Post by mikecubs on Sept 6, 2015 15:42:28 GMT -6
Toronto Blue Jays may play on new dirt infield at Rogers Centre next year as major stadium upgrades continue
The Blue Jays hope to install a dirt infield at the Rogers Centre for next season while they work toward a natural grass playing surface for the 2018 season.
Neither option is an absolute certainty at the moment, but both are part of the club’s five-year, $250-million capital budget for stadium upgrades, said Stephen Brooks, the Jays’ senior vice-president of business operations.
“We would like to install a dirt infield next year and are currently evaluating the logistics and costs of doing so,” Brooks said.
The dirt infield would be installed in the existing AstroTurf, using the model of Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays play on artificial turf under a dome.
“It would be Step 1 in the real-grass project,” Brooks said. “We’re working on the cost of that and what we have to do to cut out the turf and what drainage requirements would be need to make that happen.”
The Rogers Centre playing surface has no drainage system. White lines on the existing playing surface delineate the area usually filled with dirt on conventional baseball fields. The only dirt is on the mound and in cutouts around the bases.
The long-range plan would make the Rogers Centre a “baseball-first” stadium, not a baseball-only venue, Brooks said. Other events, such as Supercross and Monster Jam, would continue to be held, with a turf cover or another type of safety shield over the playing surface, Brooks said.
The infield and “real-grass” projects loom as priorities for new Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro. As Cleveland Indians president, Shapiro oversaw recent upgrades at Progressive Field, but those pale in comparison to the scope and cost of plans to renovate the Rogers Centre.
The installation of a natural grass surface is a key part of the capital budget for the period from 2016 to 2021. Brooks declined to reveal the estimated cost. If all challenges are met – and they are significant – the Jays hope to have the new field ready by opening day 2018.
Working on a $600,000 contract with the Jays, the University of Guelph is testing an array of grass species under lighting conditions similar to those with the Rogers Centre roof closed. Eric Lyons, head of the research project at Guelph, says he is confident it is possible to sustain a grass field under the dome. The question is whether Rogers and the Jays will be willing to pay the cost of a retrofit that will funnel off humidity from the grass and provide the required irrigation system and artificial lighting, among other challenges.
The club will begin to sort that out next winter after receiving a major feasibility report from Lyons in February and obtaining cost estimates from engineers, Brooks said.
“At that point we will know what our issues are,” he said.
Installing grass in an old domed stadium that was engineered without grass in mind will be an enormous undertaking, the cost of which is difficult to gauge with certainty at the moment. Brooks calls it “the wild-card project.”
Meanwhile, plenty of other changes are in store for the 26-year-old stadium, which has already undergone about $70-million worth of infrastructure improvements,
many unseen by fans, in the past few years.
The entire PVC membrane over the stadium roof is worn out and must be replaced. As part of that project, the club will investigate the possibility of using material that will allow diffused sunlight to shine through and help nurture the grass.
The club will continue to repair and upgrade the rail system that allows the four sections of the roof to open and close. Work started two years ago and has continued through this season, Brooks said. Warped sections of the rails have been shaved. The computer system and motor systems will be significantly upgraded. When the job is done, the roof will open and close faster than it does now and will likely be able to open in cooler weather.
All stadium seats will be replaced. That project has also begun. Brooks said it may involve making the seats larger, which could result in the loss of 2,000 to 3,000 seats.
All of the stadium suites will be renovated. Brooks said the Rogers Centre has about 150 suites – most new stadiums have 50 to 60 – and the club plans to reduce the total and create more double suites to meet increasing demand from larger groups.
The former Hard Rock Café space above right field is due for renovation as a large group area. “Group sales space is one thing that we need more of,” Brooks said.
Plans also include upgrades and new kitchens in concession areas; more space for the Blue Jays Shop, which is often packed on game days; replacement of the exterior stadium awning and the paving stones around the stadium; and renovating the plaza on the west side where Fan Fest is held.
Fans will not have noticed most of the work done in the past few years because it involved infrastructure – “chillers, boilers, roof, wiring, cabling,” Brooks said. In contrast, many of the projects on the horizon will be “fan-facing,” he said.
The elements of the five-year capital plan have been priced and submitted to Rogers Communications, which owns the stadium and the Jays. However, the necessary approvals are “TBA,” Brooks said.
news.nationalpost.com/sports/mlb/toronto-blue-jays-installing-grass-at-rogers-centre-just-one-of-many-upgrades-planned-for-aging-stadium
The Blue Jays hope to install a dirt infield at the Rogers Centre for next season while they work toward a natural grass playing surface for the 2018 season.
