Concert Damages Comerica Park

A Metallica concert July 12 and heavy rain left the outfield of Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers, in disrepair.

Mark Blinch / The Canadian Press via AP – Metallica
Opera House Concert Venue, Toronto, ON, Canada

The baseball team returned to the park July 14 to find a swath of muddy, browned-out grass stretching from left-centerfield to right-centerfield, according to MLive Detroit. The team blamed the forklifts used to deconstruct Metallica’s stage and 3.5 inches of rainfall for the torn-up outfield.

The grounds crew didn’t have enough time to order new sod before the team’s July 14-16 series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

“The sod they normally get comes from Wisconsin or something, and they couldn’t get it here quick enough,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told MLive.

The grounds crew re-sodded the outfield with a different type of grass from the rest of the field, giving the affected area a different color and texture.

“It looks worse than it is,” Ausmus said.

Despite the outfield’s discolored appearance and soft texture, Ausmus and Tiger GM Al Avila decided the field was in good enough condition for the three-game series against the Blue Jays.

The entire field will be re-sodded by July 24, when the Tigers return from a seven-game road trip.