Eric Blanton, one of the best groundskeepers in the game, says the field at the new Reno Aces ballpark will be ready in plenty of time for an April opener.
The turf is going in at the new Reno Aces (Class AAA; Pacific Coast League) ballpark this Monday, and Eric Blanton, one of the best groundskeepers in the game, says the field will be ready in plenty of time for an April opener.
The field, comprised of a mix of Perennial Ryegrass (20 percent) and Kentucky Bluegrass (80 percent), should be fine for the season. But the challenge of turf management in what’s essentially a winter climate in Reno, will be great for Blanton, the award-winning groundskeeper who came to Reno from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Class AA; Eastern League). Given Blanton had plenty of experience in winter conditions in Manchester, he should be fine in Reno.
“The weather will always be the biggest challenge because I cannot control it. You never know what you’re going to get," he told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "You get micro seasons within the season. Opening it up is a challenge, because you want it looking great on Opening Day, when it doesn’t necessarily want to be. But then you have to sustain it, obviously, too. But the biggest challenge is opening it up, making it look like it’s July out when it’s April. The grass isn’t ready to wake up and I’m trying to tell it to.”
You can view recent construction pictures here.
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