Facility & Operations | By Thomas McAfee
Setting up for a "Big League"
weekend in the Alamodome
ince its completion in 1993, the
Alamodome in San Antonio has hosted many
events. From NBA basketball to boxing,
Final Fours to football, ice shows to trade
shows, monster trucks to bull riding; its versatility has made it an easy choice for events both large and
small. So when officials from Ryan-Sanders Baseball, a
group founded in part by Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan
Ryan, approached the Alamodome about hosting professional baseball, it was an opportunity to do something that
never had been done inside the facility.
S
...decision was made to use 133,000 square feet
of custom turf from AstroTurf.
"We felt most comfortable
with AstroTurf and their
staff," said Gottsch, "and with
their being the official turf
supplier for MLB we knew we
would have their blessing."
20
SportsTurf | January 2014
One of the first questions many wondered was why
the Alamodome? "With our two teams in Central and
South Texas (Round Rock Express and Corpus Christi
Hooks), and the Ryan's Ranch near San Antonio, they
(the Ryan's) had driven past the Alamodome many times
and wondered about the possibility of baseball," explained JJ Gottsch of Ryan-Sanders Baseball. "It was
never the right time or the right opportunity never presented itself before, and then when Nolan became CEO
of the Rangers, it became a possibility. The opportunity
for the Rangers to extend their brand in San Antonio,
and the chance to do something really special and
unique, led us to the event."
Playing a baseball game in a facility not specifically
designed for baseball presented many challenges. Essentially everything had to start from scratch, from the playing field, to walls, bullpens and nets, batting cages and
screens, none of which were available in the Alamodome.
According to Gottsch, "We created a great team with
Dome staff, MLB and Ryan-Sanders Baseball to get it
done."
The first hurdle was what to do for the playing field.
Early ideas were to go with a grass field. However, when
it became apparent that it would be labor intensive with
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