No one is ever going to bother building an MLB stadium in Stroud. San Marcos or New Braunfels, I guess maybe I could see that, but probably not unless there's high speed rail between Austin and San Antonio someday.

Could Austin-San Antonio land an NFL stadium? Speculation resurfaces: https://sanantonio.culturemap.com/news/city-life/01-13-16-san-antonio-austin-san-marcos-nfl-stadium-team-oakland-raiders/

Doubt if you would need high speed rail for two cities 80 miles apart if a development in San Marcos lessened that drive to 40 miles. Again, either city is capable to supporting an MLB franchise.

Could Austin-San Antonio land an NFL stadium? Speculation resurfaces: https://sanantonio.culturemap.com/news/city-life/01-13-16-san-antonio-austin-san-marcos-nfl-stadium-team-oakland-raiders/

Doubt if you would need high speed rail for two cities 80 miles apart if a development in San Marcos lessened that drive to 40 miles. Again, either city is capable to supporting an MLB franchise.

I am not trying to be mean, but building an MLB stadium in Stroud could quite possibly be one of the dumbest things I have heard on this forum and I lurk in politics threads.

Could Austin-San Antonio land an NFL stadium? Speculation resurfaces: https://sanantonio.culturemap.com/news/city-life/01-13-16-san-antonio-austin-san-marcos-nfl-stadium-team-oakland-raiders/

Doubt if you would need high speed rail for two cities 80 miles apart if a development in San Marcos lessened that drive to 40 miles. Again, either city is capable to supporting an MLB franchise.

That article is 5 years old from 2016, and the Raiders already moved to Las Vegas last year.

Please brace yourself, everyone's entitled to an opinion--doesn't mean it's going to occur. Just pointing out what I thought was a better option than building a venue in either Oklahoma City or Tulsa if MLB was brought to Oklahoma.

Personally, doubt if you could get leaders of both cities to agree to share funding to lure a franchise.

IMO MLB is headed to the death pit; it has had very few significant rule changes in my life time. I grew up loving the sport during my childhood years--watching Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Sandy Kofax and Warren Spahn to name a few.

Unfortunately for me, those Golden Years of MLB have passed.

Thank you posters of #362 & 363 for posting your thoughts on this forum. Best of Luck.

Seeing a real boost in Women's Softball viewership.


The 2021 WCWS shattered the previous viewership record and easily became the most-watched world series in history. The tournament drew an average of 1.20 million viewers per game, an increase of 10% from the previous world series, and the three-game final series averaged 1.84 million viewers per game, an increase of 15% from the last world series.--SI, Meghan Rominger June 12, 2021


When OU & UT make the transfer to the SEC, we need to push for the SEC Women's softball tournament to be held in OKC.

Moving the SEC women's tournament to OKC will be a nice economic boost because the SEC schools like Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn, Texas A & M and Missouri bring large groups when they travel. If the Big 12 Conference is in tack, our city could host the SEC, Big 12 and WCWS tournaments.

The expansion of ASA Hall of Fame Stadium IMO was a good investment thru the 2017 GO Bonds approved by voters.

We have 11,500 capacity for women's softball. More than 6,000 more available seating than the SEC venue in Tuscaloosa AL.

IMO we should continue to improve the exterior and interior seating accommodations to make this a more fan friendly venue.


We estimated about $24 million for this one-week event,” Craig Cress, CEO of USA Softball said.

Thousands Of Fans Head To OKC For Women’s College World Series: https://www.newson6.com/story/60b95643f99d380bcb662a6b/thousands-of-fans-head-to-okc-for-womens-college-world-series-

Postcard From OKC: Stadium Upgrade Adds a Boost to WCWS Experience - https://www.si.com/college/alabama/bamacentral/postcard-from-okc-stadium-upgrade-adds-a-boost-to-wcws-experience

Women's College World Series, Oklahoma City

https://www.pngfind.com/pngs/m/19-194154_oklahoma-city-skyline-png-transparent-png.png


NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for the sport announced the approval of instant replay for the upcoming season.


https://static.travelweekly.com/i/sized/240/308/www.cfmedia.vfmleonardo.com/imageRepo/7/0/120/998/117/okcsi-exterior-4315-ver-clsc_O.jpg https://www.omnihotels.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1000x700_okcdtn_rendering_exterior_3-571x400.jpg

https://caasports.com/images/2021/6/3/Softball_WCWS_060321.jpeg?preset=large.storyimage

Wednesday, the NCAA’s Division I Competition Oversight Committee approved changes to the schedule. Last month, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for the sport announced the approval of instant replay for the upcoming season...

