The latest phase of renovations at Dozer Park is underway with the installation of a new playing surface.
Work started Monday morning at the downtown stadium that has served as home to the Peoria Chiefs baseball team since 2022.
The nearly $1 million project will bring new sod and infield dirt to the diamond that hosts the St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliate — and several other teams and events.
“It's a pretty big financial commitment, not only for the organization here but to the Cardinals,” said Chiefs general manager Jason Mott. “We're committed to making sure that we are one of the top facilities in minor league baseball for them.
“It's good for Bradley baseball, gives them a top-notch playing facility. And then all the high school games that we do, the IHSA state championships. It's going to be exciting to see, just the newness, kind of a new vibe, new vibrancy to the ballpark, I think, when it's all said and done.”
The new field installation caps a series of upgrades mandated by Major League Baseball that were completed in recent years, including expanded protective netting, the addition of LED lighting, and upgraded clubhouse facilities.
“This is kind of that final piece to the puzzle,” said Mott, noting the team has remained compliant with MLB requirements regarding deadlines for having the improvements done.
“This just kind of solidifies that that will be under the threshold hopefully several years ahead," said Mott. "Then once we get through this phase, it allows me to truly start to think potentially more about the fan engagement side of things."
The team estimates the project will use 600 tons of new sod, 350 tons of warning track material, and 300 tons of infield dirt. Mott said the new field will have modernized technology in terms of irrigation.
“This field is 23 years old, and it's earned its stripes; it's taken a beating,” he said. “It’s always drained really well. But over time, the soil, the mixture in the soil, kind of gets ... into where it's not the high quality that it was when you put it in. So, the drainage isn't the greatest.”
The new field from Healthy Grass Technology [HGT] consists of a hybrid sod mixture known for its durability.
“I think we'll see a big, big difference when it's all said and done,” said Mott. “When we come to opening day next year, I think people will come back like, ‘Oh, boy, that does look different.’”
