Virginia Firm GreenTech Completes Bird’s Nest Field
For the past couple of days, the Bird’s Nest has been a beehive of activity.
The Bird’s Nest is the nickname for Beijing’s National Stadium, where Friday’s opening ceremony was held and the Olympic track and field competition begins Friday. Maybe you didn’t notice, but during the opening ceremony there was no grass on the field. Instead, it was covered with wood planks and various surfaces to help stage the performance art of 14,000 participants.
This is where GreenTech comes in.
The Richmond, Va.-based company, led by founder Chris Scott, was hired by BOCOG to help install a grass field in time for the track competition. Estimated cost: about $1.5 million. Beginning Sunday and working into the wee hours of this morning, hundreds of workers put in the Bird’s Nest’s field using GreenTech’s module system. The field is now ready.
There’s a perception that Olympic-linked companies are all supersized. But here’s a case of a small firm performing a major task. We caught up with Chris Scott earlier this week between his supervision of the workers. BOCOG officials wouldn’t allow SportsBusiness Journal into the stadium, so Scott exited the facility to chat:
Have you been supervising the workers as they install the field?
Scott: I’m sort of supervising. I’ve shown these people how to do it over the last three years. Now it’s last minute, it’s up to them. It’s kind of like a coach bringing them to a game. Once the whistle goes off, it’s their game to play.
What did they do?
Scott: It’s a process of taking the opening ceremony stuff out and making room for us to come in.
You did this with the Athens Olympic Stadium, too. How long did it take to install the field then?
Scott: 62 hours.
How long here?
Scott: Originally, they said 24 hours. That’s how long it took us in May when we staged this. But it’s going to take a little longer because the opening ceremony stuff is taking us extra time to get out. (It took about two days, with a couple of breaks.)
How does this work?
Scott: They’re called modules. They’re 46-square-inch polyethylene modules. It’s a big square flower pot with dirt in it and grass on top. You connect them like a tile floor. The modules are made in Mora, Minn., and shipped. That’s where the manufacturing plant is. Land freight to the shore and then ocean freight. It takes six to eight weeks.
How many were shipped here?
Scott: About 6,500 modules. Then we put seeds in them in September and the field grew.
How did you get this job?
Scott: Our first big deal was Giants Stadium in New York in 2002. I sold it to a contractor they had confidence in. Then we did a project in Wales. And then Virginia Tech’s stadium and Michigan State’s stadium. Then Wimbledon. Then Athens Olympic Stadium and then the stadium in Moscow for the Euro Cup and now here.
What’s the advantage to this system?
Scott: Time, it’s all about time.
Who owns GreenTech?
Scott: It’s a private company. I’m the founder. I’m a shareholder. We don’t report our annual sales.
Is this the only major project you have this year?
Scott: No, we’re getting into green buildings, sustainable design, green roofs. The exact same module, different applications.
Are you talking to London about the 2012 Olympics?
Scott: Yeah, there are always inquiries, but you just don’t know what’s going to happen.
