Photo by Raisa M. Tumbocon

The construction of the highly anticipated Moro Lorenzo football field and track oval is finally nearing completion. With the field on its 10th month of construction, the Ateneo community will have to wait until August before the new home of the football and track and field teams is ready for unveiling.

Brief timeline

The P40-million project began on August 2011 and was meant to be fully functional by February 2012 in time for the finals of the UAAP football tournament. However, erratic weather between September to October and January to March greatly delayed progress for the earthworks, which is the first and most crucial phase of construction.

It was critical that the soil would be perfectly leveled and free from foreign contaminants, thus Netforce International Incorporated and the school administration were forced to wait for better weather. All of these factors forced the six-month production to drag on to an entire year.

The sporadic and heavy rainfall transformed the former Erenchun field into a gigantic mud pit that stalled the bulldozers and equipment of construction firm Netforce. “Nature is the number one enemy of outdoor construction,” shared Emmanual Fernandez, the Assistant Director of Operations of the University Athletics Office (UAO). “The bulldozers were sinking and getting stuck in the mud, so we had to stop the work during the rains.”

By December 2011, the entire project was delayed by 51 days and pegged at 12.35 percent progress instead of the estimated 60 percent progress by the UAO and Netforce. Looking to make up for lost time, the UAO brought in an additional bulldozer and extended working hours. These efforts, however, were derailed when the rains continued to pour sporadically from January to March.

As of last May, all ground works had been completed. Construction now proceeds to the respective production phases of the 110- by 70-meter football field and the 400-meter track oval.

Track oval

The Olympic track oval that meets the standards of the International Association of Athletic Fenderations (IAAF) will be composed of Herculan Spike Resistant Sprint imported from the Netherlands that costs  roughly P19 million.

Originally, only the base course of the track oval was to be made during this historic project for Ateneo. Thanks to multiple donors, the UAO was able to acquire all the necessary funds needed to layout and construct the entire track oval. “We received donations from many alumni,” shared Fernandez. “We will release an official list of their names when we unveil the field.”

Construction of the 400-meter track oval with eight lanes proceeds to the lay outing phase. Netforce will assume the task of lay-outing the track oval while Herculan is sending a team of experts from their Malaysian office to direct the installation of the first-rate track oval. “Once the track has been laid out, Herculan will fly in one of their machines to paint the lanes and markers according to IAAF standards,” shared Fernandez. “It must be perfect.”

Aside from the rainy season disrupting progress, cooperation between the two firms is essential for the successful and prompt construction of the track oval. “If things are not done to specification, the track oval may be more delayed,” pointed out Fernandez.

Moro Lorenzo field

Meanwhile, the final phase of construction for the Olympic football field will be more of a waiting game. Once the first generation Princess 77 Bermuda grass, a low maintenance variant similar to those used in golf courses in Hawaii, is planted on the field, it will take two months for it to grow and become playable regardless of weather conditions.

The UAO also constructed a Bermuda grass nursery that will house replacement grass for future dead spots in the field. “The grass that we’ve planted in the small field across CTC is the actual Bermuda grass,” revealed Fernandez. “No mud at all so it’s very nice to roll on,” he added laughing.