Some worried marching band practice damaging new field
The CU Golden Buffalo marching band will continue to practice on Farrand Field despite opposition from club sports and turf maintenance officials who are concerned that the band’s activity is permanently damaging the grass.
“By the middle of October, you’re going to see significant irreparable damage,” said Kris Schoech, collegiate club sports director.
But the band, which for the first time in decades was unable to practice on Farrand because of renovation last year, maintains that it is doing its best to protect the field from damage.
“We’re working really hard to make sure the field stays in beautiful condition,” said Band Director Matt Roeder.
Farrand, which underwent a $750,000 renovation process last year, was finished in August. At its dedication ceremony, Chancellor G.P. “Bud” Peterson referred to Farrand as the “rehearsal home for the CU marching band.”
Schoech disagrees.
“When he said that, he was not informed,” Schoech said. “I don’t think he knows what a band will do to a field.”
Schoech said he wants a, “balanced effort from all users to use the field in the best way to protect the student investment.”
In preparation for games and other events, the marching band meets on Farrand three times a week for a two-hour practice session. Band members said they like practicing close to the music building, which is adjacent to Farrand.
Leslie Allen, a senior music arts major who played baritone in the marching band last year, is one of them.
“It was difficult for us last year because we had to rent a truck to move all our heavy equipment from the music building, which was costly and inefficient,” Allen said.
According to a statement released to the Campus Press by Schoech, concentrated activities, such as the choreographed stomping and twisting motions associated with band practice, result in loss of turf and eventual “rutting” of the field surface. Once ruts occur they cannot be removed by common agronomic practices.
But band members disagree with Schoech’s analysis of their marching maneuvers.
During practice and performances, band members use a unique marching step called a heel-toe roll step, which is meant to smooth out the sound of their steps and ensure uniformity of motion according to Golden Buffalo directors.
“We love the new field,” said Nicole Russotto, a sophomore business major, who is on the band’s equipment staff.
Russotto questioned if the band’s impact on Farrand could be any worse than the aftermath of Program Council’s 2007 New Student Welcome concert that occurred on August 25.
“If we’re doing any damage to the field, it’s no more than the concert did,” Russotto said. “There was trash everywhere.”
Recently, maintenance officials contacted other Big 12 schools to see how they accommodate band practice. Of the nine schools that responded, none allow their bands to practice on competition or recreational fields.
Instead, they afford their bands rubber infill fields, parking lots, or natural grass fields not used for competitive play.
“We would prefer that the band practice on the business field,” Schoech said. “They are, after all, a marching band. Can’t they just march over to the business field and not destroy Farrand, the centerpiece of campus?”
Club sports and maintenance officials are not alone in their opposition to the band practicing on Farrand. Many students living in the residence halls that surround Farrand, have voiced their opinions as well.
“They take up pretty much the whole field so we can’t do anything on it,” said Farrand Hall resident Ted Lamontagne, a freshman architecture major.
Other students agree.
“They wake me up and annoy me while I’m trying to do my homework,” said Jimmy Willie, a freshmen open-option major, who lives in Baker Hall.
Allen said the band makes a conscious effort with respect to sleeping students to play at half-noise during practice Saturday mornings.
Because the band has official approval to practice on Farrand, clubs sports and maintenance officials do not have the authority to intervene.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer James Collector at james.collector@colorado.edu
