GreenTech ITM™

In summer of 2003, Chris Scott, president of GreenTech Inc., got a call from the British-based producers of the 2004 Olympics Opening Ceremonies. "They had heard about our modular turf system from our work installing some of the tennis courts at Wimbledon," Scott says. The producers told him the production they were planning meant the playing field had to be installed after the ceremonies in less than 65 hours. This field would then be used for some of the 2004 Olympics' most high-profile events: athletics including track and field and, especially, the prestigious soccer finals (aka "football" to the rest of the civilized world). "They asked me if we could design such a field, and I said yes, we could," Scott recalls. GreenTech has designed and installed modular field systems for the Virginia Tech's Lane Stadium (2001) and Michigan State University's (MSU) Spartan Stadium (2002). Besides Wimbledon, the company's UK experience includes the multi-use Millennium Stadium in Wales. But Scott says the Olympic Stadium assignment is the company's biggest challenge to date. Design and planning began almost immediately. While the Olympic Stadium was under construction, GreenTech sourced the washed-sod Bermudagrass, sand and root zone components for the field from locally based HellaSod. Seven of the company's employees and consultants traveled to Greece at various times to consult on and supervise the construction of the field in the portable GreenTech modules near Spata, a town about 30 miles outside of Athens. "That was a big challenge. We spent a lot of time making sure this was done right," Scott says. "Dr. Trey Rogers from MSU helped with that. Two of our consultants, Matt Frost (Hong Kong) and Matt Anderson (MSU) moved to Athens around April so they could keep an eye on the installation on a daily basis." Other consultants on the GreenTech crew were: Steve Tingley, Simon Jacob, Tim VanLoo and Dave Pearce. More than 85,000 sq. ft. of field put down roots under