Sports Turf Managers Association Awards Environmental Facility Certification to 14 Facilities

Sports Turf Managers Association(STMA) – the professional association for 2,700 men and women who manage sports fields worldwide who are critical to the safety of athletes and coaches – today recognizes 14 facilities with the organization’s Environmental Facility Certification.

Ranging from Arizona to New Jersey, these STMA members and their facilities showcase ecologically-friendly and sustainable best practices. Since the first certification was awarded to the Red Bull Training Facility and Red Bull Arena in 2016, 30 other STMA facilities have achieved environmental certification.
 
“Our members recognize the tremendous benefits adopting environmentally-friendly practices can provide," says Victoria Wallace, Environmental Committee Chair. "We are proud to celebrate the sports turf managers that have gone above and beyond in their effort to make their facilities more sustainable.”
 
To achieve the prestigious certification, the site must attain an 80 percent score within each section. Facilities will remain certified for a three-year period, at which point a recertification process takes place. Complete list below:

• Tom Barry, Greens Farms Academy (Westport, Conn.)

• Chris Bolender, CSFM, Pioneer Community Park (Peoria, Ariz.); Rio Vista Community Park (Peoria, Ariz.)

• Noel Brusius, CSFM, Waukegan SportsPark (Waukegan, Ill.)

• Ryan DeMay, Berliner Sports Park (Columbus, Ohio)

• Larry DiVito, Target Field (Minneapolis, Minn.)

• Jared Hertzel and Blake Nelson, University of Nebraska Hibner Soccer and Tennis Center (Lincoln, Neb.)

• Dean Pearson, Champion Field, Seattle University (Seattle, Wash.)

• Anthony Pell, CSFM, University of Michigan Soccer Complex (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

• Joel Rieker, Eastside Centre (East Peoria, Ill.)

• Al Siebert and Brandon Putman, Peoria Sports Complex (Peoria, Ariz.)

• Kim Spearman & Team, Celebration Park, City of Allen (Allen, Texas)

• Ryan Storey, CSFM, Vanderbilt Athletic Complex (Nashville, Tenn.)

• Colin Stuhr and Joe Wagner, Iowa City Soccer Complex (Iowa City, Iowa)

A facility’s field manager must complete an initial online assessment followed by an on-site walk-through validation with an attester. The assessment covers 10 environmental practice areas – including recycling, composting, energy conservation and water quality testing.
 
STMA’s external focus on outreach for environmental stewardship began in 2010 with the appointment of an Environmental Task Group. By 2013, a general framework for the certification program was formed and, by 2014, the first pilot program was created.

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More information: 800.323.3875

About STMA: STMA is the not-for-profit, professional association for men and women who manage sports fields worldwide. Since 1981, the association and its 34 local chapters have been providing education, information and sharing practical knowledge in the art and science of sports field management.  Its more than 2,700 members oversee sports fields and facilities at schools, colleges and universities, parks and recreational facilities, and professional sports stadiums