Barb, it's probably based on the fact that in the Major League's, groundskeeping is a 24/7 job.. Baseball fields for the most part in this country, even at the minor league level, are in excellent shape.. Not much damage gets done to them, though playing 16-20 soccer games on it won't help things either.. I agree with Andy, the field will be in good shape at RFK for the next few seasons.. I think it's been pretty good overall at RFK, provided there isn't an big concert to F things up..
The fact that I've been on the field for around 30-40 soccer events the last couple of years. Anytime it is/has rained, the field is an utter quagmire. The worst in the league. When dry, RFK has been one of the best, but the field lacks the drainage ability of modern grass surfaces. Part of the $13M upgrade for the Expos will see the complete removal of the field and its subsurface, and the installation of the necessary piping and gravel/rock layers to allow water to quickly drain through the grass surface.
Let's be sure to get some engineers involved along with architects because any playing surface that close to water could have severe drainage problems due to a high water table (remember Candlestick Park in SF?). Crushed rock and gravel are fine, but you may have to install pumps to extract the water from the subsurface to allow additional water to drain into it.
Well, they'll do an upgrade, but remember that the hope is to tear the structure down in 2 or 3 years. They're only going to spend as much money as needed - and not a penny more.
And will that minimal amount of money they spend ensure that a field that's cuts with base lines and a pitcher's mound be an improvement over the current surface. I kind of doubt it.