Hustling to clear PPL Park of snow for Union opener

The sun was shining on PPL Park on Friday morning as Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone" blasted through the speakers.

But even the famous song could not drown out the chorus of scraping shovels and beeping trucks that echoed through the stadium.

Workers in parkas, hats, and gloves moved through each row, using orange shovels to scrape snow and ice from seats and stairways. A dump truck carried snow across the field and out of the stadium before returning for another load.

The snowstorm that hit the Philadelphia region Thursday arrived just two days before the Union's Major League Soccer home opener against the Colorado Rapids.

The 18,500-seat stadium on the Chester waterfront was on track to be ready Saturday afternoon as the team begins its sixth MLS season. But those preparations took 90 additional day laborers, 100 tons of rock salt, and equipment borrowed from the Eagles.

The work also had a price tag of about $100,000, said Nick Sakiewicz, the team's CEO and operating partner.

Preparations for snow removal began early this week, even as the season hung in the balance while MLS negotiated a contract agreement with the players' union. And the work was expected to continue through Saturday morning, just hours before the fans begin filling the parking lots and empty seats.

"There's a lot of snow to remove," Sakiewicz said Friday morning from a conference room inside the stadium, where Domino's pizza boxes were still stacked from Thursday night's dinner.

On the wall next to the table, a whiteboard listed the areas that needed attention. Mike Scanlon, general manager of PPL Park, described it as a "threefold strategy." His first priority was the field, followed by the seats and the outside of the stadium.

The driveways, sidewalks and parking lots outside were still covered with snow and ice on Friday morning. Snow was piled on the sidelines. And patches of black ice filled the concrete concession areas.

But the tarp protecting the field was already clear.

Scanlon and his crews had not waited for the end of the storm. Instead, they tried to keep pace with it.

Plows and tractors with special snow pushers - on loan from Lincoln Financial Field - cleared the field several times Thursday.

Workers plowed snow, loaded it into dump trucks, and then went inside to warm up with coffee and doughnuts.

Then they did it again. And again.

But as the snow fell, another disaster nearly hit PPL Park: The complex lost power.

It was restored in less than 30 minutes, said Ashley Dabb, vice president for marketing and communications. But while the stadium sat in the dark, plans were underway to bring in refrigerated trucks for food that had already arrived for match day.

Work continued until at least 10 p.m. on Thursday, hours after the snow had stopped and the sun had set.

"I tried not to look at the clock," said director of stadium operations Ryan Hemenway, who was not sure exactly what time he went home Thursday night.

A large part of managing the work was keeping the workers warm, Scanlon said. Someone went out to purchase gloves for the day laborers. They also provided coffee and several meals.

Crews were back at work by 7 a.m. Friday. And even though the snow was over, the hardest part was still ahead; Sakiewicz said work would continue overnight.

The snowstorm came in addition to an already busy day of preparations: hoisting a new bar sponsored by Dogfish Head onto a deck overlooking the field; removing the tarp from the field; and opening the concession stands.

On Friday morning, workers walked alongside patches of ice and snow removal equipment to unload food and line up containers of ketchup and mustard.

The Union players, meanwhile, were not on site. They practiced Friday at the Eagles' NovaCare Complex.

Sakiewicz said he was lucky that help and equipment from the Eagles was just a phone call away. But, he added, he might look into purchasing some of the special plows and snow chutes.

"If we buy it," he joked, "we won't have any more snowstorms."

90

additional day laborers hired to remove snow and ice from PPL Park.

100

tons of rock salt used to melt the snow and ice.

$100K

price tag to remove the snow and ice. EndText