The grass process at Rogers Centre.

[Angrioter]

http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/13/toronto-blue-jays-want-grass-in-the-rogers-centre-an-inside-look-at-the-difficult-growth-process-it-requires/

Toronto Blue Jays want grass in the Rogers Centre: An inside look at the difficult growth process it requires

 

Imagine: Sitting before you is a scale model of the Rogers Centre, roughly the size of a round roasting pan. Your challenge: to put a real baseball field in the stadium – natural grass with a dirt infield — by opening day 2018.

 

Your research has been thorough. Experts at the University of Guelph have determined the ideal species of grass. They have it growing on an Ontario sod farm. They say it will flourish indoors with the roof closed.

 

Under the right conditions, that is. Your job is to create those conditions.

 

So open the roof, reach in and toss out that artificial turf, which was new for the 2015 season. Haul out your jackhammer. Rip up the concrete. Install plumbing for irrigation and drainage. Dig some more to accommodate the sod and the dirt infield.

 

Close the roof. Strip that shiny skin from the four mammoth roof panels. It’s the original PVC membrane, circa 1989, and it’s worn out. While you’re at it, you might figure out a way to replace it with a material that lets in the light. Grass likes natural light, and right now, the closed dome shuts it out.

 

The scientists at Guelph say the grass will grow without natural light, but you’ll need lots of artificial light – enormous banks of mobile “grow lights” that sit about 10 feet off the ground and nourish the sod when the field is not in use. You’ll roll them around between games to focus on the worn spots, even after games played with the roof open.

 

One more thing. Grass sweats. (Scientists call it transpiration.). Water from the roots vaporizes from the leaf surface into the air. All of that grass will create a lot of humidity, and you’ve got to figure out a way to get rid of that sticky air or the Rogers Centre will become a sweatbox with the roof closed. So you’ll need a dehumidifier. Forget Home Depot; you need a really big one.

 

Now you’re ready to install the grass.

 

Assuming, of course, that your engineers surmounted all of those challenges and you have the budget to make it happen.

 

Except for the 2018 deadline, all of the foregoing is fantasy. The grass is not growing. The University of Guelph has not begun the serious business of testing grass species. The Jays’ engineering team continues to investigate the enormously complex logistical challenges. They have visited stadiums in Milwaukee, Miami and Arizona, among others, to see how officials there have dealt with airflow and light issues.

 

Of course, there is a fundamental difference between the Rogers Centre and those facilities. Those other stadiums are baseball parks, engineered to grow grass. The Rogers Centre is a multi-use indoor entertainment facility engineered nearly three decades ago without grass in mind.

 

For a year or so, Guelph has been eager to strike a formal working agreement with the Jays. That deal might get done “within a week, give or take,” said Stephen Brooks, the Jays senior vice-president of business operations.

 

It has been a long time coming.

 

For three years, Blue Jays president Paul Beeston has spoken publicly about putting grass in the Rogers Centre. According to documents obtained by Blue Jays fan David Dowe through a Freedom of Information request, the Jays and Guelph officials have been in discussions since December 2013, when Guelph gave the club a detailed research proposal with timelines.

 

Dowe, who lives in Burlington, submitted his FOI request to Guelph, seeking details of the university’s discussions with the Jays. He received a series of emails with most of the information redacted, but showing that discussions have been ongoing for more than a year and that Guelph politely nudged the Jays about settling a formal agreement in January, April, May, June and September last year.

 

Asked whether the negotiations are stalled, Brooks demurred.

 

“I wouldn’t characterize it as a standstill,” he said. “This is a big project that has lots of moving parts. It requires negotiations between the two parties. It requires us to work through internally what that means to our business. Those things take time.”

 

The FOI request went to Guelph but the Blue Jays also took part in the redaction process. Brooks said the blacked-out sections covered “financial discussions between the parties and matters of a proprietary nature.” One of the financial issues: How much the Jays would pay Guelph for the grass-roots research.

 

In an interview, Brooks seemed confident that the 2018 deadline is achievable. But given the complexity of reverse-engineering a 26-year-old stadium, he added a caveat.

 

“We’re going through a process that is uncharted territory,” he said. “We don’t necessarily know yet what we’re going to find out about what has to be done from a humidity perspective, or from an airflow perspective. That’s going to resolve itself as we work through this.

 

“We’re targeting 2018. Could that change? As we go through this process, things could change. We don’t know just yet.”

 

Eric Lyons is eager to see the agreement signed so he can get started. The associate professor at Guelph will lead the research into testing various grass species, measuring the levels of humidity they produce and how they respond to artificial light, as well as their ability to withstand the rigors of a baseball season.

