Visitors reportedly kill grass at Coors Field with loved ones’ ashes
Jul 8, 2026, 11:19 AM
Every year after the Fourth of July, the Coors Field grounds crew has to deal with damaged outfield grass. And every year, people assume it’s from the fireworks. It’s not. It’s from human ashes.
Former Rockies outfielder Ryan Spilborghs revealed the real culprit on a recent podcast, saying the grounds crew has told him for years that fans routinely bring the cremated remains of loved ones onto the field during the July 4 celebration — when thousands of fans are invited onto the outfield grass to watch the fireworks up close — and quietly scatter them. “Did you know that a lot of fans that come onto Coors Field during the Fourth of July, they may or may not drop their nana and dump them on Coors Field, the ashes? It happens a lot,” Spilborghs said. “The grounds crew tells me that the worst part, I hate to tell you, is that ashes destroy the grass. So, people dump ashes on the grass, it actually kills the grass, and the grounds crew has to come in and grab the ashes. It just burns it. The grounds crew has to replace it. There’s a burn mark.”
The revelation comes on the heels of this year’s fireworks show, which already made headlines when a rogue firework dropped onto a fan watching from the outfield grass. The man’s jersey was reportedly “a little singed” but he was unharmed. But according to Spilborghs, the real damage to the field every year isn’t pyrotechnic — it’s sentimental. The chemical composition of cremated remains burns grass on contact, leaving visible dead spots that the grounds crew has to dig up and re-sod.
It’s a uniquely Colorado problem. Coors Field is one of the few stadiums in the country that invites fans onto the actual playing surface for the fireworks show, which means the outfield essentially becomes an open-air memorial service for anyone who brought a Ziploc bag and a dream. The Rockies haven’t publicly addressed whether they plan to screen for unauthorized remains. For now, the grounds crew just replaces the grass and presumably does not ask questions.
