Mariners to replace all the grass and dirt at Safeco Field

SEATTLE - The Mariners will replace all the grass and dirt at Safeco Field for the first time since the park opened in 1999. The Mariners announced Wednesday that the removal of the sod and dirt will begin this week. The plan is to have the new grass in place by the end of October. Seattle replaced the grass around the infield and in foul territory before the 2012 season, but the outfield has remained mostly untouched since the park opened. The new grass will come from Country Green Turf Farms near Olympia, Washington. Country Green provided the original grass for the ballpark in 1999. The dirt around the infield and pitcher's mound will also be replaced but the construction of the new mound won't take place until March.

Section:Gallery

Thu., Oct. 5, 2017

The view from the upper deck of the former Safeco Field in October, 2017, which will become T-Mobile Stadium, pending approval by the Washington State Major League Baseball Stadium Public Facilities District (PFD). On Wednesday, the Mariners and Bellevue-based telecommunications giant T-Mobile announced a naming rights agreement that will last for the next 25 years.

Ted S. Warren Ap
Workers with A.M. Landshaper, Inc., based in Spokane, Wash., use a tractor and cutting device to scrape away the outfield grass at Safeco Field, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Seattle. Workers at the home of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team started work Thursday to replace all of the grass and dirt at the facility for the first time since the ballpark opened in 1999.

Ted S. Warren Associated Press
Workers with A.M. Landshaper, Inc., based in Spokane, Wash., use a tractor and cutting device to scrape away the outfield grass at Safeco Field, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Seattle. Workers at the home of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team started work Thursday to replace all of the grass and dirt at the facility for the first time since the ballpark opened in 1999.

Ted S. Warren Associated Press
Workers with A.M. Landshaper, Inc., based in Spokane, Wash., use a tractor and cutting device to scrape away the outfield grass at Safeco Field, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Seattle. Workers at the home of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team started work Thursday to replace all of the grass and dirt at the facility for the first time since the ballpark opened in 1999.

Ted S. Warren Associated Press
The outfield grass at Safeco Field is shown partially scraped away, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Seattle. Workers at the home of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team started work Thursday to replace all of the grass and dirt at the facility for the first time since the ballpark opened in 1999.

Ted S. Warren Associated Press
Dan Guzzo, a groundskeeper at Safeco Field, drives a load of grass turf past the left field distance marker, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Seattle. Workers at the home of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team started work Thursday to replace all of the grass and dirt at the facility for the first time since the ballpark opened in 1999.

Ted S. Warren Associated Press
Carl Gaube, a groundskeeper at Safeco Field in Seattle, digs out a sprinkler head, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Seattle. Workers at the home of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team started work Thursday to replace all of the grass and dirt at the facility for the first time since the ballpark opened in 1999.

Ted S. Warren Associated Press
Workers with A.M. Landshaper, Inc., based in Spokane, Wash., use a tractor and cutting device to scrape away the outfield grass at Safeco Field, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Seattle. Workers at the home of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team started work Thursday to replace all of the grass and dirt at the facility for the first time since the ballpark opened in 1999.

Ted S. Warren Associated Press
Workers with A.M. Landshaper, Inc., based in Spokane, Wash., use a tractor and cutting device to scrape away the outfield grass at Safeco Field, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Seattle. Workers at the home of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team started work Thursday to replace all of the grass and dirt at the facility for the first time since the ballpark opened in 1999.

Ted S. Warren Associated Press
Dan Guzzo, a groundskeeper at Safeco Field in Seattle, digs out a sprinkler head, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. Workers at the home of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team started work Thursday to replace all of the grass and dirt at the facility for the first time since the ballpark opened in 1999.

Ted S. Warren Associated Press
A worker with A.M. Landshaper, Inc., based in Spokane, Wash., looks on as a tractor and cutting device are used to scrape away the outfield grass at Safeco Field, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, in Seattle. Workers at the home of the Seattle Mariners MLB baseball team started work Thursday to replace all of the grass and dirt at the facility for the first time since the ballpark opened in 1999.

Ted S. Warren Associated Press