Ballpark Digest is previewing what every MLB team is doing to begin the season, both on and off the field, as the 2019 season is underway. Up next: the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chase Field.
Along with hospitality partner Levy, the Diamondbacks are making some additions to the food menu for the 2019 season at Chase Field. Changes were not limited to the concessions, however, as the D-Backs also installed a new playing surface and added a virtual reality experience.
Perhaps the most noticeable change to Chase Field this season will be the playing surface. Over the offseason, the D-Backs replaced the grass turf at Chase Field with the Shaw “B1K” Synthetic Grass system. It had been a challenge for the D-Backs to maintain a natural-grass playing surface at the retractable-roof Chase Field over the years, so the hope is that the new surface will better withstand the elements while offering aesthetics and play-ability that are similar to natural grass. How the surface performs at Chase Field this season could be watched closely, as the Texas Rangers are planning to use the same turf at the retractable-roof Globe Life Field when it opens in 2020.
With baseball returning to @ChaseField tonight, you may notice the field looks just a little bit different.
More on the new synthetic grass. 👇 pic.twitter.com/iaAUk3GGh5
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) March 26, 2019
Around the ballpark, some of the biggest changes for fans will come on the concessions menu. One of the more notable food offerings this year will be a series of three 18-inch hot dogs made as part of a collaboration between Chase Field Sr. Executive Chef Stephen Tilder and Sports Illustrated’s Charlotte Wilde. The hot dogs will be available rotating menu, beginning with the All Day Breakfast Dog (above) in April and May. The All Day Breakfast Dog features a Schreiner’s hot dog topped with hash browns, country gravy, Cheddar cheese, bacon, fried eggs, Tapatío hot sauce, and green onion. Reuben Some Dirt On It Dog will be next in the series, providing an offering placed in a a rye hot dog bun topped with Reuben mac and cheese, fried pickles, secret sauce and green onion. Rounding out the slate will be the S.I. Cover Dog, featuring an 18-inch Schreiner’s bratwurst placed in an onion hot dog bun topped with Jalapeño-Granny Smith apple coleslaw, fried mac and cheese, barbecue aioli, house-cured beer pickles, and green onion. All three hot dogs will be served at Chase Field’s Big Dawgs during their respective runs at the ballpark.
Other new food items for this season cover a wide range of options. For a vegan selection, fans can seek out the Camelback Burger–featuring a grilled plant-based burger topped with brown sugar-truffle ketchup, jalapeño relish, avocado, lettuce, herb mustard, cucumber, and crispy onion flakes on a vegan bun. Another new vegan option is the Mediterranean Vegan Wrap, featuring a spinach tortilla filled with mock chicken, hummus, cucumber, and olive tapenade.
Chicken and Donuts combines two cuisines by mixing Crispy Tyson popcorn chicken with donut holes, and covering them in powdered sugar with a side of maple syrup. Among the other new items for this season include the 505 Fry Bread Taco, Strawberry Cheesecake Shake, Big Jalapeño Popper Dog, Cheesy BLT: Bacon, American Cheese and Fries, and Hatch Valley Cheesesteak.
In a new technology offering, Chase Field will debut the COX Virtual Meet and Greet. Located in the COX Connects Bullpen in center field, the new amenity allows have fans to have a virtual meet and greet with their choice from a slate of options that includes current D-Back players David Peralta, Archie Bradley, and Yoshihisa Hirano; manager Torey Lovullo; D-Backs legends Luis Gonzalez and Randy Johnson, team president & CEO Derrick Hall; and mascot Baxter. The experience will last a minute-and-a-half, allowing the fan to walk away with a digitally autographed photo with the D-Backs figure they select via text or email.
Image courtesy Arizona Diamondbacks.
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