAnany family has had a long-standing relationship with Rockhurst High School, all of us working for the company had a vested interest in making sure this project went well.”

Project Details

Huggins explained that McAnany first had to extract the rubber infill from the existing athletic field. Next, the McAnany team removed the existing turf.

“What makes us unique is that instead of disposing the rubber infill, we recycled and reused 90 percent from the existing field. We also offered our customer the option to use a green rubber infill for the new field instead of using black infill. Also, we were able to salvage 80 percent of the turf from the old field to be used for other projects,” Huggins said, noting that Rockhurst High School saved 15 to 20 percent of the estimated total cost of the project due to the elimination of disposal costs and the ability to reuse the turf and infill.

Huggins continued: “Because the sub-grade of the field needed attention, we brought 300 tons of top rock and laser-graded the rock. We then rolled the rock and verified the grade to ensure the correct slope and the proper playability. The final steps were to compact the surface to ensure that it was tight and install the new TigerTurf product.”  

“TigerTurf is thrilled to have provided Rockhurst High School with our premium athletic field surface – especially since this is one of the State of Missouri’s premiere high school athletic programs. Because of its unique composition and characteristics, the TIGER XQ 48 system gives the Rockhurst Hawklets athletic program the ultimate, high performance athletic field in the country. The new TigerTurf field is one of the finest high school surfaces in the country and even better than that of most colleges, universities, and professional sports fields,” commented Bob Aurich, regional sales manager for TigerSports Americas, Inc.

About Rockhurst High School
Rockhurst High School, which is firmly rooted in Catholic educational tradition and ideals associated with the order of Jesuit priests, provides a dynamic environment for academic, spiritual and social growth. For 100 years, Rockhurst has challenged students with a rigorous academic program in the classical, Jesuit tradition. That tradition continues through a comprehensive study of the liberal arts and a strong commitment to a Jesuit mission that prepares students for college and beyond. Rockhurst High School’s enrollment for the 2010-2011 academic year is 1,066.  The school employs 85 professional staff members

The Rockhurst Athletic Department seeks to provide an environment in which the student athlete is assisted in understanding himself physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. The department endeavors to develop the student athlete to be a Christian leader and understand how to use this learned behavior as an example for others.
For more information, please call 816-363-2036 or email www.rockhursths.edu.

About McAnany Construction
McAnany Construction was founded in 1954 by Richard S. McAnany and has been located in Shawnee, Kansas, since then.  The company continues to be family-owned and operated, with Patrick McAnany, Timothy McAnany, Philip McAnany and Roger Vossman serving as the second generation of leaders.

McAnany Construction provides asphalt paving, fly ash, asphalt milling, site development, synthetic turf, athletic fields, golf course construction, and general construction management. For more information, please call 913-631-5440 or email information@McAnanyConstruction.com.

About TigerTurf
TigerTurf is one of the world’s largest synthetic turf manufacturers with operations in the United States, Australia, United Kingdom and New Zealand. The company has a global network of manufacturing facilities serving customers in over 85 countries.

TigerTurf develops, manufactures, and markets turf solutions for soccer, American football, field hockey, lacrosse, tennis, golf and numerous other sport and landscaping surfaces. Many of the company’s products have passed the stringent testing requirements of the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), International Hockey Fédération (FIH), International Tennis Federation (ITF), International Rugby Board (IRB), World Bowls and other sport governing bodies. As a leader in the industry, TigerTurf products are made with components from TenCate, the leading manufacturer of synthetic turf components.

TigerTurf Americas, headquartered in Austin, Texas, distributes customized and standard turf solutions throughout North and South America for sports and landscape applications.