The scheduling change will be in place for next year’s WCWS in Oklahoma City.

The scheduling change, taking the tournament from a seven-day event to nine days, eliminates the doubleheader for teams that lose on the tournament’s opening day, and adds a day of rest between the end of bracket play and the best-of-three championship series.

The additional two days for the WCWS will also increase the economic impact of the event for the Oklahoma City metro area. The seven-day tournament had an estimated $24 million economic impact, according to the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau. --
Excerpts: Oklahoman, September 8, 202

This will be a big economic boost for Oklahoma City area hotels and restaurants who host the tournament teams with two days being added to the tournament. Much will depend on how many teams extend their stay for the completion of the tournament.


.

finally... instant replay... about time

As much as I enjoyed the absurdity of watching the FSU/OSU game finish up at 2:15 a.m. earlier this summer, expanding the tournament timeframe is the correct decision.

didn't know if this needed it's own thread or just mention it here for now....

Womens Professional Fastpitch league will be headquarter out of OKC with a familiar face as the leagues first Commissioner.

https://wprofastpitch.com/press

I think that's great news! I hope they can attract some good investors and be a rousing success!

Just wondering - does anyone else think the girls infield, and overall field should be enlarged just a bit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTI7S8XOJlI&t=106s
Commissioner Lauren Chamberlain's press conference; OKC will be leagues' (WPF) headquarters



Oklahoma City, OK - WPF (Women's Professional Fastpitch) is excited to announce the launch of their new professional softball league, slated to begin play in June of 2022. WPF aims to provide a long-lasting and viable option for softball players post-collegiate play, with the ultimate goal of making the professional dream a real possibility for young girls across the world.

Lauren Chamberlain, a former professional softball player and popular face in the sport, has been named Commissioner of the league.

"I am deeply humbled and incredibly excited for my role as Commissioner of WPF." Chamberlain said. "I have worked hard to build good standing with existing softball athletes, people of influence in our sport, and those outside of our sport. I am confident that I can bridge the gap between all parties and create an exceptional professional level of softball, one that our sport and its athletes deserve."

WPF founders are formed by three strong forces in softball: USA Softball, USSSA Softball and Smash It Sports. The partnership between USA Softball and USSSA is to be highlighted, as both are approaching this venture hand in hand. /this show of unity and progression will help shape the future of professional softball and the sport as a whole.

"The Opportunity to venture back into a women's professional league has been at the forefront of our mission within USSSA, and more specifically the USSSA Pride, " said Donny DeDonatis III, CEO of USSSA. "We are both ecstatic and humbled to be a major role player in WPF's development and creation."

"We are very excited about the launch of WPF," said Craig Cress, USA Softball CEO. "We are looking forward to encouraging athletes to compete both professionally and internationally and provide women more opportunities to continue their playing careers after college. With softball not being in the 2024 Paris Olympics, USA Softball recognizes the importance of keeping our athletes involved in high-level competition in order to be prepared for future Olympic appearances."

Rick Schiffhauer, the President of Smash It Sports, has been a longtime supporter of softball. Smash It Sports has found success in the slow-pitch world, and looks forward to venturing into fastpitch.

"When I founded Smash It Sports, one of our core values was to look for avenues to advance women in diamond sports," said Schiffhauer. "I want my daughters and other girls to have the same dreams and aspirations as the boys. We need to close the disparity between baseball and softball."

The inaugural season will range from June 15, 2022 through Aug. 15, 2022. This scheduling decision was heavily based on giving professional athletes more opportunities to play. WPF will work hand in hand with other platforms to ensure the athletes have every opportunity to make a living playing the sport they love.

