Tampa Bay United is a soccer club in Tampa, Florida, dedicated to the development of soccer players. The club is proud to house over 3,000 players in 100 competitive teams and 150 recreational teams, from U6 all the way up to U19 age groups, at all levels of play.
THE CHALLENGE
With 14 full size soccer fields to maintain spread over two facilities, four soccer tournaments hosted over the course of a year, and between 30 and 50 games played weekly, the grounds crew found manually marking to be a time-consuming task. And the end results did not always match the desired standard.
THE SOLUTION
In order to reduce the time spent painting fields and increase the quality of their lines, they decided to go with a robotic solution, so in 2021 Tampa Bay United got their own Turf Tank line marking robot.
| 90% time savings | 25 minutes to mark a soccer field | 100% easiness |
“Robbie, the Robot”, a reliable assistant on the field
Eric Sims is the Chief Operating Officer of Tampa Bay United and he oversees all field maintenance operations for the club. Since its arrival, Eric has found the robot to be a valuable piece of equipment–so much so that it is now considered as part of the team and was actually given a name, “Robbie”. In fact, some people refer to Robbie as Eric’s best friend on the field.
“We got our Turf Tank just over a year ago. We did a demo, they came out, we saw it and we just had to have it.”
The things that I liked the most are are the professionalism of the lines, the easiness to lay out a field, and the time that it saved us
Eric Sims, Chief Operating Officer
One of the biggest advantages Eric noticed ever since they got their robot is the amount of time they save on line marking, which frees their crew more time to focus on other tasks around the facility.
“Before the robot, it would take at least three people a minimum of one hour to lay out a full size soccer field. Normally measuring, using a string, getting the right angles correct. Would take at least an hour, sometimes two hours to lay out a full sized soccer field. Now, one person can lay out one soccer field in 25 minutes.”
Painting a soccer field
| Past | Turf Tank |
| 3 people | 1 person |
| 1 hour | 25 minutes autonomous marking |
| Stress | 2-minutes setup |
| Crooked lines | Perfect lines every time |
While the robot is painting the field, it definitely saves us a lot of time. One person can line in a full size field and while the robot is painting, we can move goals, set up bench areas, put out corner flags, field numbers, so we can do a lot of tasks while the robot is painting the field
Eric Sims, Chief Operating Officer
On one hand the robot improved the efficiency of the line marking process in terms of manpower, but on the other, it also helped the club reduce their costs on paint. Due to its consistent speed and spraying pressure the robot ensures considerable reduction on paint consumption.
In regards to paint, we are definitely purchasing less paint over the course of a season.
Eric Sims, Chief Operating Officer
Increased professionalism
Eric explains that not only has the robot saved them time and money, but it has also increased the professionalism of their lines. This is extremely important for a club like Tampa Bay United because first impressions matter when it comes to attracting new players and fans.
The robot has increased our professionalism as an organization with the layout of the fields and looking professional every time our players step on the field.
Eric Sims, Chief Operating Officer
The robot uses GPS technology to measure and map the field, which means that the user does not have to put in any more effort to figure out the correct location of the lines. So once Eric created all the fields in the tablet, whenever he needs to repaint the fields he can simply choose one of the existing fields in the tablet and the robot will know to paint in the exact same spot every time.
“We do not have to worry any more about strings. We don’t have to worry about manual measurements. The robot lays out all of our fields with the correct distances for all the different parts of the field.”
“The quality of the line of the robot is second to none.”
I’m very proud of the fields that I create with the robot.
Eric Sims, Chief Operating Officer
Eric is happy to know he can provide this kind of world class quality for the kids, who can feel like pros every time they step on the grass. And of course, the parents are also happy to send their kids to a club that puts this kind of attention to detail and creates a professional sport experience.
“The kids are very enamored by the robot and want to chase it around the field. I’ve interrupted practices, which the coaches don’t like, but the kids love the robot. And the parents always ask what that is and are very, very happy to see the lines that the robot produces.”
The reactions he gets from other clubs who visit the facility represent clear evidence that the quality of the facility has improved and that it makes Tampa Bay United stand out from the crowd.
Conclusion
The Turf Tank robot was a great addition for Tampa Bay United which helped raise they professionalism of the club, while improving the efficiency of their line marking operations in terms of manpower and paint consumption.
Eric ends his story with a piece of advice for those who are skeptical about the technology.
“Buy the Turf Tank! If you’re on the fence of buying it, reach out to support reach out to the representatives from Turf Tank and they will show you the benefits of having one.”
I would highly recommend the robot to other USL clubs. It makes you a more professional organization. When you can lay out your fields that look like a pro club. It sets you apart from other clubs in your area.
Eric Sims, Chief Operating Officer