The Toledo Mud Hens grounds crew has finally won the battle against the snow on the infield at Fifth Third Field. You might remember earlier in the week when we showed up the dome that was inflated over the infield and pumped full of 72-degree air to melt snow that had amassed over winter.
The team announced Friday night that the infield war was over, but this isn’t the end of the dome.
Jake and his grounds crew have created a temporary ‘hot zone dome’ by using the rain tarp, putting snow around the edges and then using heaters to pump heat underneath the tarp. The heaters are pumping an estimated one million BTU’s inside the temporary dome, which is cranking up the heat to around 70-72 degrees inside. The focus, initially, is on the infield portion of the field, but the dome will be moved to other portions of the field over the next week.
Accuweather is predicting a high of 48 on Monday, which will obviously help end this war. Next week ends with temperatures in the mid-40s.
Was using a dome a little over the top? Not at all. Toledo set an all-time record for snowfall this winter with 76.5 inches.
Inside the infield dome (from @aweberphoto)