Olympic Stadium Baseball Overlay

Major League Baseball staged its first-ever series in Europe at London’s Olympic Stadium in June 2019, featuring the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The challenge involved transforming a multi-purpose Olympic venue—designed primarily for athletics and football—into a fully functional baseball stadium. This required installing a specialist field of play, dugouts, bullpens, spectator seating, and baseball-specific infrastructure, all to exacting MLB standards. The entire overlay had to be delivered, installed, tested, and handed over within just 21 days.

G&T provided Construction Management and Cost Management services, leading procurement, logistics, programme planning, risk management, and stakeholder coordination. We developed a meticulously phased schedule, breaking down works hour-by-hour from stadium handover through to final MLB commissioning, just five days before the opening pitch. We managed the importation of turf, substrates and technical equipment, and oversaw the installation of all key elements—including batting cages, foul poles, dugouts, protective netting and the batter’s eye—while maintaining full compliance with MLB specifications and local operational requirements.

Thanks to G&T’s precise and responsive management, the baseball overlay was delivered on time and to specification. MLB officially accepted the completed field precisely five days ahead of the opening game on 29th June 2019, enabling essential testing and approval by teams and officials. The sold-out series was a major success, marking London Stadium as a world-class, flexible venue capable of hosting global sports events. G&T’s contribution ensured that MLB’s debut in Europe was executed with professionalism, speed and accuracy—setting the benchmark for future transformations of iconic venues.