Horizon Distributors Inc.'s Resource Management Group (RMG) was selected by University of Phoenix Stadium to upgrade its irrigation control system at Sportsman's Park, the 160-acre region, owned by the Arizona Cardinals, which surrounds the stadium.

University of Phoenix Stadium to install Sentinel water management system

Horizon Distributors Inc.’s Resource Management Group (RMG) was selected by University of Phoenix Stadium to upgrade its irrigation control system at Sportsman’s Park, the 160-acre region, owned by the Arizona Cardinals, which surrounds the stadium. Sportsman’s Park includes more than 20 acres of turf and more than 1,250 trees and was upgraded with remote-accessed wireless Toro Sentinel system will be monitored by a central control computer software system. The new system is expected to use 20–30 percent less water than the stadium’s previous irrigation system.


 


“Horizon and the Arizona Cardinals have developed a great relationship since the opening of the University of Phoenix Stadium and Sportsman’s Park,” said John Drum, vice president, stadium operations, Arizona Cardinals Football Club. “Horizon’s strong knowledge of the irrigation industry made the decision to use them for this project an easy one.”


 


Horizon RMG oversaw the installation of the system at the stadium including securing antennas, wiring and programming stations, setting up the central control computer and training stadium staff on correct usage. Horizon RMG worked closely with Valley Crest, Aqua Engineering and Urban Earth Design on the installation, which was completed in April 2009.


 


“Only the best irrigation system was considered for Sportsman’s Park, an important part of the stadium complex,” explains Drum. “The Toro Sentinel system gives our grounds crew the means to maintain the vision of Sportsman’s Park for all University of Phoenix Stadium visitors.”


 


The Toro Sentinel system is an advanced water management central control system optimized for sports fields, master-planned communities, parks, municipalities and other large facilities. The Sentinel allows end users to remotely control irrigation components via a personal computer or hand-held radio.


 


The Toro Sentinel system has many advantages over traditional stand-alone irrigation systems. It compresses the run time of the entire system and uses water to maximum efficiency. It provides remote access control of the seven controllers so staff members can access the system and make changes to the irrigation schedule when they aren’t at the stadium. The Sentinel also provides flow optimization, which allows irrigation start times to be automatically adjusted to maintain system demand at appropriate levels and ensures demand doesn’t exceed preset limits.


 


“When the system is running there are 400 gallons of water per minute flowing through it,” said Pat Johnston, water management sales resource consultant, Horizon RMG. “The Toro Sentinel allows staff to efficiently divide and manage the flow of water in order to quickly get through watering with minimal disruption to maintenance or fans enjoying Sportsman’s Park.”


 


In addition to superior flow management, the Sentinel comes equipped with two-way communication capabilities, allowing University of Phoenix Stadium staff to make changes to the irrigation schedule in the field or on the computer.


 


“The stadium’s previous system required all changes to be made at the computer, which works on most applications but University of Phoenix Stadium staff wanted more,” said Justin Carlson, technical services manager, Horizon RMG. “The ability to make changes to the irrigation schedule in the field or at the computer enables staff to quickly adjust schedules due to changing weather conditions.”


 


For more information about remote-accessed wireless irrigation controllers, please contact your local Horizon sales center or visit www.horizononline.com


 


About Horizon Distributors


Horizon Distributors is a professional distributor that sells a variety of products and services to the green industry professional with more than 60 Horizon stores in the Western US, Texas, Georgia and North Carolina. It offers customers the industry’s widest choice of irrigation, landscape, specialty and professional lawn care products, including top quality brand names like Hunter, Toro, Irritrol, Exmark, Echo, Shindaiwa, Pavestone, Vista Professional Outdoor Lighting, Barrett Pumps, Tucor and Monsanto. For more information, please visit  www.horizononline.com


 


About Horizon Resource Management Group (RMG) Horizon Resource Management Group, a division of Horizon Distributors, partners with customers in the green industry to implement service and product solutions that maximize water, energy and labor conservation. The RMG offers customers high-quality, cost-effective conservation products that are only available through Horizon Distributors.


 


About Pool Corporation


Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Horizon is part of the Pool Corporation (NASDAQ/NM:POOL) family of companies. POOL through its SCP and Superior Pool Products network is the largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies and related products. Currently, POOL operates 272 sales centers in North America and Europe, through which it distributes more than 100,000 national brand and private label products to more than 70,000 wholesale customers. For more information about POOL, please visit www.poolcorp.com.