Dell Diamond upgrades

Dell Diamond upgrades

By Rob Heidrick Friday, 01 May 2009

Owners of the Round Rock Express marked the team’s 10th season at the Dell Diamond by unveiling a slate of improvements to the stadium, including a new 4,000 sq. ft. luxury club that overlooks home plate.

The Intel Club, installed on the stadium’s second level in place of the former 300 Win Club, includes an indoor viewing area, kitchen facilities and 92 additional outdoor seats. It will accommodate 200 to 300 people, substantially larger than the original club’s 40-person capacity.

Other stadium upgrades include a new elevator system, an expanded third-floor press box area and sun shading over both sides of the field. Round Rock-based Chasco Constructors worked on the project from December 2008 to April for a total budget of about $3.5 million.

Rising attendance rates and fan interest prompted a need for the new accommodations, Express President Jay Miller said.

The team drew the second highest attendance in Triple-A baseball in the 2008 season, with more than 600,000 people visiting the Diamond from April to September. Miller said he expects the number to rise in 2009.

The stadium has undergone several upgrades over the last decade as interest in the team has grown steadily. With the addition of the left field Home Run Porch in 2004, a right field entrance in 2007 and several new suites over the years, improvement projects have become standard off-season procedure at Dell Diamond.

“Every year, we try to come up with something new for the ballpark,” Miller said. “We want to keep it fresh.”

While the club itself is new, many of its components are not: Approximately 70 percent of the project’s materials were salvaged and reused from the original 300 Win Club and press area, including doors, windows, steel beams and plumbing fixtures from the second floor.

Luxury clubs are relatively common features at major league stadiums such as the Texas Rangers’ Ballpark in Arlington, and they are becoming increasingly popular among minor league organizations. Miller said the Intel Club was inspired by a similar club at the home stadium of the Corpus Christi Hooks, a Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

Dell Diamond, 3400 East Palm Valley Blvd., Round Rock, 255-2255, www.roundrockexpress.com

Express logo for 10-year anniversary season

Triple-A affiliate contract

The Round Rock Express came to the community in 1999 and Dell Diamond has held up to 12,000 fans per game during the past 10 years. Hall of Fame retired major league pitcher Nolan Ryan owns the team. He is also the president of the Texas Rangers major league baseball team.

The Round Rock Express Triple-A baseball team has a player development contract, or a PDC, with the Houston Astros. The four-year contract is through 2010, and at that time the owners will consider whether to change affiliate teams.

Even if the Express signs a contract with a major league team other than the Astros, Round Rock Express President Jay Miller said the local Triple-A team would remain the Round Rock Express.

Did you know?

15 of the 25 players on the 2005 Houston Astros World Series major league baseball team previously played for the Round Rock Express.