Improved football field to open for intramural competition

  • Published
  • By Kendahl Johnson
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The intramural football season kicks off Sept. 9, and players will find a marked improvement to this year's playing surface.

Steve Bowlin, director of the fitness center, said crews have been working diligently to improve the football field to make it better and safer for the players.

"The field has improved tremendously," Bowlin said. "Our team has worked diligently to grow and tend the grass and eliminate prairie dogs, goat heads, and weeds, to create a smoother, safer field for participants of our sports and fitness programs."

The field was closed for several months to prep it for the peak playing season.

"During the assigned sports seasons it's important for us to limit usage so we can properly maintain the playing surfaces and take care of issues as they arise," Bowlin said. "If our field becomes damaged due to misuse or overuse during our season, we could be forced to cancel our season due to safety concerns."

Because of the football field's proximity to the running track, it is a choice location for units to conduct morning or afternoon physical training exercises, which was damaging the field In the past, people have driven their private vehicles, push sleds, oversized tires on the football field without consideration for the playing surface.

Bowlin said these unauthorized items cause considerable damage that requires time, money and effort to correct before sports programs can safely be conducted.

"Our number one priority is for the safety of the players, and having a subpar field increases the likelihood that a player will be injured," he said.

Additional improvements to the field are planned, including expanding the field to a regulation length of 100 yards, and installing a scoreboard and new hybrid football and soccer goal posts.

These improvements are coming on the heels of major enhancements to the softball field. Teams have added more than 28 tons of surface material, repaired sprinkler heads, added a safety fence topping and purchased different drags to keep the soil soft.

"We're just trying to make things better and provide a good quality product for our Airmen," Bowlin said.