Sod Arrives At Detroit's Comerica Park Ahead Of Tigers Opening Day
DETROIT (WWJ) - A very special and highly anticipated delivery has finally made its way to Detroit's beloved ballpark.
Two trucks arrived at Comerica Park early Thursday morning to deliver massive rolls of Kentucky bluegrass sod. The trucks came all the way from Colorado and six more are on the way.
Delivery driver Mike Boyd told WWJ's Charlie Langton that he was thrilled when he found out what his destination was. Boyd lives just outside of Lakeland, Florida and is a "true blue" Tigers fan.
"It's pretty impressive because usually, you know, we just take it to different warehouses and stuff," he said. "But when they told us we were coming to the stadium, I called quite a few people and told them 'You're never going to guess where I'm going,' and they were pretty impressed."
Trey Rodgers, a turf grass management expert at Michigan State University, said the delivery was perfect timing -- with just 11 days left before Opening Day.
"These are big, big pieces of sod and each piece weighs about 3,000 pounds. So, when you start putting those sod pieces next to each other, they stabilize pretty quick. It's a very, very, very common technique and even though the sod won't necessarily root in a week, it is not unsafe," he said.
Detroit's Home Opener takes place on Monday, March 31 as the Tigers face the Kansas City Royals. The first pitch is expected to be thrown around 1:05 p.m., but the fun starts hours earlier at 97.1 The Ticket's Opening Day Block Party.
The Block Party, which starts at 10 a.m. in Grand Circus Park, features live music, great food, cold beer, interactive games and big screen TVs to watch the game on -- and admission is FREE. Click here for more details.
