It's rebuilding time again for the Twins -- but this time they have to go only to a sod farm, not their farm teams.
After Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw's road crew spent most of Monday tearing down equipment from Sunday's big concert at Target Field, the Twins ground crew got a good look at the field Tuesday morning. "Overall, it's in better shape than we expected," said Chris Iles, Twins corporate communications director, "but there are a few places where they're going to have to patch."
The primary trouble spot is in center field, where the concert's massive stage stood. Construction on the stage started last Wednesday, so the grass there was covered for nearly a week. More new grass will also have to be placed around first and third bases, where forklifts rolled onto the field to erect two giant sound and light towers late last week.
The day before the concert, much of the field was covered with a rubbery flooring system on which the "floor" seats were lined up. Those sections appear to be in fine shape.
Between watering sessions last week, head groundskeeper Larry DiVito said, "Anything we can do to preserve the field is being made a lot more difficult by the hot weather. If this were happening Sept. 8 instead of July 8, we would be in a lot better shape." DiVito and his crew were prepared, though: They had placed an order with their sod farm in Colorado for the post-concert work, and they have until Friday, when the Twins return to face the Oakland A's, to get the field back into shape.
"It'll be ready by Friday, for sure," Iles said. "We're lucky to have the best grounds crew in the league, so we're really not at all worried."
Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658