 

Lyons grew up near Pittsburgh and remains an ardent (and long-suffering) Pirates fan. He admits he might become a Blue Jays fan too. Mainly, he’s a fan of science and turf grass.

 

“I’m a scientist. I love baseball, I love sports, I love turf grass,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I want to do this?”

 

He envisions a two-stage process. The first, ending in May 2016, would generate the results of his research — the right grass for the job. Meanwhile, the Jays would continue their retrofit research. After Lyons submits his final report, it would be up to the Jays to decide whether to take the project forward.

 

“Growing this many plants indoors is going to require a huge investment in infrastructure,” Lyons said. “You can do these things cheaply. You can do them in a way that won’t last, or you can do them right. And [the Jays] want to know the cost of doing it right. That’s what they’ve expressed to me.”

 

Ideally, he would finish tests to determine the appropriate species and start growing it for the Rogers Centre this fall, for harvest in 2017. Then he would test it in a simulated environment under artificial light.

 

If all goes well, it would be installed early in 2018 and groomed for opening day. Like most clubs, the Jays would likely need to replace it at least once during the season, he said.

 

Growing the new sod in a warmer climate south of the border might speed up the maturation process, but creates potential problems as well. Truck transportation would take at least a day and any holdups at the border – importing plants is no breeze – could leave the sod in poor shape.

 

“I would grow it in Canada with a sod producer that is prepared to set up a system so that you can harvest sod in the winter under frozen ground,” Lyons said. “So we would have to set up hoop houses, heat them up, thaw the ground and harvest. That would be very expensive.”

 

Among the hurdles the Jays face, dealing with humidity may be the biggest.

 

“If it’s hot and humid in that stadium, no one’s going to want to go a game,” he said.

 

Assuming the Jays can handle the required retrofit, Lyons is confident the grass will flourish, and that players and fans will love it.

 

“We can do this,” he said. “I am certain that we can. It’s just whether or not it’s feasible for the Blue Jays to want to do it. That’s what we’re going to help them answer.

 

“The question is, how much is it going to cost?”

[jaysblue]

Edit your thread title. When I saw "glass process at the Rogers Centre" I was like WTF? lol.

[Doughron]

Why do I get a bad feeling after reading this? Very interesting though!

[BlueJayWay]

Why do I get a bad feeling after reading this?

 

dun dun dunnnnn

 

“The question is, how much is it going to cost?”

[CrackerJack]

during the past couple of years, Beeston has practically guaranteed season ticket holders that grass will be put in the stadium once the Argos are out. wonder how committed Rogers is to grass (if at all) or whether they'll try to slide away from Beeston's promises once he is out of the picture?

[Slade]

I've worked enough engineering jobs to know 2018 ain't happening. This is way too big of a project to finish in three years with so many different factors.

[GD]

I'm sure they want to but I imagine that project could cost about 1/2 what it'd cost to build a new stadium.

 

I'm sure you're very experienced with grass.

 

[Boxcar]

Would be quite the task to do the demo, ground works, concrete, hvac and new roof surface in one off season lol.

 

Can't even imagine breaking up all that concrete. Gotta be the worst job in the world.

[Kelly Gruber]

Would be quite the task to do the demo, ground works, concrete, hvac and new roof surface in one off season lol.

 

Simple solution....Montreal for a year.

 

Might even increase the yearly revenue as that city tries to prove itself worthy of an mlb franchise. Full house every night.

[Stangstag]

Simple solution....Montreal for a year.

 

Might even increase the yearly revenue as that city tries to prove itself worthy of an mlb franchise. Full house every night.

 

You are a fool if you think Montreal would sell out even 50% of their games

[Boxcar]

You are a fool if you think Montreal would be half full for any of their games

 

Ftfy

[TBJ12]

Simple solution....Montreal for a year.

 

Might even increase the yearly revenue as that city tries to prove itself worthy of an mlb franchise. Full house every night.

 

Montreal want's the Expos not the Blue Jays.

 

Anyone have an idea what the property the RC sits on might be worth? Maybe sell the property and build us a nice new waterfront stadium. I'm not from Toronto so maybe there isn't even enough water front property to build on.

[Maahfaace]

Montreal want's the Expos not the Blue Jays.

 

Anyone have an idea what the property the RC sits on might be worth? Maybe sell the property and build us a nice new waterfront stadium. I'm not from Toronto so maybe there isn't even enough water front property to build on.

 

Rogers bought Skydome for 25 Million

[Deadpool]

Rogers bought Skydome for 25 Million

 

They artificially forced the price down, the building (and location) are worth significantly more than that.

[flafson]

Montreal want's the Expos not the Blue Jays.

 

Anyone have an idea what the property the RC sits on might be worth? Maybe sell the property and build us a nice new waterfront stadium. I'm not from Toronto so maybe there isn't even enough water front property to build on.