Neither option is an absolute certainty at the moment, but both are part of the club’s five-year, $250-million capital budget for stadium upgrades, said Stephen Brooks, the Jays’ senior vice-president of business operations.
“We would like to install a dirt infield next year and are currently evaluating the logistics and costs of doing so,” Brooks said.
The dirt infield would be installed in the existing AstroTurf, using the model of Tropicana Field, where the Tampa Bay Rays play on artificial turf under a dome.
“It would be Step 1 in the real-grass project,” Brooks said. “We’re working on the cost of that and what we have to do to cut out the turf and what drainage requirements would be need to make that happen.”
The Rogers Centre playing surface has no drainage system. White lines on the existing playing surface delineate the area usually filled with dirt on conventional baseball fields. The only dirt is on the mound and in cutouts around the bases.
The long-range plan would make the Rogers Centre a “baseball-first” stadium, not a baseball-only venue, Brooks said. Other events, such as Supercross and Monster Jam, would continue to be held, with a turf cover or another type of safety shield over the playing surface, Brooks said.
The infield and “real-grass” projects loom as priorities for new Blue Jays president Mark Shapiro. As Cleveland Indians president, Shapiro oversaw recent upgrades at Progressive Field, but those pale in comparison to the scope and cost of plans to renovate the Rogers Centre.
The installation of a natural grass surface is a key part of the capital budget for the period from 2016 to 2021. Brooks declined to reveal the estimated cost. If all challenges are met – and they are significant – the Jays hope to have the new field ready by opening day 2018.
Working on a $600,000 contract with the Jays, the University of Guelph is testing an array of grass species under lighting conditions similar to those with the Rogers Centre roof closed. Eric Lyons, head of the research project at Guelph, says he is confident it is possible to sustain a grass field under the dome. The question is whether Rogers and the Jays will be willing to pay the cost of a retrofit that will funnel off humidity from the grass and provide the required irrigation system and artificial lighting, among other challenges.
The club will begin to sort that out next winter after receiving a major feasibility report from Lyons in February and obtaining cost estimates from engineers, Brooks said.
“At that point we will know what our issues are,” he said.
Installing grass in an old domed stadium that was engineered without grass in mind will be an enormous undertaking, the cost of which is difficult to gauge with certainty at the moment. Brooks calls it “the wild-card project.”
Meanwhile, plenty of other changes are in store for the 26-year-old stadium, which has already undergone about $70-million worth of infrastructure improvements,
many unseen by fans, in the past few years.The entire PVC membrane over the stadium roof is worn out and must be replaced. As part of that project, the club will investigate the possibility of using material that will allow diffused sunlight to shine through and help nurture the grass.
The club will continue to repair and upgrade the rail system that allows the four sections of the roof to open and close. Work started two years ago and has continued through this season, Brooks said. Warped sections of the rails have been shaved. The computer system and motor systems will be significantly upgraded. When the job is done, the roof will open and close faster than it does now and will likely be able to open in cooler weather.
All stadium seats will be replaced. That project has also begun. Brooks said it may involve making the seats larger, which could result in the loss of 2,000 to 3,000 seats.
All of the stadium suites will be renovated. Brooks said the Rogers Centre has about 150 suites – most new stadiums have 50 to 60 – and the club plans to reduce the total and create more double suites to meet increasing demand from larger groups.
The former Hard Rock Café space above right field is due for renovation as a large group area. “Group sales space is one thing that we need more of,” Brooks said.
Plans also include upgrades and new kitchens in concession areas; more space for the Blue Jays Shop, which is often packed on game days; replacement of the exterior stadium awning and the paving stones around the stadium; and renovating the plaza on the west side where Fan Fest is held.
Fans will not have noticed most of the work done in the past few years because it involved infrastructure – “chillers, boilers, roof, wiring, cabling,” Brooks said. In contrast, many of the projects on the horizon will be “fan-facing,” he said.
The elements of the five-year capital plan have been priced and submitted to Rogers Communications, which owns the stadium and the Jays. However, the necessary approvals are “TBA,” Brooks said.
news.nationalpost.com/sports/mlb/toronto-blue-jays-installing-grass-at-rogers-centre-just-one-of-many-upgrades-planned-for-aging-stadium
PNC park from Pittsburgh photos shopped on the Port Lands
Oh what could have been!!! 
