COLUMBIA, SC — When it came to maintaining their new baseball facility, the University of South Carolina made a decision to be as green as possible and selected some of the very latest mowers available to the industry from Jacobsen, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company.
Purchased through Jacobsen’s local authorized dealer, Tri-State Pump & Control, Inc. (TSP), the university, based here, has taken delivery of a fleet of equipment which includes an Eclipse 126 electric walking greens mower and the electric version of the Eclipse 322 triplex greens mower, which commences full production later this fall. Until then, an SLF-1880 super light fairway mower has been loaned to the university until the first production Eclipse 322 rolls off the Jacobsen line.
Additional equipment in the package that was financed through Textron Financial Corporation included LF-3400 fairway mowers with rear roller brushes and turf groomers, a Greens King IV Plus riding greens mower and Cushman Turf Trucksters.
Field Technician Eddie Dunning on the Jake LF-3400 with Clark Cox, CSFM
USC completed construction of the new baseball facility in December 2008 and it is the responsibility of Sports Turf Manager Clark Cox, who also manages the turf maintenance program of all the athletic fields at the university including soccer, baseball, softball, football, football practice and a practice golf area. The University is currently reconstructing their soccer facility which is due to open shortly.
“Jacobsen was able to supply us with the quality electric-powered turf maintenance equipment USC desired,” said Cox. “We have a policy here at USC to reduce our carbon footprint and be as eco-friendly as possible. With hydraulic equipment, waste fluids have to be disposed of and then there’s the issue of transporting fuel around the campus. And as there’s no hydraulics on these electric machines, there’s absolutely no chance of an oil leak on the field.
“What I particularly like is the unparalleled quality of cut; I can set the frequency of clip and both the walker and ride-on will stay at a given setting despite the forward speed. Now that’s very clever, and I get a consistency of cut, whatever machine I use or whoever operates it.
“Tri-State, TFC and Jacobsen have partnered with us to achieve our needs. We are extremely satisfied with performance of these eco-friendly products and will continue to use Jacobsen equipment and Tri-State as our suppliers of choice.”
The University of South Carolina baseball program unveiled its new baseball facility which cost in excess of $35 million and has a capacity of 9,000 fans. It is one of the best college facilities in the United States, said Ryan E. Sickman of the HOK Sport Company, who designed the stadium said, “I personally have taken great pride in giving the Gamecocks, what is no doubt in my mind, the best collegiate-only baseball park in the nation. It is our hope that Carolina Stadium becomes the standard of what to expect from a premier Division I baseball program.”
