TURFGRASS

By John Kmitta

In addition to the Maryland-grown turfgrass, this project also showcases the importance of the relationship between the sports field manager and sod producer. In the case of Oriole Park and Collins Wharf, that relationship began more than 25 years ago, because Baltimore Orioles Senior Director of Field Operations Nicole Sherry and Collins Wharf Owner Eddie Moore were students together at Delaware Technical Community College( Del Tech).

“ I knew about HGT, and saw that Eddie has been growing it at Collins Wharf,” said Sherry.“ I spoke with my counterparts about how well it played, the recovery time, and how well it performed against certain disease pressures that we have in the Mid-Atlantic. After consulting with everybody that has utilized Eddie’ s turf, I decided that was probably the best field to install for next season and hopefully beyond.”

According to Moore, whose other MLB clients include Citi Field( New York Mets) and Citizens Bank Park( Philadelphia Phillies), Collins Wharf has had a great deal of success with HGT bluegrass, which is resistant to stress and disease pressure. The success with HGT Bluegrass is not limited to baseball. In the same region, HGT has been utilized at Baltimore Country Club, Caves Valley Golf Club, and Country Club of Maryland to name a few. HGT has been sent to the Columbus Crew in Ohio and FC New York, which also plays some of its games at Citi Field.

Added Sherry,“ It has been a long time since we utilized sod from Maryland— mainly because there are not many sod farms here that produce cool-season grasses. When we saw that Eddie’ s farm was available, we jumped on it. Being from Maryland and having a grass representing Maryland is huge for our fan base. We want to support local businesses as much as we can from an organizational standpoint.”

14 SportsField Management | February 2026 sportsfieldmanagementonline. com