New sod being installed at Camden Yards for 1st time in 8 years

The playing surface at Camden Yards is being replaced this month, the Orioles announced Thursday, marking the first time since 2008 that the grass on the field is being swapped out.

Beginning November 10 and ending by December 1, the team said that 105,000 square feet of 100% Kentucky bluegrass from Tuckahoe Turf Farms in Hammonton, NJ, will replace the existing grass on the field, in the bullpens and in the park’s turf farm.

While eight years is considered the long end of the spectrum for the lifespan of stadium grass, the Orioles haven’t had many apparent issues with the sod at Camden Yards.

Manager Buck Showalter touts that the team, led by head groundskeeper Nicole McFadyen, is able to keep the field in such good shape because the team’s ownership doesn’t allow money-spinning events like concerts, football games or soccer matches to be hosted at Camden Yards when the team isn’t playing.

The team said the new sod will be shipped on a dozen tractor-trailers, with the net weight of the shipment around 400 tons.

In 2013, the team replaced the synthetic warning track with real dirt, but the grass remained intact throughout that process.