(Orioles photo by Janet Marie…)
February 12, 2011|By Jeff Zrebiec, The Baltimore Sun
When Orioles manager Buck Showalter arrived at Ed Smith Stadium a week ago, he took a walk around the complex and surveyed how much work still needed to be done before his team's first workout Monday.
"I got here [last] Sunday at about 5 or 6 o'clock, walked around by myself and kind of went, 'Damn,'" Showalter said. "But you see how much progress they've made. It's unbelievable the difference the way it looks from 10 o'clock in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. They've been killing themselves down here. They had a few setbacks with weather, but they've caught up. It will be ready. I have to tell you, my whole scheme of worrying about things, that isn't one of them."
The Orioles' $31.2 million renovation project of their new spring training home at Ed Smith Stadium and the minor league complex at Twin Lakes Park in Sarasota, Fla., started in June with the goal of being finished by the time players, coaches and team officials started arriving in mid-February.
There are still things that need to be done, but team officials are thrilled with the condition of the rebuilt facility and have little doubt about its readiness for spring training.
"There's always been a lot of work to do, but there's never been any chance that we weren't going to get it done," said Orioles vice president of planning and development Janet Marie Smith, who has spearheaded the renovation efforts. "We always knew it was going to be a tight schedule, but they've been running six days a week, two shifts a day for months now. It's only frantic if you haven't been there every day. If you have been there every day, it's exhilarating. You can see it coming together."
On Wednesday, Smith ran down the list of things that were getting accomplished that day. Workers were putting the finishing touches on an AstroTurf infield, which will allow the club to simulate the conditions for road games against divisional foes the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays. A field with the exact dimensions of Camden Yards, a suggestion from Showalter, had also been set up.
Sod was being rolled out between the back practice fields, which were also being equipped with wind screens. Wall pads and signage was being installed at the main Ed Smith Stadium, while the site's new restaurant, Cafe 54, named for the year the Orioles returned to Baltimore, was getting its ceiling put in. The entrance awning was being erected a day after the letters welcoming fans to "Ed Smith Stadium" had been put up.
About 15 minutes away, construction trucks at the Buck O'Neil minor league complex were starting to pull out, evidence of a project that was pretty much complete. The minor league complex had formerly been called substandard at best, a laughingstock at worse.
"Gone are the days complaining about the fields not being major league-caliber," Smith said. "They've been completely and totally redone — new fencing, new dugouts, new batting cages, practice mounds, air conditioning [in the clubhouse] for the first time, new lockers, weight room, revamped kitchen, new training room. It's really a complete transformation. We feel honored. It will give our minor league guys the respect they deserve for all the work they put into their jobs."
As for the renovation of 22-year-old Ed Smith Stadium, Smith said: "It is a complete overhaul. You literally will not recognize it. It's not just a new pretty face. It is new 45-foot-wide concourses, every seat that we have is a seat that has come out of Camden Yards and been refurbished. The concession stands are triple what we had last year. We have a retail store, an air-conditioned cafe, a lot of shade. We really tried hard to think about the total experience there."
The Orioles, whose 30-year agreement with Sarasota County started last spring, won't play their first game at Ed Smith Stadium until March 1, giving workers two more weeks to get the main stadium ready.
Smith said that won't be a problem, praising the collaboration of David Schwarz Architects, located in Washington, and the Sarasota-based Hoyt Architects, along with the work of Hunt Construction.
The stadium project has included the addition of a second-floor facade, featuring new concession areas and bathrooms, a wrap-around apron that will address frequent complaints about a lack of shade, and a berm and picnic area beyond the left-field wall.
"The facility is certainly going to be ready on Opening Day, and we think that fans are going to be incredibly excited," Orioles director of communications Greg Bader said. "Not just aesthetically will the park be different, but the amenities provided for fans, and the ability to maximize enjoyment at a ballgame will be dramatically improved."
