Feature

London Stadium transforms to baseball venue

London Stadium is importing artificial turf, fence padding and hundreds of tonnes of dirt ahead of this month’s Major League Baseball (MLB) international series.

Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will play two games at the former Olympic Stadium – now home to West Ham United – on June 29-30.

London Stadium’s playing surface has been covered with more than 140,000 square feet of artificial turf ahead of the games. It will be the first time the two storied teams have played each other on artificial turf in the 2,200-game history of the fixture, as they prepare to compete on synthetic material imported from France.

18-metre tall foul poles and over 400 metres of fencing have all been installed, while the build of a batter’s eye, backstop, batting cages, dugouts, and temporary clubhouses are on-going.

Materials such as clay for the pitcher’s mound and home plate area, and 345 tonnes of dirt for the infield diamond have been shipped from the US, while the fence padding for the field’s perimeter has been brought in from Toronto and shipped out of Montreal, Canada.

A spokesperson for London Stadium said: “Having been granted access to the stadium on June 6, Major League Baseball (MLB) is expected to complete the impressive make over by June 27, adhering to strict minimum standards.

“Following the historic series, it is expected to take five days for London Stadium to return to its more familiar state.”

As well as hosting the Olympic Games and Premier League matches, the London Stadium has also staged international and domestic rugby union and league fixtures and pop concerts.

Images: James Robinson (provided by CSM)

Posted in Feature