Bank of America Stadium?EUR??,,????'??+The Pride of the Carolinas

Editor, Kevin Burrows

Bank of America purchased the naming rights in 2004 in a deal that will keep their logo on the building until 2024.

Bank of America Stadium, located in Charlotte, North Carolina has been the home of the Carolina Panthers since 1996. Sitting on 33 acres of land and with a capacity of 73,298 the facility not only is home to NFL games, it also hosts an annual college football bowl game as well as games for a number of North Carolina?EUR??,,????'???s universities.

In addition to a first class look and feel, the Panthers?EUR??,,????'??? playing surface is highly regarded among players. It has repeatedly been ranked highly in a survey of taken by the NFL Players Association. The latest in 2006 listed the field second only to Tampa Bay among natural grass fields in the League.

The team has a computerized Toro irrigation system without a central computer. With 72 landscape irrigation zones as well as 35 field zones, they have six individual LTC controllers that are each programmed separately.

The Crew

To maintain such a high standard Vaughan leads a team of 8 full time staff members, 7 of which are licensed pesticide applicators. Vaughan said he and three of his team members are ?EUR??,,????'??more or less field oriented.?EUR??,,????'?? The other members are divided up with other responsibilities around the grounds.

?EUR??,,????'??We?EUR??,,????'???ve got a good crew,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan. ?EUR??,,????'??Everyone works hard and it?EUR??,,????'???s great to see the finished product on television.?EUR??,,????'??

 

Painting the lines, numbers, hashes and logos, takes about 2 and a half days to complete and is done before each home game. ?EUR??,,????'??All planning for the painting of logos is done before the season,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan. ?EUR??,,????'??We are required by NFL to paint their shield somewhere on the field as well.?EUR??,,????'??

The Turf

The landscaping staff at Bank of America Stadium has 20 total acres of landscape to maintain. Not only do they keep turf on the field looking professional, they are charged with the landscaping on the grounds surrounding the stadium. These landscaped areas total about 8-9 acres and are mainly tall fescue. The team?EUR??,,????'???s on site practice fields make up the rest of the turf the crew cares for.

The Panthers use Bermuda as the base grass all year long. All playing surfaces are varieties of Bermuda,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan. ?EUR??,,????'??The practice fields are Bermuda 419 and the stadium is Bermuda Voyager.?EUR??,,????'??

Originally known as Carolinas Stadium, the 72,000 seat facility opened in 1996 as Ericsson Stadium after the Swedish telecom company. The Panthers debuted during that NFL season and Bank of America has since acquired naming rights. This has lead many fans now refer to the stadium as “The Vault” or “The Bank”.

Fertilizer

?EUR??,,????'??We use various types of fertilizers on the athletic turf,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan. The nitrogen sources are IBDU, poly-coated nitrogen and other balanced fertilizers. The ornamentals are mainly fed by root feeding. ?EUR??,,????'??We use a lot of organic fertilizers on the turf and annual beds. A mix of different fertilizer sources seems to give the best results.?EUR??,,????'??

Spraying

?EUR??,,????'??Bermuda grass doesn?EUR??,,????'???t have a lot of pest problems. Most of our spraying is bio-stimulants,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan. ?EUR??,,????'??We use really safe products whenever we do deal with pests.?EUR??,,????'??

?EUR??,,????'??We don?EUR??,,????'???t?EUR??,,????'??? do a lot of spraying during the season. Most of the work is done in the months leading up to the season,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan. ?EUR??,,????'??We have to work around the team?EUR??,,????'???s schedule.?EUR??,,????'??

At the time of its construction in the early 1990s, the stadium was a pioneering project for the use of Personal Seat Licenses. It was the first large-scale project funded and constructed in the USA using mostly PSLs. It was the strength of PSL pledges that impressed the NFL owners and resulted in the Carolinas receiving the first new expansion team in nearly two decades.

Equipmemt

The team has a partnership with Toro for all of their equipment. ?EUR??,,????'??We have four walk behind mowers and four 21?EUR??,,????'?? self propelled push mowers for use on grounds areas,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan. ?EUR??,,????'??We use two five reel mowers on the fields as well.?EUR??,,????'?? Rotary and walk behind mowers are primarily used on areas of turf. In addition, they have two large fairway reel mowers?EUR??,,????'???one for the practice fields and one for stadium. Three Toro workman utility vehicles with dump beds and three golf carts with beds round out the crew?EUR??,,????'???s primary equipment.

Field Maintenance

Vaughan prefers to aerify the field often. ?EUR??,,????'??On average, it is done 5-6 times a year,?EUR??,,????'?? he said. ?EUR??,,????'??You can never aerify too much I think.?EUR??,,????'??

?EUR??,,????'??We try to do it before October 15. On average it is done around October 1st.?EUR??,,????'??

Head Groundskeeper, Tom Vaughan leads a team of 8 full time grounds crew members. ?EUR??,,????'??On Saturday before games we mow one last time. The day of the game the entire staff is on site and if we have a night game we could be here till 2am.?EUR??,,????'?? photo courtesy of the carolina panthers

Irrigation

The team has a computerized Toro irrigation system but do not employ a central computer. Instead they have six individual LTC controllers on site that are each programmed separately. For example they have a controller for the stadium, one for the practice fields, and one for the grounds areas. There are 72 landscape irrigation zones as well as 35 field zones.

Once we get into the actual season, the watering goes down significantly, though to maybe 2-3 times a week.?EUR??,,????'??

In the areas surrounding the stadium pansies are planted in the fall and Lantana, Begonias, Impatiens in spring. The landscaping crew re-plants annual flowers twice a year in April and October. The in-house crew uses around 11,000 annuals for each planting.

Painting the Field

Field painting, which consists of lines, numbers, hashes and logos, takes about 2 and a half days to complete and is done each week of a home game.

The NFL, long known for being extremely strict with players uniforms, is no different when it comes to the designs on the field. ?EUR??,,????'??All planning for the painting of logos is done before the season,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan. ?EUR??,,????'??We are required by NFL to paint the shield somewhere on the field as well.?EUR??,,????'??

The city skyline of Charlotte can be seen from the upper levels of the stadium. The organization had considered several possible sites for the stadium’s location prior to choosing the Charlotte center city site. A popular option was locating it near Carowinds amusement park, with the 50 yard line being on the state border of North Carolina and South Carolina.

Flowers and Trees

The landscaping crew re-plants annual flowers twice a year, usually in April and October. ?EUR??,,????'??We use around 11,000 annuals each planting,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan.

?EUR??,,????'??We prune smaller trees such as Crape myrtles in house, but we contract larger tree work to certified arborists,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan. ?EUR??,,????'??Tree maintenance and upkeep is a high priority. Root fertilizations are done by tree service companies.?EUR??,,????'??

The Panthers use Bermuda as the base grass all year long. All playing surfaces are varieties of Bermuda,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughan. ?EUR??,,????'??The practice fields are Bermuda 419 and the stadium is Bermuda Voyager.?EUR??,,????'??

Challenges

Since Charlotte is located in a transition zone and has unusual weather patterns, keeping the field in good condition can be complicated. ?EUR??,,????'??I think our biggest challenge is the weather,?EUR??,,????'?? said Vaughn. Although North Carolina is in the south, they do experience all four seasons and in December, temperatures often fall well below freezing. Snow and ice are not out of the question.

Even with the long hours and weather challenges Vaughan enjoys his job. ?EUR??,,????'??I really like it once you get into the season,?EUR??,,????'?? he said. ?EUR??,,????'??There is a lot to satisfaction seeing the finished product.?EUR??,,????'??