WPF will be headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with teams playing nationwide. OKC is widely referred to as the "Softball Capital of the World," and is home to the NCAA Women's College World Series.

"Oklahoma City is unquestionably the world capital of softball, so of course it makes sense that this would be the headquarters of the WPF," said Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt. "We value being the host of this new endeavor, we're excited for what that will mean in the years ahead, and we're grateful to Commissioner Lauren Chamberlain and the WPF for choosing us. We look forward to watching the story of the league unfold."

"It is time for the show to continue past the WCWS," said Chamberlain. "Y'all are going to need more popcorn."

They are building a pedestrian walkway from the massive Remington Park lots to the softball complex.

Currently, they shut down part of NW 50th to allow people to walk over. I'm sure the goal is to be complete before the women's college world series this spring.

HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/softball031922a.jpg


HTTP://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/softball031922b.jpg

Fantastic and long, long overdue.

^^^^^^^
1000%. My company contracted at the zoo for a few years, and watching people struggle with the park/walk situation from across the street was painful, not to mention the general disruption the situation caused for everyone concerned, including the zoo itself.

This is a long-overdue solution to a real problem, and helps protect the future of WCWS and other softball events, which are a major economic driver and treasure for OKC. Money well spent.

Went to the OU Softball game today (Sunday) and that sound system is HORRIBLE. All them nice improvements and no one thought about a better sound system. The sound wasn't great for the college world series last year either. SOMEONE FIX THE SOUND SYSTEM. My home system is better than that crap I heard today.

Really does not seem like they're even going to come close to finishing the pedestrian walkway by next weekend. Pretty disappointing considering they started over two months ago.

Really does not seem like they're even going to come close to finishing the pedestrian walkway by next weekend. Pretty disappointing considering they started over two months ago.

i think it will be done by next week

Looks like they completed the new paved pathway between the Remington Park parking area and the softball stadium.

A friend just sent me a photo of it today.

Looks like they completed the new paved pathway between the Remington Park parking area and the softball stadium.

A friend just sent me a photo of it today.

completed it on tuesday ... but because of the rain didn't finish all of the sod

glad they were able to finish it ..

Picture of it from the Mayor: https://twitter.com/davidfholt/status/1532430707892572163


Welcome to all the teams and their fans! Please enjoy Year Two of our new stadium, as well as some new amenities, including a new trail to Remington Park.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FURJmtMWUAsDx5W?format=jpg&name=900x900

Yesterday's attendance from the NCAA:

Session 1: 12,282 (Session 1 record) (https://twitter.com/NCAASoftball/status/1532478687458779165?cxt=HHwWuoCz_eXPusQqAAAA)
Session 2: 12,320 (Session 2 record) (https://twitter.com/NCAASoftball/status/1532570176436195329?cxt=HHwWgsCy_ZOd5MQqAAAA)

Originally posted this in the WCWS thread, but realized it was more appropriate here:

I attended both Friday sessions, sitting in the outfield for the early games. I was noticing that the view of the scoreboard is almost entirely obstructed within those outfield stands, and they never replaced the small scoreboard that was atop the old awning extending from the press box before the big expansion. The outfield scoreboard looks to be the same one they've had out there for maybe 20 years and panels on the LED board are starting to fade, and I'm betting replacement parts aren't availble due to age. Up close, the board looks really beat up and the video display can't handle the sunight very well.

I *LOVE* HOF stadium and how we've worked hard to upgrade it, but I was wondering...Does anyone know if there might be any plans to update that board, and/or put a really basic one on the infield side that is viewable from the outfield seats? Given the amazing popularity of the sport, I'd have to think some company out there would love to grab the PR that would come with tossing a few bucks in the till for a new videoboard/scoreboard combo.....as great as the place is, I think a new scoreboard is becoming a necessity.

Originally posted this in the WCWS thread, but realized it was more appropriate here:

I attended both Friday sessions, sitting in the outfield for the early games. I was noticing that the view of the scoreboard is almost entirely obstructed within those outfield stands, and they never replaced the small scoreboard that was atop the old awning extending from the press box before the big expansion. The outfield scoreboard looks to be the same one they've had out there for maybe 20 years and panels on the LED board are starting to fade, and I'm betting replacement parts aren't availble due to age. Up close, the board looks really beat up and the video display can't handle the sunight very well.

