Native soil athletic fields high in silt and clay provide inadequate drainage during periods of heavy rainfall, resulting in reduced wear tolerance and surface stability when combined with heavy use. Renovation procedures range from $1,000,000, for a synthetic field, to $200,000, for a sand-capped system, and render the field temporarily useless, which is unacceptable for a municipality with a limited budget and high use requirement. However, drain tile installation and subsequent sand topdressing, providing a built-up sand-capped system is a cost effective renovation procedure that does not take the field out of play. Three research projects were designed to address the feasibility of this renovation process. The objective of the first project was to evaluate the effects of varying amounts of sand used for single topdressing applications on newly established turfgrass. Results determined that as much as 0.85 cm of sand depth can be applied in a single application. The second project evaluated the effects of varying cumulative amounts of sand topdressing on turfgrass wear tolerance and surface stability. Observations showed that 1.2 cm of sand topdressing, applied over a 5 week period, will provide the greatest fall wear tolerance and surface stability. The final project was designed to establish intercept drain tile spacing, in combination with sand topdressing, necessary to improve drainage, wear tolerance and stability. Findings determined that as topdressing accumulated from 0.0 to 2.4 cm, a 4.0 m drain spacing can provide adequate drainage and surface stability characteristics and, as topdressing depths exceed 2.4 cm, drain tile spacing can be increased to distances greater than 4.0 m apart.