Over the years, the Minnesota State University football practice fields have had a reputation for begin among the nicest in college football, largely due to the fact that the Minnesota Vikings train there every summer.

This year, after more than $400,000 in renovations and upgrades, the field conditions are even better. In fact, Vikings sod specialist George Toma said last week that MSU’s stadium grass was better than an NFL team’s he’s seen.

Much of the credit for the improvements goes to MSU’s assistant vice president for facilities management Sean McGoldrick, grounds superintendent Tom Nelson, physical plant director Paul Corcoran and their staff. Over a period of about 10 weeks, the grounds crew, with the help of contractor Southern Minnesota Construction, removed old sod and corrected the slopes of the fields, installed a new drainage system and new sprinklers and then laid new sod. The two eastern-most practice fields were also moved 15 yards to the north.

“Making improvements to the fields has been a desire of MSU’s for some time, but funding priorities (always) precluded their repair,” McGoldrick said. “Earlier this spring, the Vikings expressed concern that uneven grades in part of the field needed repair and offered to partner financially with the university to resolve the issue.”

MSU believed the cost-sharing partnership made the project financially viable and looked at it as a wise investment for the long-term care of the fields. The financing was split about 75-25 with MSU putting up around $296,000 and the Vikings adding $110,000.

McGoldrick said each phase of the project had a few challenges to overcome but credits SMC with doing “a fantastic job overcoming each challenge and delivering what we believe are the finest practice fields in the state of Minnesota.”

The reason two of the fields were moved 15 yards north was because, on the southern end, there was always a downward slope toward the old track that players would experience each time they ran through the end zone. By moving the fields north, players no longer reach the downward slope.

Previously, the slope of fields varied anywhere from 0 percent to 3 percent. At a press conference in Blakeslee Stadium earlier this spring, MSU provost and academic vice president Scott Olson joked that some people often mistook the pre-renovated fields for Mount Kato.

Today, the fields have a consistent 1 percent grade which is similar to what NFL teams use. Not only will the new fields please the Vikings, but should have a positive impact on MSU’s football players, as well.

“We’re very satisfied with the finished product and feel it was a great financial investment,” McGoldrick said. “More importantly, we believe it will pay great dividends in supporting our health and wellness initiatives and the overall student athletic and recreational experience at MSU.”