St. Paul Saints cancel Friday home opener due to snow
Saints crew work to cleanup snow (FOX 9)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The St. Paul Saints' home opener scheduled for Friday has been cancelled after Minnesota got a delayed blast of winter weather this week.
The team says crews have worked hard to clear snow that fell this week and will spend the next 48 hours working to prep the field for Saturday's game, which will serve as the new home opener.
The Saints are set to play the Columbus Clippers for this weekend's series. Saturday and Sunday's games are set to go on as scheduled, with the opening pitch slated for 2:07 p.m. on both days.
Fans who purchased online tickets for Friday's game will receive a voucher for equal-value tickets that can be used for any other regular season game. If you bought them in person, you'll need to exchange the tickets in person at the box office.
A blue hoodie giveaway planned for Friday will be moved to the team's April 12 game.
When FOX 9 stopped by Thursday morning, the field was covered in snow and in need of a little TLC. Snow plows patrolled the CHS Field grass instead of outfielders. When they’d normally be painting foul lines and placing bases, the grounds crew shoveled the warning track and steamed the stadium aisles.
"These guys had already started plowing on Monday and moved everything to the warning track, and they were starting to take the mounds of snow off the warning track. And then we got hit again," said Sean Aronson, director of broadcasting and media relations for the Saints.
"You know, a week, week and a half ago, we could've opened up the season," Aronson said. "We'd have been happy to do so."
The team had sold almost 4000 tickets for Friday's game, and they’re hoping cool weather won’t keep people away this weekend.
Metro weather hangover: potholes increase
The mild winter also let us mostly dodge pothole season. St. Paul had the time and hot asphalt to patch alleys last week.
This week’s storms and fluctuating temperatures paved the way for a few new potholes on I-94, and in St. Paul and Minneapolis.
"We're definitely keeping an eye on the streets," said Joe Paumen, the Minneapolis transportation director. "We're just, you know, there isn't frost in the road right now, and we're just not seeing those potholes pop like we were before."