Soldier Field Relies on Sterling Lumber Matting for Renovations

Enlarge Image Liebherr 300-ton crane on Sterling Lumber matting at Soldier Field

March 18, 2015 - The season may be over for the Chicago Bears, but Soldier Field renovations are just getting started. In 2015, the Chicago Bears began renovating its giant screen and required Sterling Lumber's TerraLam 500 and 300 CLT matting to complete the project. 

SMG Management contacted Sterling Lumber on behalf of Chicago’s Soldier Field and the Chicago Park District for an economical solution to protect the field during the screen renovations. The matting was needed to minimize soil disturbance, compaction, and protect underground coils, pipes, and utilities. Soldier Field also has heating coils running under the turf, which needed to be protected from damage.

For the project, a 350-ton Liebherr mobile crane and support vehicles would be brought in to remove the old screens and install the upgrades. The solution needed to be more cost effective than purchasing, installing, and placing 6’x10’x2” steel plates on the field for access and stability.

Sterling Lumber proposed that Midwest Access Solutions could provide a turnkey rental and installation of 179 TerraLam 500-Series CLT mats and 25 TerraLam 300-Series CLT access mats as needed for the renovation project. The proposal was accepted immediately and Midwest Access Solutions began delivering and installing the TerraLam matting for the three month project. The company was able to install the TerraLam mats in seven days for half the cost of buying metal plating.