Across Central Florida, municipal sports complexes are seeing more year-round play than ever before. At the City of Apopka, Parks Administrator Donnie Rowland and his team turned to NorthBridge® Bermudagrass and Sod Solutions Professionals to help manage athletic fields under constant sports traffic.
Donnie Rowland
Rowland has spent nearly three decades in parks and recreation, starting in grounds maintenance right out of high school. After 18 years with the City of Altamonte Springs, where he worked his way from groundskeeper to supervisor and athletic field management, he returned to his hometown of Apopka nearly 10 years ago. Today, he oversees grounds operations across the entire city and has played a key role in expanding and maintaining Apopka’s athletic facilities, helping keep local kids and families active outdoors.
Over the years, Rowland has watched parks and recreation shift dramatically from local leagues and occasional tournaments to recurring travel sports. Soccer, lacrosse, baseball and softball events now dominate complex schedules, placing added pressure on municipal crews.
Apopka’s Northwest Recreation Complex spans nearly 300 acres, including roughly 90 acres of bermudagrass. The complex also features the city’s amphitheater with a grass lawn and seating for 5,000 people during events and concerts. The athletic fields host recreation league play and tournaments nearly year-round, with tournaments scheduled 46 weeks each year.
“The amount of play that goes on our fields is extreme. Not much of a break,” Rowland said. Continued population growth has only added to the demand, with Apopka growing from roughly 50,000 residents to more than 60,000 in recent years.
There are nearly 1,000 kids in the city’s recreation soccer league alone, adding to the demand placed on Apopka’s athletic fields. Increased play has required more intensive cultural practices, including regular aerification to relieve compaction from foot traffic and rotating practice areas to avoid excessive wear in one location. Despite the workload, only six members of the city’s 21-person grounds staff are dedicated specifically to athletic fields. “I’ve got a great crew and the guys all stepped up to the challenge,” he shared.
Managing Rec Fields Under Heavy Play
Rowland first heard about NorthBridge® Bermudagrass through Florida Turfgrass Association meetings and industry classes as the variety began gaining attention among sports turf and golf professionals. He decided it was worth trialing in the city’s parks and called on Sod Solutions Professionals for assistance renovating a 50,000 sq. ft. multipurpose field using NorthBridge. Rowland’s team completed the laser grading, field leveling and irrigation preparation ahead of installation.
“The sod outperformed my expectations. There was so much play on it within the first six months that we had to shut the field down because I thought we were going to have to re-sod the whole center of the field because of how many people were on it every day for soccer,” he shared. “Within three weeks, it was almost grown 100% back in”
NorthBridge® Bermudagrass installations are helping support heavy athletic field use across the City of Apopka.
One of the biggest problems the Northwest Recreation Complex had historically been maintaining grass cover during peak play. After installing NorthBridge on a portion of one soccer pad, Rowland saw a noticeable difference. “That area for some reason never responds well. It’s always struggling, and now it’s actually thriving and doing very well. Usually, it’s almost down to dirt by this time.”
In recent years, Rowland said the department has adjusted maintenance practices to better manage increased field usage. The city moved away from rye overseeding and redirected those resources toward fertility and field management programs to improve consistency across playing surfaces.
He’s also noticed improved recovery in high-wear goalmouth areas using NorthBridge that traditionally required annual resodding, with new growth appearing within a week following aerification and fertility applications. Rowland said NorthBridge greened up nearly two weeks ahead of the city’s existing Tifway 419 during an unusually cold Florida winter, and crews have already commented on the visible difference in the renovated areas as the city transitions to the improved bermudagrass variety.
Managing Athletic Field Renovations
Beyond grass performance, Rowland credited Sod Solutions Professionals for helping simplify project coordination and execution, including sourcing NorthBridge from Green Acres Turf Farm in South Carolina.
“It was flawless,” he said. “Seriously, it’s not even an exaggeration. They were on time, there wasn’t a delay in the sod getting there, the crew was there ready to work and the communication was transparent.”
Rowland explained that weather and sod delivery delays are common challenges on projects, but Sod Solutions Professionals coordinated with the farm to keep installation timelines on track, even sourcing sod from another field after rain delays threatened harvest schedules. He said the team consistently communicated timelines, coordinated truck arrivals and made sure no project details were overlooked. “They completely took the stress out of making sure that the project was going to be completed.”
Multiple City of Apopka athletic fields were renovated using NorthBridge® Bermudagrass.
The city continues prioritizing natural grass athletic fields across its parks system. Rowland believes natural grass remains the safer and more cost-effective long-term surface for the city. “With natural turf, you don’t have the injuries, the knee issues and those types of things. It’s really forgiving and in my opinion, it’s a safer play.”
Following the success of initial projects, the City of Apopka is continuing its partnership with Sod Solutions Professionals through additional renovations planned for 2026. Upcoming work includes sodding several soccer pads and establishing two additional pads through sprigging, allowing the city to compare long-term performance side by side.
“Working with Donnie and the City of Apopka team has been a great experience because they’re proactive, responsive and committed to improving their playing surfaces long-term,” said Christopher Buechele, Director of Business Development and Sales for Sod Solutions Professionals. “We’re excited to continue supporting the city with additional NorthBridge installations this summer and help build on the success they’ve already seen across their complexes.”
This article was written by Cecilia Johnson.
