Another ballpark improvement to pass along: the West Virginia Power (Low Class A; Sally League) and the City of Charleston announced the playing surface at Appalachian Power Park will be renovated for the 2015 season.
Minor League Baseball teams routinely replace the playing surface every eight to ten years. The West Virginia Power celebrated their tenth anniversary season in 2014.
“This is a much-needed upgrade at Appalachian Power Park,” said Ken Fogel, Executive Vice-President of the West Virginia Power. “Between the Power schedule, collegiate and high school games over the last ten years, the existing playing surface has been put to good use, averaging over 100 games per season. This improvement is necessary to make sure our park remains one of the class facilities in the industry.”
Appalachian Power Park’s existing drainage system will remain in place, though five new drains will be added underneath Kentucky Bluegrass sod. The infield will be a professional-grade mix of sand, clay and silt. Carolina Green Corporation has renovated several professional playing surfaces over the last few years, including Nationals Park, McKechnie Field in Bradenton, Florida, and TicketReturn.com Field in Myrtle Beach, S.C., which was recently named as the Carolina League Field of the Year for the 2014 season.
Chris Mason, the Power’s new groundskeeper, will help oversee the project along with team and city officials. Mason spent the 2014 season with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and was honored by the New York-Penn League as the Groundskeeper/ Sports Turf Manager of the Year.
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