About Hellas

Hellas Construction Joins Mansfield ISD’s Hall of Honor

MANSFIELD, TX (September 23rd, 2014) — – After installing six Matrix® Turf fields this summer for Mansfield Independent School District, Hellas Construction gets inducted into the Mansfield ISD 2014 Athletic Hall of Honor. The district selected the class of inductees in late July based on their commitment to improve the district’s athletics.

Debbie Weems, Mansfield ISD’s Director of Athletics, expressed the district’s satisfaction with Hellas. “We’re very happy with the work Hellas did for us this summer. Everyone takes great pride in their work. The team was very considerate of us and our staff. They were very dedicated and professional, and we really enjoyed working with them.”

Mansfield ISD established the Athletic Hall of Honor in 2013 to recognize the efforts and contributions of former student-athletes, coaches/athletic administrators, teams, and distinguished volunteers who have brought honor and excellence to the district.

“We are exceptionally proud of this achievement,” said Reed J. Seaton, President/CEO of Hellas. “We worked hard throughout this project. From the beginning, we knew how difficult it would be to complete six fields in time for football season. To be recognized in such a way for all of our hard work really means a lot to the Hellas family. As with the rest of our clients, we have done our upmost to deliver Mansfield ISD our high-quality products that will increase the performance of their athletes for many years.”

The installations at the Vernon Newsom Stadium, Mansfield, Legacy, Lake Ridge, Summit, and Timberview High Schools took eight weeks to complete. “Normally, a field is completed in at least fourteen days. We managed to finish each in less than ten days,” said Jim Bowden, one of the project’s superintendents. “It all has to do with our crews. Everyone on the team has extensive experience, knows how to perform, and how important it is to work as a team. I’m extremely proud of our crews.” With all the synthetic turf system installations now completed, the only part of the project that remains is the addition of a natural grass practice field, which will be finalized before the end of September.

Forth Worth’s Huckabee Inc. was the Architect of Record for the project. “Our crews worked great alongside Huckabee,” said superintendent Bowden. “They did a great job managing the project and were on top of things from day one. Tracy Hardcastle, Len Caddell, and the rest of the Huckabee team involved in the project always made sure to supply anything needed as we moved forward.”

Sports Design Group, an athletic field design firm headquartered in McKinney, Texas, was also part of the project. Richard McDonald, Principal Landscape Architect, was continuously on-site performing walkthroughs on the turf and provided guidance and counseling through the entire process.

With the exception of the natural grass practice field, all of the installations feature Hellas’ Matrix® Turf, a product recognized for its long life, temperature reduction, and traction-enhancing characteristics. Matrix® Turf is currently installed at venues such as the AT&T Stadium, Baylor University’s McLane Stadium, Angelo State University’s LeGrand Stadium, the University of California at Berkeley, and many more.

The relationship with Hellas began in 2012, when the district selected Hellas for the synthetic turf installations at the R.L. Anderson Stadium. Soon after its completion in May 2013, the board decided to continue the optimization of Mansfield’s football fields. In August 2013, Mansfield ISD approved the installation of new synthetic turf at five high schools, and soon after, the approvals of the Vernon Newsom stadium turf replacement and the natural grass practice field followed.

“Throughout the summer, you could go over to a project and see Tony Ballard working with his team,” expressed Weems. “When you see that sort of commitment from a leader, it speaks volumes about their character and the company. When you work with people that have such passion for their job, their products and their works, things just turn out right.”

About Hellas Construction
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Hellas Construction is a nationwide contractor with a strong reputation for delivering premium-quality sports construction projects across the United States. Hellas has the ability to custom-manufacture and install proprietary brands of synthetic surfaces for field sports, running tracks, and tennis courts, by controlling all related operations. For more information, visit hellasconstruction.com, www.epiqtracks.com, and matrix-turf.com or follow them on twitter, and facebook.

About Huckabee, Inc
Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, Huckabee is an architecture, engineering, and management firm committed to designing facilities that are cost-effective, easy to maintain and long lasting. Huckabee provides comprehensive educational facility services including feasibility studies and assessments, bond planning and campaign assistance, master planning, programming, structural and civil engineering, project close-out and warranty services. Some of their clients include Liberty Hill ISD, Arlington ISD, Lake Travis ISD, Midway ISD, Irving ISD, and many more. For more information, visit www.huckabee-inc.com

About Austin Commercial
Austin Commercial is one of the largest, most diversified builders in the United States. They are recognized for their exceptional safety records, diversity inclusion programs and innovative construction solutions in markets such as university, public assembly and sports, and healthcare. Some of their projects include the Museum Tower in Dallas, Texas, the LAX Bradley West Gates and Core in Los Angeles, California, and the Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital in Sugar Land, Texas. For more information, visit www.austin-ind.com/commercial.

About Sports Design Group
Sports Design Group is an athletic field design firm that was formed in 2006 in McKinney, Texas by Richard McDonald RLA. The firms specialize in the design and construction installation management of outdoor athletic sports facilities. These include athletic fields, running tracks with field events, tennis courts and other facility amenities. Sports Design Group provides clients with a wide knowledge of products to better understand what is best for them. For more information, visit www.sportsdesigngroup.net.

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