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	AFECO FIELD's playing surface is a state-of-the-art field. It features a specially designed drainage system and a custom blend of Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass to provide the optimal playing surface for the athelete, the retractable roof stadium and the Northwest climate. The Mariners head groundskeeper worked with Roger Bossard, head groundskeeper for the Chicago White Sox, and widely recognized as the premiere groundskeeper in sports, on the design and construction of this customized playing field system. Bossard's patented system consists of: 7,000 linear ft. of drainage pipe 2,000 tons of pea gravel 5,000 tons of sand 600 tons of infield clay 106,000 square ft. of turf Infield clay is purhaps the most important element of a baseball playing surface because it's where 70% of the action on the field takes place. Clay from 18 different suppliers in Washington and California was tested for use at SAFECO FIELD. Santana Trucking and Excavating of Redmond was selected. The buff-colored clay was mined near Issaquah, east of Seattle. The mix of 80% clay and 20% sand holds moisture and cushions the ball to prevent bad hops. The pitcher's mound and batter's box are a special blend of Mississippi River mud imported from a cornfield in Illinois. Coils of 1" plastic hoses will circulate warm water under the turf to raise the temperature above 50-degrees to coax the grass out of dormancy and compensate for shade and low levels of direct sunlight. The playing field is capable of draining 130,000 gallons of water and ready for play in 40-45 minutes. That's about 2 1/2 inches of rain in a one-hour period. The drainage system features a SubAir(TM) system, a 150-hp machine that can vacuum or force air and water through the turf. This helps maintain proper moisture levels in the grass and root system and prevents build-up of Carbon-Dioxide gasses produced by the grass plants. The turf for SAFECO FIELD is from Country Green Turf Farms near Olympia. It was harvested and installed in late May of 1999 at SAFECO FIELD to allow about six weeks of root growth before opening day. The grass is a blend of 80% Kentucky bluegrass seeds and 20% perennial ryegrass seeds. The bluegrass is a blend of Opti-Green, Blacksburg, Unique, and America seeds. The ryegrass blend is Brightstar and Quickstart. That blend provides a thick, lush, durable, resilient playing surface that grows well despite the Northwest's low levels of direct sunlight. In fact, the retractable roof can remain closed for six consecutive days without harming the grass.
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