EVERY RUN IS UP-CLOSE with Fiber Optics and Video Production

BY ERIN PINKERTON

When it comes to construction, the big stuff usually makes the headlines: a five-acre operable roof, a 1,000-foot-long glass curtain wall, nearly 650,000 bricks hand-laid to make 100-foottall arches and steel trusses erected with the world’s largest crawler crane. But it’s the little things that take the fan experience to the next level. It’s the whole package — the sights and sounds, and the feeling of everything coming together — that will delight Texas Rangers fans and usher in a new era of America’s favorite pastime at Globe Life Field. Wherever fans are in the ballpark, they won’t miss a second of the action on the field.

“I think it will be very exciting for them,” said David Adams, project manager at Manhattan Construction. “One thing that’s good too is they are actually a little bit closer to the field in the new ballpark than they were in the old ballpark.”

Whether fans are in the bottom row or the top row, they are sure to appreciate the large-scale LED video displays and the high-quality stereo system that keep them involved in the game, enhancing the experience from the opening pitch to the bottom of the ninth inning.

“The square footage of the video boards and ribbon displays in the new ballpark will be considerably larger than the old park,” said Dan Fjeldheim, who works in large sports venues sales for Daktronics. “There are numerous fan engagement opportunities to create a wow factor in the new stadium.”

In addition to the ribbon display boards that wrap around the seating bowl, Daktronics installed three video boards that hang in the ballpark. The smallest screen is in center field and will be the out of town scoreboard. The secondary video board, above left field, is 40 feet tall and 111 feet wide, roughly the same size as the primary board at the Rangers’ former home. The crown jewel main video display in right field of the new ballpark measures 58 feet tall and 150 feet wide, Fjeldheim noted.

“The right field board is hung from the roof truss in right field, so it’s going to feel very close to the fans, creating a very impressive experience,” he said. “There are some unique features with the displays in this project that will make it very fan-friendly and very powerful.”

Daktronics installed an IPTV (or internet protocol television) system, meaning content for the screens throughout the ballpark will be delivered through an internet connection and content can be changed more easily in real time, Fjeldheim said. In all, Globe Life Field boasts more than 1,450 screens in its concourses, suites, clubs and concession areas, and all screens will be controlled with Daktronics’ Show Control content management system, he added.

Of course, having all of those screens is only worthwhile if they show something worth seeing. The content creation magic happens in the video production room on the broadcast level of Globe Life Field, almost directly behind home plate.

“It will be something that they haven’t seen across the street in the old building. It’s the latest technology,” said Tom Sullivan, managing engineer at Diversified, a systems and media technology integration company. “We are doing high-dynamic range video, so it’s not just regular video. HDR makes the colors more vivid. It will be a noticeable upgrade from the technology they are used to in the old building.”

Diversified also installed a video system, including six broadcast cameras, seven point-ofview cameras and 12 channels of slow-motion video replay, based on the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers’ ST 2110 standards, Sullivan said.

“2110 is the new IP-based broadcast video standard. As opposed to running video over coax, it’s now run over IP multicasts,” he explained, adding that Globe Life Field is one of the first sports venues to use this technology.

Like the video displays that appear all around Globe Life Field, pieces of the ballpark’s sound systems are everywhere.

There are separate sound systems for the club spaces; the back-of-house areas, like concourses, restrooms, entry points and ramps; and the seating bowl, said Jeff Sanderson, senior systems engineer for sports and live events at Diversified.

“This system is a very unique system. It’s one of the few that I know of to be operated in true stereo in the stadium throughout the whole bowl,” Sanderson said.

“What we do in working with the sound designer is try to implement a system that is as high-fidelity as possible — to elevate the experience of the end user, even at a baseball game. It’s really getting to a point where you can’t just put in a speaker and have a guy talk and make an announcement. It’s got to do way more, and these systems do,” he continued. “They’re high-powered sound systems so they can get to the levels they need to get to and provide the coverage each person needs to be able to hear the announcements, hear the music, have fun and enjoy the game.”

To support the sound systems, there are more than 2,000 speakers, over 200 amplifiers and roughly 10 miles of audio cable in the stadium, Sanderson noted.

Whether connecting communications cables or building a billion-dollar ballpark, it’s important not to get your wires crossed. That’s why Manhattan Construction keeps the lines of communication open for everyone working on-site.

“They’ve been very accommodating and have done everything they can do to help us get our portion of the project up and running,” Sullivan echoed.

From the largest steel beam to the smallest screen or speaker, Manhattan Construction knows every piece of the project is necessary to create an elevated experience for the Texas Rangers and their fans.

“It’s crazy to think how many manhours are involved to pull something like this off, tens of thousands of hours just for our little part of the scope of the work,” Sanderson said. “It’s always humbling to me to step back and say ‘wow’ at the end. It got done. Sometimes you’re in the middle of it and wondering how, and it always gets done. It’s quite the feat.”

THE PUBLIC IS ALWAYS THE FINAL JUDGE. WE CAN THINK WE’RE DOING A REALLY GREAT JOB, BUT THE FANS ARE WHO WE’RE ULTIMATELY ALL LOOKING FOR. THEY’RE THE ONES WE’RE REALLY DESIGNING FOR.

–BRYAN TRUBEY, PRINCIPAL AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, HKS