Greater Shepparton Sports Precinct

The Greater Shepparton Sports Precinct was the first Australian project to employ the stabilising agent MAPESOIL 100. It was used to stabilise the sub-layer for the athletics track in the sports complex and, apart from reducing the amount of debris that needed to be removed by 75%, it also enabled the soil to be consolidated so that it would be suitable for the successive installation of the surface of the track.

Changing the playing surface of the two hockey pitches to synthetic turf was made possible thanks to the combined use of Mapei adhesive and jointing strip: ULTRABOND TURF 2 STARS and ULTRABOND TAPE 300, respectively.

Shepparton

Completed in 2016 for the community of the Goulburn Valley in Southern Australia, the Greater Shepparton Regional Sports Precinct is a regional sports hub with facilities for athletics, football, hockey, netball and a range of other uses.

This 21 million Australian dollar (over 13 million Euro) project is one of the most significant sports centre in regional Australia and is paramount in a bid by 11 regional Victorian towns and cities to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030.

Having regularly hosted state-wide sports championships in numerous sports and welcomed international competitions in squash, BMX, triathlon, and beach volleyball, it may well be that the precinct will, in just over a dozen years, host one of the world’s largest sporting events.

INNOVATIONS FROM ABROAD FOR THE SUBBASE
Among innovations within the precinct, the contractor Tuff Turf Pty Ltd completed the design and construction of two synthetic grass all-weather playing fields.

In both hockey fields the synthethic grass covering was installed with ULTRABOND TURF 2 STARS two-component, rapid-setting polyurethane adhesive with very low emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC). The lines were marked with ULTRABOND TURF TAPE 300 jointing strip.

The track before completion of the works.

Mixing and compacting the mix.

Compacting MAPESOIL 100 with a roller.

Spreading and mixing MAPESOIL 100 powder.

ULTRABOND TURF 2 STARS was used to bond turf in two hockey pitches in the precinct.

Geotechnical tests were conducted on the soil to be treated.

With the final stages of the redevelopment well underway, the contractors also took on the challenge of the design and construction of a running track surface approved to the standards of IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federation). Again with problematic sub-base issues, the contractor looked for an answer to keeping the costs associated with the removal of vast amounts of material to a minimum. As a result, they approached Mapei Australia Pty Ltd (the Group’s local subsidiary) for their recommendation on the use of MAPESOIL 100, a product specifically produced for sub-base stabilisation as compared to conventional products. Although MAPESOIL 100 had been extensively used in Europe at recognised projects such as Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Chievo Training Centre in Verona, Juventus Stadium and Training Centre in Turin, and Atalanta Training Centre in Zingonia (Italy) to name a few, this was to be the first installation of this type in Australia.

With the use of MAPESOIL 100 to stabilise the sub-base, the contractor found the answer to overcoming this problematic site. The use of this stabilising product by Mapei meant that there was a 75% reduction in waste soil removal from site.

The contractor took on this alternate treatment process after months of geotechnical testing which gave them the security of achieving the results required for the perfect sub-base.

As a consequence, detailed tests were conducted at every possible hold point of the construction to ensure Australian standards were met and specifications followed. It came as no surprise that all results obtained from tests, especially as for CBR load-bearing index values and density ratio, outperformed expectations of the Australian team given that the MAPESOIL 100 had not been utilised on a project in Australia previously.

Geotechnical tests were conducted to measure certain values so as to ensure optimum results were obtained. After initial test results were obtained, the installation of MAPESOIL 100 commenced.

After the application of the MAPESOIL 100 with the addition of water to achieve the optimum moisture content (OMC), the involved areas were mixed, graded and then rolled to achieve compaction of the sub-base. On the completion of compaction the surface was kept moist to ensure a proper seasoning of the surface.

The final result was a credit to all concerned and certainly allowed the acknowledgment that sub-base stabilisation should now look to the MAPESOIL system as a real and viable option for the future in all Australian sports venues.

For further information see www.mapei.com.au

Let’s start with the soil

In order to obtain technical authorisation for the installation of a sports surface, it is important to prepare the soil below the surface according to specification to increase its durability and extend the service life of the actual sports surface. The MAPESOIL line by Mapei offers a series of technical solutions for consolidating soil to give it more volumetric stability and higher mechanical performance properties once treated.

MAPESOIL 100, the key product on this Australian site, has the big advantage of reducing the amount of excavation work required and, as a result, the amount of material to be disposed of, by acting on the existing soil.

Adopting this system reduces installation times and the depth of soil to be treated and enables conventional agricultural equipment to be used.

For further information on the MAPESOIL system, you may also consult the video tutorial created by our Sport System Technology Team.

To install the synthetic turf, it was recommended to employ the consolidated Mapei combination of adhesive and jointing strip from the TURF line: ULTRABOND TURF 2 STARS and ULTRABOND TAPE 300. In the dedicated section of our website you will find more in-depth information on these and other Mapei technical solutions for installing synthetic turf.

Project information


Yard	sports fields
Location	Shepparton, Australia
Subcategory	ATHLETIC TRACK
Built in	2016
Opened in	2016
Application	supplying products for the subbase and for installing synthetic grass surfaces
Start and finish date	2016
Application Type	Products for sports flooring
Project Manager	Travis Knight