At PNC Park, the Ground Takes Time to Ready - KHarmo88's Dynasty

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At PNC Park, the Ground Takes Time to Ready

Posted on March 29, 2013 at 11:51 PM.

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by Paul Gough / PittsburghBusinessTimes

If you think you have a big task ahead of you in preparing your yard after a rough winter, then consider the work being done by Dennis DaPra and his crew at PNC Park.

The several inches of heavy, wet snow that fell Monday may have been an inconvenience for most of us in the Pittsburgh region. But for the Pittsburgh Pirates, falling as it did exactly a week before Opening Day, it could have been a game-changer.

On Thursday, just three days after the snow and four days before Opening Day, the temperatures were in the low 40s and the sun only peeked out of the clouds a couple of times over two hours or so. But the outfield was, in fact, green at PNC Park.

Sure, the infield needed some more work and the lines weren't painted. But DaPra -- executive vice president and general manager of PNC Park/Facilities and the Pittsburgh Pirates -- said he was happy with where they were.

"We've had to go at it a bit more aggressively, given the weather," DaPra said.

Not only did it snow earlier this week, but it was cold and snowy in the past several weeks, when the groundskeepers generally start working on the field.

One of those challenges: Unclogging the drains under the field. Usually, they're frozen when the four groundskeepers begin their work for the season.

"The temperatures weren't where we needed them to be, the irrigation wasn't where we needed them to be," DaPra said Thursday afternoon. "Irrigation is a big part of growing the field. You have to deviate, you have to be able to be flexible."

Contrast that with last year, when the weather was downright warm, and you can understand why northern-tier teams like the Pirates keep a lookout on the forecast when they open their seasons at home. One reason there's an extra day between Opening Day (Monday) and the second game of the season (Wednesday) is in case there's rain or snow.

The groundskeepers were tending to the field Thursday. Above them, other employees were hosing down the seats and cleaning them for the thousands expected Easter Sunday at PNC Park to see the team's final workout and the near-sellout crowd Monday afternoon for Opening Day.

"We've been through this before, not this early of an opener, but we've been through this before," DaPra said. "Everyone knows our standards and where we need to be. We're on target."