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The infield at L-DS has been an artificial surface since 1978. Although I believe the game should be played on a surface that is edible to barnyard animals other than goats, the brutal conditions brought by the Kansas summers and the 60-80 games played on that field in the first two weeks of August as a part of the National Baseball Congress World Series make the artificial stuff somewhat bearable. In fact, by the time the pro team returns home after the NBC has had its way with the grass outfield, the natural turf is all but eliminated within a 50-foot radius of the traditional outfield positions, so one sometimes wonders why they don't install the artificial grass throughout the playing area.

The existing infield turf is between 10 and 12 years old, and is probably the 3rd generation of infield turf since the surface was first put down in 1978, with the stadium renovation that culminated with the change in name from Lawrence Stadium to Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. This last generation of turf has been around too long, and it indeed is the old Astro-turf "variety" of artificial grass, due for replacement THIS year, along with enlargement of the dugouts (which had roofs designed for sub-66 inch players of the 30's and 40's) and replacement or renovation of the outfield clubhouses.

However, the new Wichita Thunder/Wichita Pro Sports regime asked the city to postpone ALL of this year's scheduled renovations until the Wingnuts could get a year under their belts and prioritize a needs list for the old ballpark. Depending on the available funding, my guess is that the turf will get replaced with FieldTurf, the clubhouses will be expanded to add outfield concession services, and concourse fan areas will be remodeled in the next off-season. I would be surprised if the dugout renovations make the cut next year.

What will be interesting for us all to follow, if this initial fan interest in the Wingnuts does continue to yield high attendance numbers, is an initial media and local talk radio groundswell for the city to raze old L-DS and build a new ballpark on the same site. There is significant community attachment and sentiment for the old ballyard, but, sooner or later, there is bound to be recognition that with the new downtown arena opening in 2009 and the other new Arkansas River corridor improvements downtown, that the ballpark site needs to be brought up to date with the rest of downtown and the long-term survival of pro baseball in Wichita will ultimately hinge on the a new home at a perfectly suited existing site.