Western Specialty Contractors Completes Improvements to Stetson University’s Melching Field Stadium

Western Specialty Contractors – Orlando Branch has completed improvements to Stetson University’s Melching Field stadium in DeLand, Florida.

Home to the Stetson Hatters, Melching Field opened in 1999 and features a full-service concessions area and bench seating for 2,500 spectators with grass berms for approximately 500 additional fans.

The red brick and stucco stadium demonstrated signs of weathering, as well as wear-and-tear upon the initial evaluation. As a result, the company was contracted to perform the following improvements:

• Remove previously existing traffic coating
• Prepare the delaminated concrete for a new traffic coating
• Perform stair tread and riser resurfacing prior to coating application
• Install expansion joints
• Apply a new pedestrian coating system

Western’s concrete experts faced several challenges on the project, which included removal of the existing urethane coating system. Western used hydro-demolition methods to safely and effectively remove the old system without causing extensive damage to the stadium’s concrete, particularly on its vertical surfaces.

The moisture in the concrete during the project’s rainy season also posed a challenge. With the concrete’s moisture readings averaging 5%, determining when the best time to apply the coating to the concrete surface was a constant battle.

Originally resurfacing all vertical surfaces utilizing a two-component epoxy product under the drastic climate shifts caused outgassing of the material, which left bubbles in the finish. Western determined that utilizing a unique feather-grade, single-component material would maintain the most consistent finish for the project.