Downtown Atlanta’s 21-acre Centennial Olympic Park faced severe turf damage when 18 inches of rain and heavy concert traffic left a 3.5-acre concert area muddy and bare, forcing a 100-day shutdown. To limit future damage, improve drainage and reduce re-sodding, park officials installed a 10,000-square-foot sand cap demo area featuring drainage tiles, a gravel layer and sand mixed with 15 percent Profile® Porous Ceramic (PPC) Greens Grade™. The sand-capped turf delivered rapid drainage, minimized mud and withstood a sold-out Foo Fighters concert, leading officials to expand sand capping across additional high-traffic turf areas.
Key Points
- Park endured 18 inches of rain in two months and a three-day event with 57,000 people in one day, leaving the concert area without grass and requiring a 100-day shutdown.
- Project goals included limiting turf damage, accelerating drainage, reducing seasonal re-sodding expenses, creating a healthy grass-growing environment and supporting an expanding event schedule.
- A 10,000-square-foot demo area was built with new subgrade, drainage tiles, a 4-inch gravel layer and a 6-inch sand layer mixed with 15 percent Profile® Porous Ceramic (PPC) Greens Grade™.
- Sand-capped turf achieved a percolation rate of 13 inches per hour and stayed resilient during a sold-out Foo Fighters concert, prompting sand capping of an additional 30,000 square feet and plans to treat the rest of the core 3.5-acre area.
