NILES – Two months ago, the home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers received a new name as Eastwood Field evolved into 7 17 Credit Union Field at Eastwood. The signage atop the stadium featuring its new name will greet fans this summer as they enter the ballpark.

Once inside the stadium, fans will notice another major change, this one to the field itself.

For the first time in franchise history, the Scrappers will play their home games on synthetic turf. The entire playing surface at 7 17 Credit Union Field is now covered turf. The project also includes a new drainage system.

The work to transform the stadium’s playing surface from natural grass to turf began in October. The original goal was to have the playing surface completed by March 11, in time for Youngstown State’s first scheduled home game of the season. 7 17 Credit Union Field also serves as the home stadium of the Penguins’ baseball team.

However, an extremely cold and snowy winter combined with a rainy spring delayed the project. Work is expected to be completely wrapped up by the end of this week. The Penguins are expected to play their first home game on the new surface April 22.

The Scrappers open their season June 2 with a three-game home series against State College.

“We’re in the final stretch, weather issues set things back a bit but the crew has been working around the clock, and now it’s just a matter of adding the finishing touches,” Scrappers general manager Heather Sahli said. “We’re extremely excited about this new upgrade to our stadium. We’re excited about the many opportunities it will provide.

“This was quite an upgrade. The up-front investment was significant, but in the long run we’ll experience a savings in day-to-day maintenance and materials. When you combine that with the ability to now maximize the usage of the stadium, it’s a win-win for organization.”

From a baseball standpoint, Sahli said that turf will result in fewer rainouts and shorter rain delays. Typically, a soaking and prolonged rainfall during the early part of the day could result in a cancellation, even if the rain subsides prior to the scheduled start of an evening game. With turf, the field will be able to sustain even torrential downpours, and still be ready for use almost as soon as rain moves out of the area. In-game rain delays will be significantly shorter with the elimination of post-rain field work.

The turf will be especially beneficial to YSU, which plays its games in the early spring when the weather is extremely unpredictable and the grass field is still recovering from winter weather. In years past, many YSU games were canceled due to poor field conditions caused by rain which fell prior to the scheduled game.

The turf will also eliminate what is perhaps the biggest headache for all minor league and summer league game-day workers – the dreaded tarp pull.

“We have seven full-time office staff members and there were many days where we spent a good part of our time watching radar and keeping tabs on the weather,” Sahli said. “There were times when we might be pulling the tarp on and off the field four or five times a day. On a 90-degree day you don’t want to put the tarp on too early, it could burn the grass. And you don’t want to be too late, or it could mean the difference between a game and a rainout.”

Sahli said that tarp pulls during a game, or just prior to the start of a game are especially challenging, given the fact that a number of game-day workers must gather at a moment’s notice. Even the most seasoned of game-day workers are often no match for Mother Nature.

“A few years ago we had a storm move in just before a game was supposed to start,” Sahli said. “It got incredibly windy and the tarp got away and ended up stuck in sections of the fence along the first base line. We had fans running down from the picnic garden trying to help. You’re trying not to let go but at some point you’re worried you’re going to fly away with the tarp. I remember just laying on top of the tarp in the infield, hoping to hold it in place.”

While there will be some daily maintenance and cleaning of the turf, the time and manpower will be cut significantly compared to years past. That’s especially true in the hour leading up to the start of a game, which is when the grounds crew rakes, waters and lines a grass surface.

“Now, all the prep work before a game is almost non-existent,” Sahli said.

In years past, the field also hosted a handful of high school games. That number will likely increase with the installation of the turf.

“A lot of high school fields aren’t capable of handling a heavy rain,” Sahli said. “There will be times when we might get a call to host a game at the very last moment. Because we now don’t have to prep the field after a rain, we’ll be ready, even on short notice.”

The turf will also enable the Scrappers’ organization to host numerous non-baseball events throughout the year. The stadium already hosts some annual events such as the Buddy Walk and Wrestling Under The Stars, along with occasional concerts and comedy shows.

Sahli said the events calendar could greatly expand in the future.

“We’re always looking for opportunities to host larger scale events, or to expand on what we already offer,” Sahli said. “A grass field greatly limited our options. Now, we’ll be looking at larger-scale events, larger concerts. We can host events during the (baseball) season and not have to worry about wear and tear. Community events, other sporting events like flag football, soccer and youth clinics are all on the table. This can take us to the next level.”

Three of the six teams in the MLB Draft League play their home games on turf.

717 Credit Union Field hosted its first event on June 25, 1999, when the Scrappers played their first home game after the franchise relocated from Erie to Niles the previous year. At the time the stadium was known as Cafaro Field. The stadium was renamed Eastwood Field in 2003, and held that name until the most recent change earlier this year.