Yankee Stadium turf guru: Grass will hold up for NYCFC opener

With so much attention paid to the frozen tundra of Yankee Stadium, the man responsible for the ballpark told the Post its unfair to judge the fields playability before a single game has been played there this season, and vowed it would be ready by opening day both New York City FCs on Sunday and the Yankees three weeks later.

On Wednesday, several Yankees including Jacoby Ellsbury, Brett Gardner and Mark Teixeira fretted over NYCFC potentially tearing up the field. But on Friday, senior VP of stadium operations Doug Behar said not to assume the worst just yet, and took The Post on a tour of the grounds that are night-and-day from a few days ago or more aptly, winter-and-spring.

Its a little early to judge us on the playability of the field. A day-and-a half later, were in a much different position, and come Sunday youll see a beautiful field and pitch everybody will be proud of, Behar said while strolling in an outfield that has gone from dirt to brown re-sodded grass in just three or four days. To do that, crews have worked late into the night and even slept at the Stadium.

The winter was tough, Behar said. It was colder than its been in 50 or 60 years in the month of February. We dealt with snow snow that was expected and snow that was unexpected. Weve had ice. The crew worked incredibly hard, as they always do.

Theyve worked longer than anticipated, theyve worked harder. While they always work hard, theyve had to work a lot harder this time. Straight-up, the guys have worked tirelessly; theyve slept on couches when they can. Theyve put in a tremendous effort. Were turning on the lights [to work at night]. The days have gotten a lot longer, and the works gotten a lot harder. But theyre up to the task.

Yankee Stadium senior VP of Stadium Operations Doug BeharPhoto: Matthew McDermott

They have had little choice. The Yankee Stadium crew usually maxes out at 35 workers, and they didnt hire extra ones, simply worked longer hours. They used two separate kinds of heaters to melt the ice and snow on the field and thaw the ground.

A week ago, we had a lot of work ahead of us, Behar said. We had hoses running glycol like an antifreeze about 6,000 feet [of hose]. We run it about 180 degrees to melt the ice and snow up top, and thaw the ground underneath to be able to work the sod and get it out. We had an enclosed tent on our [infield], with propane heaters running to keep it in a condition that was best for the transition. [It ran] from first base to second base.

The crew worked incredibly hard in terrible conditions. As we came out of the weekend, we were able to get the sod out, do all the important things to do to install the new stuff. The other day, we had two-thirds of the new material down, but it wasnt worked yet. Now we have all the sod down.

Behar insisted the field will be ready by NYCFCs home debut against New England on Sunday, as well as the Yankees home opener April 6. But he knows a 17-game MLS slate adds wear and tear, and the first time a ball takes a funny bounce or the outfield looks a mess, eyebrows will arch, fingers will point and questions will be asked beginning with, How long is NYCFC for the Stadium?

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Yankee Stadium turf guru: Grass will hold up for NYCFC opener