HEAVY-DUTY CONSTRUCTION TRAFFIC THREATENED FLORIDA TECH SPORTS FIELDS

Melbourne, FL - MASTERSHIELD TRAX™ Modular Flooring provides maximum artificial turf protection.

Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida that was originally established in 1958 to provide advanced education for those working in the U.S. space program and is now comprised of four academic colleges. In 2023, Florida Tech installed cutting edge, artificial playing surfaces at Rick Stottler Field and the Varsity Training Center (VTC) field, home of their NCAA Division Level II soccer and lacrosse teams.

This year, Florida Tech announced that it was repurposing the Southgate intramural sports field for a new, six-story student housing complex that’s scheduled for completion in 2026. It was decided that the lighting of the Southgate field would be moved to the VTC field. This would allow evening use for club and intramural sports. The problem was that construction vehicles and heavy equipment would have to cross the artificial turf of Rick Stottler Field to get to the VTC field.

COVERMASTER®, who has been providing temporary roadway and event flooring solutions on sports fields for over 50 years, was contacted by Legacy Sports Construction. 595 panels of MASTERSHIELD TRAX™ Turf Protection were ordered to install a heavy-duty, temporary roadway for forklifts, large trucks, and 100-ton cranes. Its overlapping design and unique interlocking system are lightweight and easily positioned by hand. The turf at both Florida Tech fields will be protected from damage with the COVERMASTER® heavy-duty field protection of MASTERSHIELD TRAX™.

Posted June 17, 2025