Safeco Field spiffed up ahead of Mariners home opener

It’s been anything but quiet at Safeco Field throughout the offseason, both on and off the field.

Despite one of the wettest winters in Seattle history, veteran groundskeeper Bob Christofferson and his crew have been hard at work keeping the grass growing with the help of special lights he brought in from the Netherlands.

“We were the first team in Major League Baseball to get them,” Christofferson said. “You know, we’re the farthest, most northern city in Major League Baseball. So we get the least amount of daylight on our field.”

Activity ramped up over the last month as Christofferson and his crew roto-tilled and leveled the turf and touched up the infield dirt.

This week, they put the finishing touches on their work, painting the team logos and other special artwork commemorating opening day.

Some of Christofferson’s other handiwork is a bit more subtle, but could have a big impact.

It sprung from some inspiration he got one day as he worked on the field.

“I went to (manager) Scott Servais in early February and said, ‘Scott, this is our baseline. I’m thinking that it would help the team a little bit if we added some grass to the fair side of the baseline so that if we end up bunting a little more … it’s easier for the ball to stay fair in grass than it is on dirt,'” he said.

Servais agreed. So if you look closely, you might notice there’s 18 inches more grass on the first- and third-base lines this season.

“You know, if it equates to three or four bunts that stay fair or a couple of wins and it makes a difference in the whole thing, then I’m happy,” Christofferson said.

That’s not the only change fans will find at Safeco Field this year. There are plenty of new food offerings and activities.

“There will be a second kids area up on the upper deck in the outside corner for families that are on the upper deck that don’t make it down to the main play area,” said Tony Pereira, the Mariners’ senior director of ballpark operations.

Pereira said there will be plenty of new faces around the stadium this season.

“This year, we brought in almost 300 new hires joining a group that will total about 1,300. And that’s just on the Mariners side. It doesn’t count Center Plate food and beverage and police and medics. Opening day, if you talk total number of people working a sellout, it’s over 2,000,” Pereira said.

Along with training all of those new hires, Pereira and his team have overseen an offseason of maintenance, which ramped up over the last couple of weeks as crews polished and painted Safeco Field so it sparkles and shines Friday night.

But it’s what happens on the field that really matters most.

Every year the team tries to come up with unique new elements along with what have become annual traditions, said Mariners director of marketing Gregg Greene.

Among those traditions, the festivities kick off poignantly with a Mak-A-Wish kid running the bases, then the players are introduced individually in a red carpet parade from right field.

“We’ve heard from other players that played for other teams, when they come here, ‘I’ve kind of looked forward to doing this because they don’t do it anywhere else,'” Greene said.

Other highlights will include soon-to-be Mariners Hall-of-Famer Ken Griffey Jr. throwing out the first pitch, a special tribute and moment of silence for former Mariner Dave Henderson – the team’s first-ever draft pick who passed away in December – and the presentation of the American League Silver Slugger award to Nelson Cruz.

It’s a night as eagerly anticipated by those off the field as the players themselves.

“You spend six months preparing for opening night and then the gates open, the crowd comes pouring in, you still get chills during the anthem and pre-ceremonies. That’s when all the hard work pays off,” Pereira said.

Festivities for opening night start at 4:40 p.m. when the gates of Safeco Field open to the general public with a special countdown at the home plate gate with Rick Rizzs, Aaron Goldsmith and the Mariner Moose.

The pregame ceremony will start at approximately 6:30 p.m. Pregame radio coverage gets underway at 6 on 710 ESPN Seattle.