Tampa Bay Rays Donate Turf To Clearwater

CLEARWATER, FL – The former turf of Tropicana Field will live on to help baseball players in Clearwater.

The Tampa Bay Rays donated the AstroTurf Gameday Grass used at Tropicana Field between 2011 until 2017 to the city of Clearwater. The Rays switched the Tropicana Field artificial turf to Shaw Sports Turf before the beginning of the 2017 season.

“Because of the generous donation from the Tampa Bay Rays, our youth, as well as the Clearwater High School baseball team and St. Petersburg College baseball team, will be able to train on the same field that major league baseball players have played on over the past six season,” said Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos.

The Clearwater City Council approved the donation and money to install the artificial turf at Clearwater’s Jack Russell Stadium complex. The AstroTurf Gameday Grass will be installed at the stadium’s practice field, replacing the turf that is more than 20 years old.

“My city council colleagues and I appreciate the Rays’ contribution to the city and benefits that will be provided to young athletes in Clearwater,” Cretekos said.

Jack Russell Field, the former Spring Training home of the Philadelphia Phillies, is currently undergoing renovations including new locker rooms, new batting cages, new bleachers and more. Since the Phillies moved their operations to the newly renamed Spectrum Field, Jack Russell Field now is home to Clearwater High School’s and St. Petersburg College’s baseball teams.

“The Rays are glad this turf will have a second life in our community, growing the tradition and love of baseball, and sharing a part of the Rays way with the City of Clearwater,” said Bill Wiener Jr., the Rays vice president of employee and community development.

Since the budget for the project was recently approved, the City of Clearwater’s next step is to put together a bid package for the donated turf to be installed. According to Jason Beisel, the public information coordinator for the City of Clearwater, the bid process might take three to four months, which means the turf will not be installed until early 2018.

Image 1 and 2: The current turf at Jack Russel Field, seen here, will be replaced with the former turf from Tropicana Field sometime in 2018.

Image 3: The old turf at Tropicana field, seen here, was replaced before the 2017 season.

Images 1 and 2 courtesy of the City of Clearwater; Image 3 via Walter, Flickr, used under Creative Commons