I *LOVE* HOF stadium and how we've worked hard to upgrade it, but I was wondering...Does anyone know if there might be any plans to update that board, and/or put a really basic one on the infield side that is viewable from the outfield seats? Given the amazing popularity of the sport, I'd have to think some company out there would love to grab the PR that would come with tossing a few bucks in the till for a new videoboard/scoreboard combo.....as great as the place is, I think a new scoreboard is becoming a necessity.

Definitely needs something that is visible for all spectators to see from the fixed permanent seats and the outfield bleachers. You would think there are some national sponsors willing to shell out $4-$5 million for a new scoreboard with their advertising logo, OR > > >

Does this fall within OG&E Energy Field 'Naming Rights' agreement in 2014 to make improvements:

https://ogeenergy.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/oge-energy-corp-hold-naming-rights-asa-hall-fame-field

.

I'd sure have to think it would. Given the advancements in LED technologies even in just the last few years, a new, state-of-the-art board would seem a natural upgrade in that vein.

I'd sure have to think it would. Given the advancements in LED technologies even in just the last few years, a new, state-of-the-art board would seem a natural upgrade in that vein.

They need to fix the sound system also. Maybe it's better for the world series but when I was there for games in March it was horrible.

They need to fix the sound system also. Maybe it's better for the world series but when I was there for games in March it was horrible.

I think the sound system is new with the lighting system, but I won't swear to that. I will agree that the sound was very spotty at the Thursday games I attended. Seemed like it cut out at times, or was perhaps just not a uniform level, not sure.

I actually looked at some old videos of prior championships going back to 2000 and I am pretty sure that's the same board they've had out there to this day. If that's the case, 22 years for an LED board is long overdue for replacement. If that assessment of age is accurate, its a virtual certainty there are no spare parts for those video panels or probably the board itself. I know OU had gotten to the point with the strip boards on the front of the decks that those were old, repurposed, and spares/replacements were no longer available, and the Regents signed a deal to get those replaced.

Gotta believe someone will step up and get the board replaced

2006... same one now?
17506

Going Monday OU playing at 11 can't wait. Do have to rant a little bit about KOCO sports. You just had the first ever Ncaa women's softball tournament game ever on ABC. Oklahoma one of the best teams ever in Women's College Softball was playing and you don't have anything about it on your 5pm newscast? Your lead was weather? Really? You all know if it was football you be all over it. I'm not saying need to do major coverage but at least a mention. Maybe it will be better at 6pm.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/softball060422c.jpg

2006... same one now?
17506

It's generally the same structure but it looks like they may have replaced the numbers with led digits, and the lower message board is gone. The problem now is the LED digits are fading (as LEDs do) and the upper video portion has multiple panels that don't work correctly all the time. In fact, at one point, the whole board went dark during the OU game and I think they had to restart it. And the in-game stats and batter/pitcher info wasn't always there -just a static WCWS image. So I think they have a lot of issues with that board. Even if it was replaced after that photo it's 16 years old and for electronics that's ancient.

Thanks for sharing that with us, SoonerDave. A reminder that we need to continue to upgrade and improve facilities for this outstanding event that has spotlighted Oklahoma City throughout this period.

OU not playing any of the night games so far has hurt the crowds. Once OU played, even with OSU playing right after yesterday the crowd thinned out quite a bit.

OU not playing any of the night games so far has hurt the crowds. Once OU played, even with OSU playing right after yesterday the crowd thinned out quite a bit.

Yep pretty embarrassing for osu fans.

That picture I posted above was from the end of the OSU/Florida game last night.

That game did not go late. It was over around 8:30.

