It’s been a long time since major improvements have been made to Arthur W. Perdue Stadium, the Eastern Shore’s home for minor league baseball.

In fact, the field hasn’t been upgraded since the stadium was built in 1996. Jomar Reyes played on the same grass and dirt in 2015 that Ryan Minor played on in 1997.

But that’s all changing this offseason. Stadium improvements totaling $4.25 million will take place over the next few seasons and the first order of business is upgrading the field.

Shovels, trucks and boots hit the diamond just days after the Delmarva Shorebirds concluded their season two weeks ago.

“In the past several years we have been working with (Wicomico County) on some structural improvements. They aren’t sexy improvements, but they have been going on and we’ve been working toward upgrading the field,” Shorebirds’ general manager Chris Bitters said. “This is phase one of a multiple-phase project to upgrade Perdue Stadium to get us ready for another 20 years here.

“What they have been doing for the last week or so is excavating the existing field down to a depth to get it to the drainage layer. So they’re removing all of the current field that is out there except for the warning track and the infield dirt.”

Fans might not notice the upgrades to the field by simply looking at it. The groundskeepers at Arthur W. Perdue have done their best over the years to keep the dirt in the infield in top shape and have kept the outfield very green.

However, fans will notice the reduced number of canceled games. Quite often, Bitters and his staff don’t have to cancel games at Arthur W. Perdue due to rain, but due to the fact that they can’t get the outfield drained.

“There will be less rainouts,” Bitters said. “(The Bowie Baysox) got a new stadium five years ago and they haven’t had a rainout that’s been field-related in those five years. We have had a lot of rainouts where the term ‘unplayable field conditions’ have been used because the field wasn’t draining as well as it should, and a lot of that has to do with it just being a 20-year-old field. In essence, we shouldn’t be losing any games to nonplayable field conditions.”

The field is just step one in the numerous improvements coming to the 20-year-old stadium and is expected to be completed by November.

The next project is improving the stadium lights. Bitters said the lights “won’t be quite like Camden Yards,” but the fans and players will notice the difference.

Among the other improvements scheduled to follow the field and lighting upgrades include a new video board, improved bleacher seating for the fans and an expanded concourse. This phase of upgrades is scheduled to be completed before the start of the 2017 season, Bitters said.

“For this offseason it will be our three main projects: the field, the stadium lights and the internal padding on some of our walls. Once we get through that, then the fan amenity upgrades will happen after the 2016 season,” Bitters said. “That’s the plan. Hopefully by the time you come here for the 2017 season it won’t be a new ballpark, but you will definitely notice a tremendous difference from where it currently sits.”

 

delmarvanow.com

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