Flash floods leave football field in frenzy

Along with other facilities around the city of Bloomington on Wednesday, the damage left by last week’s floods put the status of Memorial Stadium’s field in peril for the upcoming months.\nWednesday, excess water gathered on the AstroPlay turf surface at the home of the Hoosier football team. After the water drained, a 2-feet deep, 6-by-10 foot sinkhole formed just behind the south endzone while the entire field surface showed visible lumps in various spots on the turf.\n“The endzone was affected when the water rushed in,” IU director of football operations Harold Mauro said. “It moved the stones and sand around and created a large indent in the field.”\nAs University officials ponder a plan to make the field playable, early estimates for repair reportedly range from $750,000 to $1 million. Officials have several things to consider in making the decision on how to repair the damaged field.\nAccording to Mauro, player’s workouts are voluntary until the team reports back to Bloomington on Aug. 2.\nThe IU football season begins Aug. 30 when the Hoosiers open against Western Kentucky. The field might need to be ready before the home opener, however, because Memorial Stadium is scheduled to host the Drum Corps International World Championships beginning Aug. 8.\nThe DCI World Championships is a marching band competition where 28 corps compete for the title of best in the world. The sinkhole could come into play for bands who might choose to use the entire field.\n“We were in contact with stadium officials today and received assurances that repair efforts are already being put into action,” said Dan Acheson, DCI executive director and CEO said in a statement on June 6. “No matter how solid your planning is, there are certain events that cannot be foreseen, and this is one of them. As something we hadn’t considered as part of our planning process, we’re confident that this will turn out to be nothing more than a minor inconvenience and will not delay our ability to prepare for this year’s World Championships.”\nMaking matters more difficult for IU is the fact that Southwest Recreational Industries Inc., the company that installed the field turf in 2003, has since gone out of business after accumulating considerable debt.\nIU athletics expects a full report from assessors to come through later this week.\n“Right now we’re looking at hopefully having something finalized by Friday,” Director of Media Relations J.D. Campbell said. “We’re anticipating the best in terms of having the field ready for everything. Our expectation is we’ll be able to move forward the best we can.”