World Fence News

(This article is a first-person re- port by Bryant Dinwiddie of Aabot Fence on the company's sometimes challenging, but ultimately success- ful, fence installation at the new At- lanta Braves spring training facility and multi-use stadium, CoolToday Park, in Florida.) • • • The Atlanta Braves ended the 2019 spring training season with a 4-2 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays in the inaugural game at CoolToday Park, their new spring training facility in North Port, Florida. The $140 million facility, built on 70 acres along Florida's Gulf Coast, houses a stadium with a total capac- ity of over 8,000, two other major league fields, four minor league fields, multi-use fields, batting cages, pitch- er's warm ups, and a sports medicine academy, which is still currently un- der construction. Aabot Fence of Orlando handled the extensive multi-field and perime- ter fencing, which included seven au- tomated gate systems. Local contractor Tandem Con- struction, in partnership with Michi- gan-based contractor Barton Malow, were in charge of construction. Construction began with an Oc- tober 16, 2017 groundbreaking while fence work commenced in May of 2018. Aabot's team was anchored by Marty Smith, the field superintendent, with his core team of Elvan Norman, Bobby Crites, John Legg, and Kyle Stootman, as well as rotating ancil- lary support from Bryant Dinwiddie, OT Sippio, Edgar Sanchez, Jose Rec- cio, Jose Rodriguez, Marcos Mancia and others. Marty Smith coordinated field operations with a management team including Gary Musselwhite, Valerie Hamil, and Jay Palmer, patriarch of the Palmer family which owns Aabot Fence. Fence work began with the south- ernmost minor league fields in clover- leaf formation. Outfield and sideline fence was eight foot tall 8 gauge black vinyl chain link with windscreen and yellow fence cap following a curve carefully coordinated with surveyors. The height jumped to 12' tall in front of the pitcher's warm up cages along each sideline and continued un- til the bullpen, where post diameter increased from 3" to 6-5/8". The fence at this point began a tapered rise from 12' tall to the final 3-sided backstop height of 30'. The major league fields differed from these in having a curved backstop, while the outfield was made of a series of slightly angled fence runs as well as a longer tapered rise, while heights remained consistent. Additionally, each field had 4 each 8-5/8" posts spanning a 60' long section of center field at heights of 30' tall for minor league fields and 36' tall at major league fields. These posts, strung with steel ca- bling to support a large shadecloth, formed what was referred to as the "Batter's Eye." For the large posts, a crane was employed to lift these into position. The team then used a tripod system to stabilize them until a concrete truck could arrive to pour. Coordination with other trades was essential to success with these as work areas could often become crowded as site work and utility work often shared Aabot Fence "Braves" adversity to help make CoolToday Park a reality continued on page 9 Photos at left: 1) A view from the right field stands of the new Major League ballfield, around which the Atlanta Braves spring training facility is cen- tered. 2) Utility burial shared close proximity to fence lines, and had to be carefully identified. 3) Marty Smith, ground machinery operator (not pic- tured), uses an aerial block and tackle system to lift fence fabric to the scis- sor lift team of Bobby Crites and Elvan Norman. 4) The installation crew was anchored by, back row, left to right, Kelly Benjamin, John Smith, OT Sip- pio, Elvan Norman, Jose Rodriguez, and John Legg. Front row, left to right, Bryant Dinwiddie and Marty Smith. Top photo courtesy Visit Sarasota County Other photos courtesy Aabot Fence 1 2 3 4 News From The World Of Fencing And Gate Automation World FENCE NEWS August 2019

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