Las Vegas Aviators’ unsung grounds crew keeps Las Vegas Ballpark game-ready — and it’s a lot more than mowing

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Before the Las Vegas Aviators take the field, the field itself has to be ready. That’s the daily mandate for head groundskeeper Tanner Dickherber (third season) and assistant Mario Castañon, who start with string lines and end with tampers — and track more than 20,000 steps on busy days.

“People just come and see a beautiful field. But there’s hours and hours and hours put behind that,” Dickherber said. Below, a behind-the-scenes, task-by-task look at how Las Vegas Ballpark gets to game shape — and why each detail matters.

VIDEO: Taylor Rocha shadows Aviators' grounds crew on their meticulous prep for the field

Centering and painting the logo

The day starts behind home plate with alignment and paint.

“We’ll run a string line from the mound through home plate to make sure it’s centered with the mound,” Dickherber said. “We have a stencil that we outline it with… and then we just run the string line just to make sure all the lines are straight.” Painter’s rules are simple.

“Just stay in the lines and don’t splatter it everywhere,” he said. Afterwards, the crew pulls string, washes the rollers and lets the paint cure.

Moisture management: watering infield skin

In the desert, how the ball plays starts with water.

“If you don’t water it, it’ll get extremely dry, and the ball will play super fast… It’s unsafe for the guys,” Dickherber said. He opens the hose “cone” to a wide fan — not a jet — and aims for even color.

“You kind of just want it to be this brown color all the way through,” he said. “Right now… about four hours till practice time, we kind of get a little bit heavier on the water… and then as we get to the practice we’ll kind of back down.”

Dragging: smoothing the surfaces

Crews drag both the warning track and the infield to erase footprints and undulations.

“That just kind of helps fill in any holes or whatever from footprints, and smooths it all out, makes it look nice,” Dickherber said. On game days, the infield drag is the between-innings routine fans see most.

Lines and edges: paint and precision

Castanon is the “paint guy,” laying down crisp grass and chalk lines after wetting dusty areas so paint adheres.

“We usually task him with painting the grass lines. He’s very good at this,” Dickherber said, watching Castanon glide the line machine. Edges matter for safety and hops.

“We’ll run a string line… make sure it’s straight and tight… then we’ll backfill everything, make sure it’s [a] smooth transition and no trip head,” Dickherber said.

Mowing patterns and playability

Yes, the checkerboard is for show — and for how the ball rolls.

“So just right now, we’re gonna do like home to center field… and then we’re also going from foul pole to foul pole. And that gives it kind of like a checkerboard look,” Dickherber said. The crew cuts daily.

“It does play a big part of how the ball rolls… we just try and come up with something creative, and then something that’s gonna look good on TV and look good to the fans,” he said.

Bases and anchors: quick but exact

Modern base sizes changed the hardware. Las Vegas keeps three anchors at first to accommodate levels.

“Minor League and Major League went to the big bases… the front one is the big base,” Dickherber said. “Just pull the plug out, pop her right in, step her down… shouldn’t go anywhere.”

The mound and plate: clay, compaction, repeat

The mound is built in layers: wet, score, add clay, tamp, level — then repeat until perfect.

“That helps pack in the clay. It’s all [to] come in as one, so it just holds up better,” Dickherber said.“It’s harder to maintain the moisture here in the desert… If you overwater, it gets soupy… just kind of get the right moisture.” Postgame, mound and plate repairs take about 45 minutes to an hour, depending on damage.

Weather and the tarp: rare rain, real chaos

Vegas doesn’t get many storms, but when they hit, the tarp becomes the boss.

“It’s very impactful… when we do [get rain], it tends to come down very hard,” Dickherber said. “If we know something’s coming… We’ll get help from around the ballpark.” He’s seen his share of bloopers.

“One time the wind picked up the tarp and a guy went flying… kind of like a parachute,” he said.

Who does what — and how many

Game prep is a two-core team with part-time reinforcements.

“Basically, [Mario] does home [plate] and the infield, and I’ll do mound and mow,” Dickherber said. “We usually bring in like five or six part-timers for each game… eight around that.” The daily to-do evolves with what they see.

“Like during the homestand… if we see [something], we’ll write it down,” he said. “It’s super detail-oriented… the little things make the big things.”

Why it matters

The crew’s standard is player safety first.

“We maintain the edges pretty good here,” Dickherber said. “Hopefully we never have any bad hops.” And the reward?

“Seeing… where we started… to see where it is now, it’s like night and day,” he said. “It’s really rewarding.” Assistant Castanon seconds that.

“We can just hear people talking, ‘Oh, like that looks so good,’” he said. “It’s nice to hear that kind of stuff… you don’t always get recognition.” For anyone eyeing the job, Dickherber’s advice is straightforward:

“Work hard and prove yourself… Be teachable, coachable. Just don’t think you’re too good for the job.”