Mar. 29—A handful of Lodians spent Friday morning cleaning up around the Grape Bowl to prepare for the arrival of a semi-professional rugby squad.
The Bay Breakers will play their first home game at the stadium on Friday, April 5, and Love Lodi launched a cleanup to restore the venue in partnership with Visit Lodi and the Lodi Chamber of Commerce.
Volunteers cleaned up debris left under the stadium seats and raked stray vegetation that had been blown in from the brush.
Lodi City Councilwoman Lisa Craig was one of the volunteers raking and sweeping dead weeds and dirt from the walkways and seats.
"I was really impressed when Visit Lodi and the Chamber got together and said we need this rugby team here, and we need to make sure this place is in a better state," she said. "We're going to start with small cleanup stuff because there's a list of things they wanted to have done."
The Bay Breakers are one of six teams competing in the Women's Elite Rugby league, along with the Denver Onyx, Boston Banshees, Chicago Tempest, New York Exiles and the Twin Cities Gemini.
Craig said the fact that the Breakers — which are supposed to be based in the Bay Area — chose to play in Lodi, means there is potential for the Grape Bowl to host more well-known events.
"I'm always pleased when we see the community show up," she said. "We need to give back. It's just part of who we are. This is a business opportunity for us. The hotels will benefit from having the teams and their fans here. It's a no-brainer for me."
Ryan Ranchhod, development director for American Hospitality Services, which manages the Marriott Residence Inn at Reynolds Ranch, was helping collect garbage and debris from the bleachers Friday morning.
"It's a collaboration, and shows the dedication the community has to an institution like the Grape Bowl, in all its legacy, and kind of get it back to its glory, he said. "How do we activate this Grape Bowl for further econ development? That's why were all here to pitch in. The city has stepped up to assist us as well. It takes the entire village — public and private — and that's what were doing today."
The Breakers will play a total of five games at the Grape Bowl this season, and team general manager Clare Grady said plans are underway to have goal posts installed on the field in the next two weeks.
She said the city and its civic organizations were doing their best to make the Breakers feel at home.
"This is a cool opportunity to introduce the town of Lodi to this amazing sport," she said. "And we want to do that in a way that gets them really excited about it, if we're going to stay extra years and we're able to build a really solid fan base here."
The Breakers feature four players who will be representing the United States in the upcoming Pacific Four Series tournament, as well as one who has played in the World Rugby SVNS international tournaments.
"This is the best rugby you will see outside the rugby world cup and the Olympics," Grady said. "We're a start-up, but we want to do what we can to give these players an experience that is commensurate to the level of play they're going to be offering."
Another cleanup at the Grape Bowl is scheduled for April 26, which will include weed removal, tree trimming and a clean-up of the stadium parking lot.
The Breakers take on the Gemini at 5:30 p.m. on April 5, then host the Banshees on Saturday, May 10 and the Exiles on Sunday, May 25.
The Tempest will come to town on Saturday, June 7, and the Onyx close out the season on Saturday, June 14.
"The chamber has been looking for opportunities to aid in revitalizing some of our parks and ...
