Dr. Pepper Ballpark upgrade. Talk about bells and whistles
Dallasnews.com comes with a story about Dr. Pepper Ballpark. The home of the Frisco RoughRiders (AA Texas League affiliate of the Texas Rangers) will undergo a major upgrade that will add a new attraction in the outfield: The lazy river.
Before the start of the 2015 season, the stadium was upgraded for about $5 million already. This paid off with record breaking attendance. The improvements included a new video board, upgraded LED signs, a new sound system, a new space for the team store, and a new Bull Moose Saloon in the space previously used for the store.
The Lazy river will be fase two of the upgrades in which the pool in right field will be replaced by a much larger pool like attraction in which fans can float along the outfield wall.
Part of the Lazy River project will be waterfalls that can be used as projection screens.
Another part of the upgrades will be protectional netting between the infield and the seats.
It needs to be said that the upcoming upgrades are still in a conceptual stage.
The Frisco RoughRiders and the city of Frisco will pay their share for the upgrades.
On Thursday the Frisco Community Development Corporation board voted to proceed with agreements related to the latest improvements. It was a unanimous yes.
Ben Brezina, assistant to the Frisco city manager, told the board that last year’s improvements stayed within a $6 million budget. Thursday’s approvals would put the remaining $1.038 million toward phase 2 costs. The costs for the expanded netting as well as architectural and design services on the pool would be covered first. If there is some money left after that, it would go toward the actual pool improvements. If the amount for the improvements exceeds the $1.038 million, it will be privately funded.
These improvements look pretty awesome. But you have to know that Dr. Pepper Park was one of the best looking minor league ballparks already.
Even though these new upgrades are very good looking, I still wonder why all these bells and whistles are needed in a ballpark? Modern ballparks are merely like miniature amusement parks. What’s wrong with watching a ball game?
