Where technology and Nolan's Nachos play pitch and catch
austin360.com
By Robert W. Gee
American-Statesman Staff
Friday, April 21, 2000
ROUND ROCK -- It is only fitting that the new minor-league baseball park here is equipped with the latest in high-tech gadgetry. This is, after all, home of possibly the largest concentration of techies this side of Silicon Valley.
The team is called the Round Rock Express and the stadium is The Dell Diamond, named for the employer of manyof those thousands of techno-workers. And should the Dellites venture out to the ballpark, which opened this week, they won't necessarily have to leave their high-tech amenities behind.
The 24 suites overlooking the field are equipped with high-speed Internet access and DirectTV. Dell's suite will feature -- what else -- three Dell terminals and a T1 line for checking office e-mails.
The stadium's sound system is comprised of about 90 speakers encircling the field, mounted along the seats, light poles, batting cage and clubhouses.
"It essentially is a stadium surround-sound system," said J.J. Gottsch, spokesman for the Round Rock Express. In other words, the announcer will sound more like he is broadcasting in your living room than echoing through a stadium.
And the scoreboard features a $1 million, 17-by-22 foot LED video screen. LED stands for light emitting diodes, and the technology produces a clear, vibrant picture.
"We can show instant replays, crowd shots, live shots, animated cartoons, movies during rain delays," Gottsch said. "The picture on it is better than the picture on your TV."
Darrell Pruitte operates the fancy display board from across the stadium, mostly with the click of a mouse.
"I'm not a big computer whiz, but I like dilly-dallying on it," Pruitte said. The work is fast-paced, he said, because of all the camera angles -- five stationary cameras and one roving camera transmit video back to the booth -- and because of the dozens of graphics and animations to swap onto the board.
"They're more high-technology around here than where I was," said Pruitte, who operated the scoreboard for the minor-league team in Jackson, Tenn., last year.
The stadium, which opened this week, is the most technologically advanced in all of Double-A minor-league baseball, officials boasted. That is not a product of Dell's involvement -- the company put its name on the building after most of the high-tech features had already been planned. The early goal of the organization, headed by hall-of-famer Nolan Ryan, was to provide the latest major-league technology in a minor league park.
Head groundskeeper Dennis Klein, formerly assistant grounds-
keeper with the Texas Rangers, will use a weather satellite tracking system that the Rangers only started using last year. It compiles data collected from satellites in Fort Hood and San Antonio to monitor storms. Klein can track weather patterns relative to the exact location of the stadium, so he knows when to pull the tarps and when to prepare for hail. He even gauges the relative humidity, so he knows how long to spray down the dirt infield.
Most stadium personnel will carry Motorola two-way radios. Each department -- parking attendants, ushers, ticket takers, front office folks -- has its own channel.
All of this high-tech stuff will be disguised, however, by an old-fashioned stadium design with exposed steel framework and detailed ironwork. The limestone pillars out front and the corrugated and shingled metal evoke the rustic Hill Country.
And those not in search of technology will find plenty of timeless ballpark charm. There is nothing high-tech about the hotdogs, for example, and the nachos, dubbed Nolan's Nachos, are just plain corn tortilla chips smothered in melted cheese.
You may contact Robert W. Gee at bgee@statesman.com or 445-3643 |
