48 • APRIL 2015 www.concreteproducts.com
FINAL FORM
PRECAST
UPC Parks, the playground division of California-based
Universal Precast Concrete, Inc , designed and fabricated
a larger-than-life baseball glove as a centerpiece for Maidu
Regional Park in Roseville, Calif The 8,500-lb piece is an
inspirational focal point at the entrance of the park, and
doubles as a playground climber for children
To create the unique structure, a complex mold with
intricate stitching and leather texture details was manu-
factured at Universal Precast's Redding, Calif , plant Garry
Schwartz, UPC Parks lead designer, crafted a two-part mold
that would cast the glove and ball separate with insets in
each to allow seamless attachment
Due to the complex curvature of the pieces, the mold
had to be fabricated with intricate detail at all angles The
stitching on the glove and the ball required workers to
spend numerous hours refining the mold to ensure these
details were properly represented in the finished casting
Universal Precast's Full Aggregate Concrete was used for the
casting Once casting was completed, workers grinded the
glove to hide the seams made by the mold, then stained and
painted the piece
Under the fitting "Take Me Out to the Playground" ban-
ner, the Maidu Park Baseball Glove took first place in the
Above Ground Category of the National Precast Concrete
Association's 2015 Creative Use of Precast Awards
Universal Precast scores
homerun at playground
The footing for the Baseball Glove Climber is 7-ft. wide, 6-ft. deep and 8-in. tall.
PHOTOS: Glen Wurster, All About Play, Sacramento