Specialty Contractor Plays Ball in the Big Leagues
Mike and Sandy Williams used Bobcat equipment, even when the weather turned bad, to complete the building of the playing field at the new Philidelphia Phillies’ spring training park in Clearwater, Fla.
If you’ve worked for teams like the Phillies, Blue Jays, Rangers, Pirates and Yankees for the past 20 years, you could be a well-traveled major league baseball player. Or you could own a successful sports facility construction business like Mike and Sandy Williams. Their company—Athletic Services—has been constructing and renovating professional, college, high school and youth baseball, softball, soccer and football fields and golf courses throughout Florida for 20 years.
The company began its biggest and most demanding project—the playing field for the new Philadephia Phillies spring training facility in Clearwater-last August. After helping to clean up the site, part of which was a trash dump, Athletic Services began a massive grading and construction job.
Athletic Services
“Rainy weather throughout the fall and winter slowed us down at times, but most days we had the right equipment to keep on working, especially with an unforgiving February 6 deadline looming,” says Mike. “Our fleet of Bobcat loaders—a T300, S130, 873, 743B and 440B—helped keep us on schedule. The machines moved 12,000 tons of material, including rock, stone, clay, sand and sod, around the site.
The T300 was especially valuable when working in the mud. “This is the loader we use to get things done in tough conditions,” says Sandy. “It doesn’t stop working. It is so smooth. I could operate it all day long.”
The company also rented a pair of Bobcat compact excavators from their dealer, Bobcat of Tampa.
Precise Work
The field had to have the exact same specifications, except for the type of grass, as the Phillies’ new park in Philadelphia. Once the initial grading was completed, the Athletic Services crew used a laser-equipped grader to meet the very strict requirements of major league baseball.
“We had to have a 1 percent sloping grade away from the pitcher’s mound in all directions,” says Mike. “You don’t notice it from the stands, but the 1 percent is enough to get water to run through grass. That’s just one of many specifications and regulations we have to follow in this business. It’s definitely not the same as grading a parking lot.”
He notes that major league baseball teams are very particular. “Over the years we have been able to do the quality of work they want. That’s why they are return customers.”
Athletic Services
Athletic Services has indeed developed a unique specialty. When Mike started a small landscaping business in high school, his future wife, Sandy, helped him. In 1982 he worked with his dad repairing and maintaining the Toronto Blue Jays’ spring training field in Dunedin. Later Mike and Sandy started Athletic Services.
“We have relied on Bobcat equipment since 1986,” says Mike. “I never looked at buying anything else. Whether we are grading a football field or repairing a green on a golf course, there is a Bobcat loader that’s just right for the job.”
When Mike and Sandy first arrived at the new Phillies’ stadium with their Bobcat equipment, some of the other contractors looked at them in disbelief. What were they going to accomplish with those small machines seemed to be the prevailing attitude. Once they started to work, however, skepticism turned to admiration.
By having their Bobcat equipment at the stadium for six months, the Williams picked up all kinds of additional work. “Other contractors often hired us to do jobs where their machines wouldn’t fit,” says Sandy. “Versatile Bobcat loaders and attachments are very valuable around this type of jobsite.”
So, it turns out, is the crew from Athletic Services.