Here are the problems I see with the new format and the games in general. They are getting too long. Both games yesterday were just under 3 hours. They only sold tickets for Saturday as one session. OU played at 2pm OSU started at 6pm. Say you arrive at the ball park at 1:30. The OSU game didn't get over with until 8:30. Not sure how many fans are going to stay a full 7 hours. It's hot and not much shade either until late. I fell like if they keep this format maybe Saturday and Sunday games should be starting at 1 and the night game at 7 and sell two different sets of tickets. The same thing is happening today. I know espn sets times for the games but you almost need to pick and choose what game you want to go see. If I had tickets for today I would of went to the UCLA/Florida and probably left for the Texas game. Monday games are being sold in two different sessions. I kind of feel if your only playing 2 games a day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday they should sale tickets for each game. No one wants to spend 7 hours at any ballpark for that matter. Just my 2 cents.

All that being said Saturday attendance of 12,533 is the largest in #WCWS history!!!

Yep pretty embarrassing for osu fans.

The session was completely sold out lol.

Here are the problems I see with the new format and the games in general. They are getting too long. Both games yesterday were just under 3 hours. They only sold tickets for Saturday as one session. OU played at 2pm OSU started at 6pm. Say you arrive at the ball park at 1:30. The OSU game didn't get over with until 8:30. Not sure how many fans are going to stay a full 7 hours. It's hot and not much shade either until late. I fell like if they keep this format maybe Saturday and Sunday games should be starting at 1 and the night game at 7 and sell two different sets of tickets. The same thing is happening today. I know espn sets times for the games but you almost need to pick and choose what game you want to go see. If I had tickets for today I would of went to the UCLA/Florida and probably left for the Texas game. Monday games are being sold in two different sessions. I kind of feel if your only playing 2 games a day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday they should sale tickets for each game. No one wants to spend 7 hours at any ballpark for that matter. Just my 2 cents.

All that being said Saturday attendance of 12,533 is the largest in #WCWS history!!!

Agree 100 percent. If this is the format they keep, they need to sell game tickets after day 1 and get away from session tickets.

Thanks for sharing that with us, SoonerDave. A reminder that we need to continue to upgrade and improve facilities for this outstanding event that has spotlighted Oklahoma City throughout this period.

Well the place is fantastic and I don't want to seem nitpicky but that's to me an obvious area where a "final piece" of the upgrade puzzle might fit in. I see some of the new boards at some of the newer college facilities and think OGE could knock that kind of project, ahem, out of the park ����

Here are the problems I see with the new format and the games in general. They are getting too long. Both games yesterday were just under 3 hours. They only sold tickets for Saturday as one session. OU played at 2pm OSU started at 6pm. Say you arrive at the ball park at 1:30. The OSU game didn't get over with until 8:30. Not sure how many fans are going to stay a full 7 hours. It's hot and not much shade either until late. I fell like if they keep this format maybe Saturday and Sunday games should be starting at 1 and the night game at 7 and sell two different sets of tickets. The same thing is happening today. I know espn sets times for the games but you almost need to pick and choose what game you want to go see. If I had tickets for today I would of went to the UCLA/Florida and probably left for the Texas game. Monday games are being sold in two different sessions. I kind of feel if your only playing 2 games a day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday they should sale tickets for each game. No one wants to spend 7 hours at any ballpark for that matter. Just my 2 cents.

All that being said Saturday attendance of 12,533 is the largest in #WCWS history!!!

But you can't have it both ways! you point out that you have to pick and choose which sessions to attend, but that just gets worse if you create more tickets and make people spend more money. Resale tickets are crazy now - decent seats are way over face. I had signed up directly with the NCAA to get notices for early All-Session ticket sales, but never got anything from them. The session ticket format has been around for eons and I doubt that's changing.

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/softball060422c.jpg

that is one hell of a picture, great shot

Yesterday's session 5 attendance: 12,403 (Session 5 record)

But you can't have it both ways! you point out that you have to pick and choose which sessions to attend, but that just gets worse if you create more tickets and make people spend more money. Resale tickets are crazy now - decent seats are way over face. I had signed up directly with the NCAA to get notices for early All-Session ticket sales, but never got anything from them. The session ticket format has been around for eons and I doubt that's changing.

