Timbers Beat: PGE Park grounds stripped bare

PORTLAND
, Ore.
– First the old turf, now its rubber base – it all has to go before the new state-of-the-art FieldTurf surface is installed at PGE Park. Over the weekend and all day Monday, work crews braved the elements to completely remove the 100,000 square feet of NexTurf and start the process of removing the rubber padding underneath.
Nearly 30 rolls of the old turf, varying from 4,000 to 6,000 pounds, sit along the outfield wall at PGE Park waiting for their next destination as portions of the turf are being donated to area sports programs.
On Tuesday, with a variety of heavy machines and good old-fashion shovels, crews began to scrape off the base of the old turf to get down to the foundation – a layer of asphalt which will also serve as the foundation of the new FieldTurf playing surface.
Adhered to the asphalt, the rubber base is being pulled off in large pieces using a truck with a set of forks, and gathered into piles at the south end of the stadium. The little pieces remaining on the ground that are missed by the larger machines are being pried up with shovels and then added to the mountainous piles by a little zamboni-like machine.
Stay tuned for more updates and pictures of the new turf at PGE Park …