By Bruce Karnick

Earlier this month, the MSHSL outlined a return to play plan for high school sports. A plan that affected our Raiders by moving football and volleyball to spring and changing the normal spring season to start later. Even before that decision was made, Todd Field was involved in a single vehicle accident that could have had an even larger impact had football been played in the fall along with soccer. Thankfully, for the Raiders Soccer team, there are other stadium projects being built in the area which means the folks that know how to do this kind of work are significantly closer than they could have been. I spoke with Trent Hanson this week to get updates on the repairs, he pointed out, “The most important part of this is to get it right.” Regarding the delays in repairs. “We are hoping we are a week or two away from the repairs to the turf being done. They have a big install going on over in Rosemount and Eagan, we are just trying to get those specialists to squeeze us in for the repair.” The schedule for soccer works in the teams favor too as they start on the road at Mahtomedi. What about practices?

Hanson explained the girls are cleared to practice on Todd Field, with some exceptions. The damaged area will be coned off and the practices can take place from the 40 toward the end zone. The main concern for Hanson is player safety and the coaches will simply not allow any kind of action to take place near the damaged turf. Will it hurt anything if a ball rolls into the damaged area? No, the only real risk is tripping or slipping on the loose turf, and that is something that should be able to be avoided if a stray ball rolls in during a practice.

Let’s rewind the clock quick, how did we get here? Hanson recounts, “I think it was the morning of June 10th. I remember the events of the day clearly, just not sure on the date. I had been at Todd Field for a routine maintenance meeting about an hour before the incident happened. When I got the call, I really thought one of my coaches was pranking me. I was told there is a truck in the middle of the field, you need to hustle back down here. I told him Good One, I’m not driving back down there. Then I got a call from the Hastings Police Department, then the Hastings Fire Department, so then I hustled right down to there.” Hanson can look back and chuckle a little bit about the prank thought process but emphasized how serious the accident was once he knew it was real. “The primary concern was for the driver. Once we knew the driver was under the care of EMS and expected to be OK, we had to assess the facility. Sure it’s disappointing and an inconvenience, but we can fix or replace things; we can’t replace a life.” The first part of the assessment? How to get a Ford Truck off the turf. Options were discussed. The way a turf field is structured is a lot more complicated than one would think. A sub layer then a layer of drain tile under a gravel and sand substrate under a pad under the turf which is then covered in little black rubber pellets. None of these items together are meant to be driven on by vehicles, let alone one large tow truck picking up a large pick up. A scratch install of a turf field is more than a million dollars, so how do you not cause more damage? “You’re only supposed to drive an ambulance on the surface of the field in a real serious emergency.” Which means the options were limited.

The first option explored was using a flat bed truck and sheets of plywood. The problem is that was a huge risk. If the truck slid off the plywood in any way, that could damage even more of the field. The repair cost could have been near the $500,000 mark if the tow truck plan was not executed perfectly. That led them to the crane idea. Amazingly, a crane was close enough and available to help get the truck off at a significantly lower cost that was a much lower risk. Hanson recognized the $20,000 potential price tag of the crane was the smarter play here. “Yes, it was a 2-hour inconvenience to close the highway.” He added, but it was the right choice.

We talked about the odds of this happening and how, with all the ice and snow we face during the winter and the proximity to the two busiest roads in Hastings, it’s relatively amazing the complex doesn’t take more hits like this. Even with those factors, Todd Field is pretty protected from the majority of the accident points. Both major intersections are controlled intersections and most of the complex has some kind of limestone wall. The only exposed side is the one that was hit in this accident. What kind of changes can be expected to the now repaired fence where the truck went through? “We are still exploring options and discussing things with experts to make sure we get it right.” Hanson said when asked. Some options that have been discussed are the crash poles like what you see protecting doors of businesses, cabling similar to those between highway lanes and crash rated fence systems. This decision is not going to be rushed. Cost, effectiveness, and aesthetics all need to be taken in to account. Plus, when you have three different entities involved in the decision-making process, it takes some time. Communication must happen between the experts, the High School, the City of Hastings and the State Department of Transportation.

It has been a process for Hanson and his staff to do something no one hopes you have to do with a facility this new, but all the financial pieces are in place and the paperwork is done. It is simply a matter of getting the turf experts in town to do the work. No worries folks, we will see the bright lights of our beloved Todd Field shining soon. Go Raiders!

The spot where the truck landed is still a reminder today of just how lucky we are there was no game going at the time of the accident and how lucky the driver was to survive the long jump onto the turf. Repairs could be done before the Raiders Soccer schedule starts. Thankfully, they start on the road. Photo by Bruce Karnick

The fence has been replaced on the Highway 55 side where a truck launched mostly over the visiting teams’ bleachers at Todd Field. Repairs to the bleachers and field have yet to be completed. Photo by Bruce Karnick