S. Tahoe officials: SnowGlobe did not damage ball field
By Kathryn Reed
Jessie Jorgensen is running all around the soccer field by Lake Tahoe Community College. She does this weekly.
Right after the New Year’s weekend SnowGlobe music festival the toddler enjoyed finding trinkets like piercings and necklaces. Now it’s mostly leftover confetti that she scampers over.
Jessie and her dad, Pete Jorgensen, come out to the community ball fields so the little one can run around. They live on the other side of Al Tahoe Boulevard.
The elder Jorgensen on Sunday points to how the sides of the field are a brighter shade of green than the playing area. After nearly a decade of wear-and-tear, this would be expected. But Jorgensen and others say SnowGlobe substantially added to the fading of the artificial turf.
Bob Aaron, another South Lake Tahoe resident, calls the damage done to the fields by SnowGlobe as “unrepairable” and wants to know who is going to pay for it.
South Lake Tahoe, which owns the field, acknowledges confetti is still embedded in the turf.
“The confetti was the worst. That was an ill-conceived idea,” Stan Sherer, community services director, told Lake Tahoe News. He added that the promoters were told not to use confetti, but did so anyway.
Aaron told Lake Tahoe News the field is riddled with cigarette butts and burns.
On April 22, Lake Tahoe News saw one butt in the field – though not every inch was scoured.
Sherer, who was inspecting the field Monday, said he sees adult soccer players smoking on the field and sidelines all the time.
“The biggest problem from SnowGlobe was the gum,” Sherer said.
A few globs are visible, as are remnants from stickers that got stuck to the artificial grass.
Sherer said a substance would be applied to those spots by hand. Inmates from the nearby jail will be working on the field – so it’s free labor for the city.
The other foreign object Lake Tahoe News found was what looked like a round battery.
The city’s belief is the music festival did not do irreparable harm, nor did it affect the playability of the field. Already the infill has been screened and reraked. It’s time to play ball, according to Sherer.
This field is used nearly every day or night when snow is not covering it.
“The field is aging. It already exceeded its life expectancy,” Sherer said. “The only thing that helps is that it is shaded so much. The UV breaks down that field. And it’s more pronounced at altitude.”
Remnants of stickers are still stuck in the artificial turf at the community ball fields.
The colored specs are confetti from SnowGlobe. Photos/Kathryn Reed
What looks like a camera battery is on the field. The black is part of the field.
I never knew it was artificial turf on the field!
What happened to the promised clean-up?
let’s schedule regular music events at this facility, events that, like snow globe, benefit our economy, have only transient impact, and, like snow globe, utilize a facility that is owned by all taxpayers.
soccer players smoking while playing soccer?
stoned children smoking while dancing to the music?
bubble gum and cigerett butt’s embeded
into the carpet I’ve seen it for myself
How did the TRPA allow artificial turf? I was told it would be counted as ground coverage just like a deck.
If the SnowGlobe contract forbade confetti, why aren’t they responsible for cleaning it up?
By the way, I think artificial turf is great and should be allowed throughout Tahoe. It does allow water to penetrate but doesn’t require the use of water to keep it growing. Saves water and looks good!
I’ve read that $3,000. of Measure S funds are going to be used to work on the soccer field.
Some people seem to have much better vision when looking for burns in the
field, others don’t want to see them
or admit to the damage.
I inspected the field on April 18 with Mr. Aaron. There are many dozens of darkened, melted spots on the field where cigarettes were ground out. Most of the filters (butts) have degraded but some were still recognizable as such. The gum and confetti are also easily recognizable. It’s clear where the stages were and where the crowd gathered by the distinct discoloration of the portion of the field not “protected” by a stage and by the concentration of aforementioned burns etc. Yet the city doesn’t see this as damage? Really?? Incomprehensible!
Add to that the fact that promotors exceeded the time limit one night by almost an hour, were unresponsive to sound level complaints from near-by neighborhoods and used confetti despite being told not to and you have a group of people who don’t give a rats patoodie about the physical and social mess they leave behind as long as they make some big bucks. And the city is condoning this? More than incomprehensible..it’s reprehensible.
Sure…we need special events including music events…..but not like this.
It took us forever to get this field and now the City is not managing it correctly. This is an example of everything the City does. They are the most dysfunctional organization in our basin. Dissolve the City and all of its incompetent bureaucratic BS.
I think it would be nice to see someone like Tom Wendell who thinks the field has issueswalk the field with someone like -Tom Davis who loved SnowGlobe and wants to drive our economy and with- John Cefalu who fought for the field for our kids- and with our city manager- and with the company that sold us the product to see if they can all see the field through the same glasses and agree on how bad or good of shape the field is in. Then, lets have an official report for us all to read and put the issue to bed. Of course, we’ll need an impartial individual to issue the report so we will all feel good about its honesty. Any ideas on who?
This should take no more than a few weeks to arrange and we will truly understand if the field is in need of repair or not.
Any ideas on who?
UPTON,COLE.THE CITIES MOST HONEST DUO?
Whats problem the article says it has already exceded its life expectancy!
Must have got a good deal on it for it to last this short time.
We are all worried about our economy, and for good reason. This field which we are still paying for with our taxes, was meant for sports. So, lets try combining the two. When tournaments are brought to town, everyone benefits, the field is used for it’s purpose, and it is not damaged, hotels and restaurants are full, and the town has a happy face. Come on people, use your heads!
I walked the field in January while the City parks employees spent 8 days cleaning the filed of broken glass, metal shards with sharp edges, cigarette butts , and many other items you would never allow on an atheltic field. After being a part of the Parks dept for over 10 years,I personally know that field was in very good condition,something everyone was very proud of.
Mr Shear knows nothing about the operation or the maintenance that field has recieved in the last eight years. There was no discoloration or burns in the turf prior to the snow Globe event. This is a sham and the people should not be lied to by Mr shear. MAYBE HE IS BEING PRESSURED BY INDIVIDUALS ABOVE HIM! I believe the life expectancy of a synthetic turf field is 20+ YEARS.
How about no smoking at the field, no exceptions. The field was voted on based upon youth using the field. All of the youth fields in the area ban smoking, why is it allowed there. I coach multiple youth sports and very rarely are we allowed to use that field. No more adult soccer if they can smoke. How about allowing Pop Warner to use the field a little more often?
Another example of the War on Snow Globe.
First of all Tom Wendell is the Mitt Romney of festival planning. All you people think the damage done is irreversible, when it is just a minor hiccup in what is ultimately a beneficial production. It was a trail and error period. Be more constructive with your feedback and others will listen. TOM was obviously the child who wasn’t allowed to go to the Pink Floyd show with his friends back in the day, so now he is taking his frustration out on the modern day movement of Music and the Performing Arts.