EVENT MANAGEMENT
Photo courtesy of the Seattle Kraken .
to decide whether or not the roof would be open . It turned out to be a beautiful day and the roof was open for the game . The NHL crew was a class act .”
Dvorak , who joined the Mariners organization in 2008 , just finished his first full year as director of grounds . Nagy has been with the club for four years .
“ Our crew is what helps us shine ,” said Dvorak . “ We ’ ve got guys on our crew that have been with us for more than 20 years and know this ballpark inside and out .”
According to Dvorak , preparations started one year prior at the 2023 Winter Classic at historic Fenway Park in Boston — the second time the ballpark hosted the outdoor game .
“ We flew out to Boston to see how they prepared for it ,” Dvorak said . “ We took notes and came back with a better understanding of what hosting a Winter Classic would entail .”
Added Nagy , “ The best thing about hosting events like this is that there are plenty of people in the industry that we can go to for advice .”
Just the day after the 2023 Winter Classic between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Boston Bruins , the NHL publicly announced the 2024 game would be in Seattle . T-Mobile Park was the ninth MLB ballpark to host the Winter Classic ( joining Fenway Park , Wrigley Field , Citizens Bank Park , Nationals Park , Busch Stadium , Citi Field and Target Field ). It was also the second time the Seattle area hosted an outdoor hockey game , as Avista Stadium ( home of the Spokane Indians , MiLB affiliate of the Colorado Rockies ) hosted a game between the Spokane Chiefs and the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League ( a junior hockey league based in western Canada ) in 2011 .
The staff at T-Mobile Park are no stranger to hosting big events beyond the scope of Mariners games . Just five months prior to the Winter Classic , T-Mobile Park hosted the MLB All-Star Game .
Just five months prior to hosting the Winter Classic , T-Mobile Park hosted the MLB All-Star Game . Photo courtesy of the Seattle Mariners .
“ 2023 was a crazy year with the All-Star Game ,” said Nagy . “ But after that week it was pretty normal for the rest of the season . We almost hosted postseason games , but were just one game short in the standings . It ’ s a lot of fun working those big events . You can learn a lot and plug those experiences into other events — whether it ’ s a concert or a graduation that we get to host .
“ The field kind of took a little bit of a beating at the All-Star Game ,” Nagy added . “ It wasn ’ t just a normal baseball game ; it was all the other events and the pageantry around it .”
For the Winter Classic , the field was completely covered . The outfield was designed to look like a frozen ocean with a Kraken breaking through and attacking a boat that was used as a stage in center field . The walkways that connected the hockey rink to the dugouts ( over the infield ) were designed to look like piers found in Puget Sound . Dvorak , Nagy and the rest of the field crew didn ’ t worry about field damage from the players ’ skates or any other personnel on field level .
“ Really the biggest challenge this past year with all the events we hosted is that we ’ re in the middle of a transition period in management ,” said Dvorak . “ Ryan and I co-managed the grounds crew and it went as smooth as it could have gone .”
Dvorak and Nagy will be busy again in 2024 . In addition to 81 Mariners home games , T-Mobile Park will host concerts throughout the summer – including Billy Joel , Chris Stapleton , Seattle ’ s own Foo Fighters , Green Day , Def Leppard and Journey .
“ My best advice is to stay flexible and don ’ t get your hopes up ,” Dvorak said of hosting non-baseball events . “ They do a number on the field , so you have to be ready for the challenge after the event to get the field ready for baseball .” SFM
Robert Augsdorfer is the assistant editor of SportsField Management magazine . sportsfieldmanagementonline . com February 2024 | SportsField Management
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