Now that their offseason is underway, the Seattle Mariners are getting to work on a project that will lead to a new playing surface at Safeco Field.
Safeco Field originally opened during the 1999 season, and its playing surface has been left largely unchanged in the years since. Though the Mariners did replace the infield and foul territory grass prior to the 2012 season, the team’s latest endeavor represents the first replacement of the ballpark’s entire playing surface.
Work on the new playing surface began this week. More from King 5:
The current grass will be shaved down to its roots. Sand will be excavated, followed by leveling of the subsurface and installation of new infield dirt and new turf.
The Mariners say the new turf will be a mixture of sand, peat and other amendments to help maintain moisture and airflow. Just as it was with the original turf, the grass will come from Country Green Turf Farms near Olympia.
The infield will be replaced with about 260 tons of clay from Salt Lake City.
The project began Thursday and is expected to last through October, but the pitcher’s mound won’t be installed until March.
Now that the offseason is underway for most teams, similar projects will be taking shape around baseball. In fact, we noted on Thursday that the Kansas City Royals have begun a replacement of the playing surface at Kauffman Stadium.