 

There is no space downtown core, you'd have to buy a large property, tear it down and then build on it, ain't going to happen.

[Angrioter]

Toronto Blue Jays hope new artificial turf for Rogers Centre will be their last

 

 

New artificial turf is coming to the Rogers Centre – possibly for the last time.

 

Crews are scheduled to install the new AstroTurf surface next month. The Toronto Blue Jays are expected to play on it through the 2017 season.

 

Team officials hope that by 2018, a natural grass surface and dirt infield will be in place following major renovations to accommodate irrigation, drainage and ventilation.

 

Meanwhile, the new artificial turf will represent an upgrade, said Stephen Brooks, the Jays’ senior vice-president of business operations. And the players should notice the difference.

 

“It will play a bit softer, which is the feedback we got from players when we asked them what they wanted,” Brooks said.

 

When the previous AstroTurf was installed, its granular base was a mix of sand and rubber pellets. With repeated removal and re-application of the rolls of turf, the sand compacted, making it difficult to distribute the infill evenly and groom the field before each homestand.

 

Before last season, the Jays removed the infill and replaced it with rubber pellets only. The new turf also contains pellets from recycled rubber tires.

 

As with previous iterations, the new turf will be taken up to accommodate non-baseball events and re-applied when the Jays play at home.

 

http://news.nationalpost.com/2015/01/13/toronto-blue-jays-hope-new-artificial-turf-for-rogers-centre-will-be-their-last/

[KingKat]

Meanwhile, the new artificial turf will represent an upgrade

 

Lol, they have gone back and forth so many times over the playing surface at this point and they say the same thing every time. At least now they are acknowledging that they will never find a good substitute for natural grass because it simply doesn't exist.

[z3r0s]

Can't even imagine breaking up all that concrete. Gotta be the worst job in the world.

 

Its not like this is going to be a guy with a concrete saw and chipping hammer. It probably wouldn't be that bad using the big equipment.

 

I agree tho, concrete trenching suuuuuuuxxxxxxx

[Zaun of the Dead]

they need grass so bad. that 'field' is ugly and terrible for baseball. down with turf!

[Deadpool]

Its not like this is going to be a guy with a concrete saw and chipping hammer. It probably wouldn't be that bad using the big equipment.

 

I agree tho, concrete trenching suuuuuuuxxxxxxx

 

Just slap this thing in the middle of the Rogers Centre, problem solved:

 

http://geekologie.com/2008/08/19/trencher-1.jpg

[z3r0s]

That looks like something out of a sci-fi movie... christ

[Spanky99]

Just slap this thing in the middle of the Rogers Centre, problem solved:

 

http://geekologie.com/2008/08/19/trencher-1.jpg

 

Or you know back-hoes and s***, done in a week, well, depends how deep the concrete is, as I've said many, many, years ago, grass in the Dome, is a pipe dream, too many issues with drainage and irrigation, it'll cost more than what they paid for the building, two fold.

[Spanky99]

That looks like something out of a sci-fi movie... christ

 

It Is, lol.

[KingKat]

it'll cost more than what they paid for the building, two fold.

 

Yeah but they got the building for a song in relative terms so that's not really a good comparision. Compare it to the cost of building a new stadium and consider the fact that the location is already perfect and it just makes sense even if it isn't cheap.

[Deadpool]

It Is, lol.

 

No, that's a real thing...

 

http://geekologie.com/2008/08/worlds-largest-digging-machine.php

[baubau]

It Is, lol.

 

Not from a movie. Its real. Bucket-wheel Excavator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cocg1u0nwbI

 

E: Damn you deadpool! *shakes fist*

[Spanky99]

No, that's a real thing...

 

http://geekologie.com/2008/08/worlds-largest-digging-machine.php

 

Holy f***...

[Spanky99]

Yeah but they got the building for a song in relative terms so that's not really a good comparision. Compare it to the cost of building a new stadium and consider the fact that the location is already perfect and it just makes sense even if it isn't cheap.

 

It's not feasible, it'd take a couple years minimum to re-configure the roof/piping and a face lift, to all what might work, I'll keep singing my praise, the realistic thing to do is re-locate. They'll make insane money to move at a fraction of the cost.

[Deadpool]

Not from a movie. Its real. Bucket-wheel Excavator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cocg1u0nwbI

 

E: Damn you deadpool! *shakes fist*

 

BWA-HA-HA!

 

Though, mine wasn't one of those new fangled "moving pictures" like yours...

[Spanky99]

BWA-HA-HA!

 

Though, mine wasn't one of those new fangled "moving pictures" like yours...

 

That thing is insane...I'd love to see how it extracts what it does???