PORTLAND
, Ore.
– It’s finally here, the 2008 season of events at PGE Park begins this weekend, and the stadium and its new state-of-the-art FieldTurf playing surface is ready for action. The PGE Park grounds crew has spent tireless hours over the last two weeks grooming and preparing the field for its debut event, which features Oregon State’s baseball team.
The Papé Grand Slam, a three-game series between OSU and Georgia, begins Friday night and ends Sunday. Click here for more information on the Papé Grand Slam.
Over the last few weeks, crews have laid down new portions of the warning track around the field, loaded in dirt for the baseball cutouts and painted lines. But the action around the park hasn’t just focused on the field, workers have also put in countless hours cleaning the stands, concourses, concession areas and suites in preparation for the weekend’s events.
The recent string of spring-like weather has aided in the efforts to prepare the field and clean the stadium, but PGE Park officials were actually hoping to get a little rain prior to the weekend to help settle the 14 layers of specialized infill packed into the new FieldTurf surface. In its place, the grounds crew has spent several additional hours grooming the field to break up any last clusters of infill material and keep it level.
Once the weekend is over, crews will put the final touches on the field before the Portland Beavers and Timbers seasons begin in April, including the fitting of the new FieldTurf pieces that will occupy the baseball cutouts for soccer and football games at PGE Park.
Visit the photo gallery to see the six-plus week transformation of PGE Park’s playing surface to new state-of-the-art FieldTurf.
