Work Underway At ONEOK Field In Downtown Tulsa

On a typical game day, ONEOK Field shines like a green diamond in the middle of downtown Tulsa.

Now the pristine green grass and white lines are replaced with dirt and machinery, as work is underway to completely replace the playing surface for the first time since 2009.

"It's going to look great. It's going to put us back to where we were in 2010," Tulsa Drillers General Manager Mike Melega said.

Fourteen years of games, events and concerts had led to a patchwork field, with several strains of bermuda and sod.

"In centerfield, there was a big rectangle from where we were going to host an event for the centennial of the race massacre. And we had to replace a ton of sod. And when we had the Jack White concert, there was a roadway from the stage, up around second base that got obliterated and we had to re-sod over there," Melega said.

Crews from JonesPlan began their work almost two weeks ago, scraping nearly four inches of material off the playing surface.

They will then start filling in the new infield, which will now be completely level, as well as putting in a new home plate area, a new pitchers mound, and new bullpens.

It will be a full renovation for what the players use every day.

"The infield materials that the players are going to be on, the mound material the pitchers are going to be on, is going to be more like what they see in Spring Training at the complex in Glendale with the Dodgers," Melega explained.

Crews hope to have the sod down by Thanksgiving, and then lay field blankets down to help the grass grow.

"So if you're in one of these high rises overlooking the field, you're going to be like, 'what are they doing, they're tarping the field.' They're not tarping the field, they're using these blankets and those things will keep the ground temperature warm," Melega said.

Not only will the new field look better, it will also meet MLB's facility standards and help secure baseball's future in downtown Tulsa.

"This will allow us to get back to our base and put us in a great position for the next 7-10 years," Melega said.

As work continues under the watchful eye of Jackie Robinson beyond the left field wall, ONEOK Field will soon look like the crown jewel of the Texas League once again.

"Now it's going to have a nice, clean consistent color, at least when we're going to start. Then we're going to screw it all up with some concerts and other events and we'll be back have this conversation again in 7-10 years probably," said Melega.