There are some strange sites at Kauffman Stadium these days.
Where Lorenzo Cain would track down fly balls in right center, there is an excavator. The green grass is gone. All of it. Instead, there is pea gravel everywhere. There were multiple people on the pitchers mound recently, but no one had a glove. They had tape measures.
Hard hats have replaced batting helmets and skid steers are scooting all over the place.
If this all sounds like a sort of nightmare, rest easy. It’s just part of a total rebuild of the playing field, which began just after the season ended. The grass, sand and pea gravel are being replaced and the irrigation system is being upgraded.
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The Royals hope to have the project completed by Nov. 22. Head groundskeeper Trevor Vance has been tweeting updates and it worth a follow. He also showed off the new grass, which is currently in Colorado:
There she is!! Our new Baby! She will be traveling to KC for the install in Nov. Can't wait!! pic.twitter.com/QiFEy9QFtB
— Trevor Vance (@kcgrassman) October 5, 2017
Game Mound Complete! Next step, bring in the new pea gravel and grade! #BushTurf #bestcrewinthegame#progress pic.twitter.com/pXeqzgIkBy
— Trevor Vance (@kcgrassman) October 13, 2017
The Star’s Keith Myers went to Kauffman Stadium and got a look at the construction zone that is now the playing field. Take a look at the video above.
Pete Grathoff: 816-234-4330, @pgrathoff
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