At this point, Kevin Dvorak just expects his offseason maintenance plan for the playing surface at T-Mobile Park will likely include replacing the entire grass field.
It’s the nature of having a stadium that’s used for more than just baseball.
“This is a yearly process at this point,” Dvorak, the head groundskeeper for the Mariners, said Tuesday.
Dvorak and his crew began work this week on installing the new grass field at the ballpark that will be ready come March 27 when the Mariners open the season at home against the Athletics.
The whole process for the project started after the end of last baseball season and really kicked into gear in early February when Dvorak brought back his crew to start getting ready for removal of the old sod that lasted just one season.
One season of playable sod seems to be the shelf life for fields at any ballpark still using grass surfaces, while also maximizing the facility. In the case of T-Mobile Park, the combo of summer concerts and the “Enchant” holiday lights event meant there was no easy way for Dvorak and his staff to get the previous field up to major league standards for the upcoming season.
During the summer, Dvorak and his staff can patch areas of the field that might need sod replaced following a concert or event.
“In the growing season, the grass is a lot healthier. The winter events is when we have to replace,” Dvorak said. “So we’re able to do patchwork in the summer for concerts under the stage and elsewhere that gets damaged.”
The process for this week’s installation started following the last baseball season. Before “Enchant” returned to the ballpark late last year, Dvorak’s crew went through and removed all the sprinkler heads around the field. That was the beginning. Earlier this month, the old sod was removed along with two inches of the under surface. About 200 tons of new root sand was brought in and graded level, and after that, sprinkler heads were reinstalled.
The sod used for the project comes from Desert Green Turf based in Moses Lake and an assembly line of flatbed trailers were being hauled from Eastern Washington this week bringing the sod to the ballpark. The grass is a mix of Kentucky bluegrass overseeded with ryegrass.
Because of the frigid temperatures in Eastern Washington earlier this month, the sod being installed is currently dormant and not the best-looking grass surface. Dvorak said underground heaters beneath the field has raised the ground temperature above 60 degrees and once watering begins it’ll take about a week for the grass to come to life and start looking like a lush playing field.
But Dvorak and his staff will be working right up to opening day to get the field ready.
“By March 15 we should be looking real good. It’ll start growing. We’ll get the roof opened up here today or tomorrow and get some sun on it, and in the next couple weeks we’ll really see it wake up and make a turn for the better,” Dvorak said.
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