Austin FC groundskeeper already hard at work

Every second the ball is in play, Weston Appelfeller has his eyes on the pitch. He’s just looking at it differently from everybody else in the stadium.

Despite working in soccer for almost a decade, Appelfeller still hasn’t picked up the finer points of the sport. Watching from the waist down makes it difficult to get the full picture.

“The interaction of the field and the cleats,” the Austin FC head of grounds said, describing how he’s watched every soccer match he’s ever been to. “I’m stressed out. It’s got to play good, have the right moisture and all that kind of stuff. I just never picked up what each player is doing and why they’re doing it.”

Likewise, Appelfeller wouldn’t expect the average soccer fan to know the differences in fertilizers. But he’s experienced something new over the past few months. Since he started working for a Major League Soccer franchise more than two years before its first match, even fellow groundskeepers are a little puzzled by his current job duties.

Appelfeller is in a rare position. The last two MLS teams to open stadiums, Los Angeles FC and Minnesota United FC, had groundskeepers in place only a few months before opening day. Appelfeller was among the initial hires in January from the Columbus Crew, the franchise that Austin FC CEO Anthony Precourt operated until late 2018. He could have stayed, but he leapt at the opportunity to help build a new team and stadium.

“I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do,” Appelfeller said.

Already, his expertise is proving vital. When the team made the obvious move to supersize the roof in stadium designs to relieve fans from the Texas heat, the groundskeeper went to work.

“That makes this stadium extremely difficult to try to grow grass in,” Appelfeller said. “Educating people on what that process is going to take, a schedule to make sure the grass has enough sunlight, and other varieties of grass we can look at has been a good portion of my job.”

Having a natural grass playing surface is a strong preference of soccer players and fans. Only one soccer-specific MLS stadium, Providence Park in Portland, has artificial turf, and Timbers owner Merritt Paulson has lobbied civic leaders to change that, citing an increased likelihood of attracting international matches.

So, how to grow grass in a shady Texas stadium? The better question to ask — and that explains the science project Appelfeller has been conducting outside the Austin FC office — might be “which grass?”

Bermuda is the most common grass grown in the South, especially on sports fields. Specifically, Latitude 36 is the strand found at Toyota Stadium in Frisco and laid down at Circuit of the Americas before the inaugural season of USL Championship team Austin Bold FC.

“It’s a very good grass, especially for soccer,” said Jordan Vasquez, the athletic field superintendent at COTA.

The problem, Appelfeller said, is that it takes the most amount of natural sunlight of any grass that could be chosen. He had some Latitude 36 growing in a plastic tub, but he also had another strand that might be a more likely choice for Austin.

It’s called Platinum TE Seashore Paspalum, and it is commonly found on golf courses in the South. It’s also the grass found at shaded or indoor stadiums such as those belonging to the Houston Astros, Miami Marlins, Atlanta Braves and Miami Dolphins, and it was recently selected as playing surface for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

“Seashore paspalum is native to areas of the world that are persistently cloudy,” said Dan Bergstrom, who previously maintained the Astros’ field at Minute Maid Park and now is the head sports turf manager at BBVA Stadium in Houston. “It’s naturally selected to need less light than Bermuda grass.”

Beyond turf experimentation, Appelfeller has been involved in stadium construction meetings, making sure his and the field’s needs are accounted for. Even if the team opts for paspalum, Austin FC will probably need to invest in grow lights and a place to store them. Both FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo use grow lights for areas of their fields that get less light than others.

“Shade the field, shade the fans. Whatever you want,” said Allen Reed, the director of stadium grounds for FC Dallas. “But also give the groundsman the tools to do what he needs to do to keep the grass field not only healthy but safe for the players. No matter how beautiful the stadium is, you see the grass field on TV every weekend, and the players are on it every match.”

Appelfeller is also consulting on design of the drainage system, testing grass for the green areas outside the stadium and paying visits to all the players in the Texas turf industry — from sod farmers to fellow groundskeepers, golf course superintendents, equipment suppliers, etc.

He’s doing everything except what he’s most known for, which is maintaining arguably the best playing surface in MLS. Columbus won Sports Turf Managers Association field of the year twice during the seven years Appelfeller was in charge.

“He’s one of the best,” Bergstrom said. “Austin has really lucked out to have him.”