Improvements At HODGETOWN Being Made Ahead Of 2025 Season

It's really hard to envision baseball in Amarillo right now, especially as we keep waking up to dustings of snow on the ground and subfreezing temperatures.

Believe it or not though, we're only a few months away from seeing our boys of summer take the field.

It's no secret I love the spring and summer months, and it's because my life revolves around baseball. I'm either on the field or batting cages with my boys and their teams coaching them, laying on my couch watching my favorite team play their late games, or enjoying the heat and a cold beer watching it at HODGETOWN.

Things are going to look a little different at HODGETOWN this season though, as they are currently set to finish some upgrades that need to be made to the stadium ahead of the 2025 season.

Major League Baseball has compliance standards for Minor League teams and their facilities, and that means the Sod Poodles have to make those necessary changes. Last season, a lot of the changes that needed to be made weren't seen by us as they were behind the scenes.

This season is a whole other story.

Starting in February, HODGETOWN will begin working on the things they need to improve ahead of the season, and they'll be very visible to us.

One of the changes that will be made is new lighting in the stadium. It doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with the lighting we have there now, however, according to Anna Spinks, the marketing director for the Sod Poodles, "time happens, Amarillo wind". Yeah, we know all about it.

The next change that will take place is replacing the infield. Ok, maybe not REPLACE, but renovate the entire infield. That means the grass, the dirt, the pitching mound. It's all going to get a full makeover.

Both of these changes are more important for the players than they are for the fans obviously, but they will be visible to us and make the experience even better for us along with the players.