Yes but they could sale an all game package. They could make more money by putting each game on sale for say $20 a ticket vs $30 a session. What happens if Oklahoma/Oklahoma st don't make it. Resale tickets wouldn't be so crazy high. But I do get your point. Saturday though it would of given more of a chance for Oklahoma St to get tickets if they were sold separate even on resale market

Yep pretty embarrassing for osu fans.

It doesn't help that OSU is hosting a baseball regional in Stillwater, and the baseball and softball teams have had several games at the same time.

It doesn't help that OSU is hosting a baseball regional in Stillwater, and the baseball and softball teams have had several games at the same time.

And that OU and OSU were in the same session, of course you had tons of OU fans leave before OSU game. Boulder never misses an opportunity to take a dig at OSU though.

Went to game 1 today couldn't stay for game 2. Sound was ok i was down the right field line. Scoreboard does need updated but one major thing needs to be done and I thought it was in the plans is SHADE OMG GET SHADE FOR THE FANS. I had to leave for work after game 1 most were leaving cause it's just too darn hot. There were tons of people standing under the concourse watching the game and just hanging out down there. GET SOME SHADE.

Yea, the stands have looked empty for the if game. Is that embarrassing for OU fans or are we done with the hot takes?

Boulder never misses an opportunity to take a dig at OSU though.

this is a fact ..

Hearing many including myself that cell service was really bad out there. Has anyone else experience this. Is it that area in general or too many people on one tower.

Probably an infrastructure issue. Cell providers probably aren’t incentivized to build a massive pipeline to accommodate a huge influx of customers for only a few weeks each year. This may end up requiring some type of public/private partnership. The HOF and WCWS are too important to OKC for that user experience to be so compromised.

By the way, the same type of limitations have been common growing pains at many venues during the rise of cell phone and wireless data usage. Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Paycom Center, Bricktown - especially during Dodgers and/or Thunder/and or major concerts - all of these places had moments in time when cell phones would often become useless due to demand. In each case carriers had to come in and add additional infrastructure to meet demand.

^

OU has made a big effort to provide good WIFI access throughout the stadium on game day.

That's the best way to get around the overburdened cell phone networks.

By the way, the same type of limitations have been common growing pains at many venues during the rise of cell phone and wireless data usage. Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Paycom Center, Bricktown - especially during Dodgers and/or Thunder/and or major concerts - all of these places had moments in time when cell phones would often become useless due to demand. In each case carriers had to come in and add additional infrastructure to meet demand.

So it's more of an infrastructure problem since nearly everyone has a cellphone of some type.

Wish Hall of Fame Stadium could add several luxury suites; also used for more events like outdoor concerts etc., the Adventure District in OKC is a beautiful hill like area with Northeast Lake, Persimmon Hill (NC&WHM), Remington Park & Casino, the softball stadium complex, Zoo and Omniplex (Science Museum Oklahoma).

What is needed is a hotel like an Embassy Suites or Hyatt Place and a smaller Holiday Inn Express for patrons to stay over.

So it's more of an infrastructure problem since nearly everyone has a cellphone of some type.

Wish Hall of Fame Stadium could add several luxury suites; also used for more events like outdoor concerts etc., the Adventure District in OKC is a beautiful hill like area with Northeast Lake, Persimmon Hill (NC&WHM), Remington Park & Casino, the softball stadium complex, Zoo and Omniplex (Science Museum Oklahoma).

What is needed is a hotel like an Embassy Suites or Hyatt Place and a smaller Holiday Inn Express for patrons to stay over.

With how many attractions right there, I’ve always been shocked there hasn’t been hotels build right there. Along MLK by the theater seem prime for hotels.

Hearing many including myself that cell service was really bad out there. Has anyone else experience this. Is it that area in general or too many people on one tower.

On a sidenote, I was in Tulsa for the weekend and Verizon barely had reception anywhere I went all weekend. I was pretty surprised a major carrier didn't hardly work downtown. There were a lot of people down there for Tulsa Tough and Drillers games, but I don't think I've ever had such bad service in a city center.

Probably an infrastructure issue. Cell providers probably aren’t incentivized to build a massive pipeline to accommodate a huge influx of customers for only a few weeks each year. This may end up requiring some type of public/private partnership. The HOF and WCWS are too important to OKC for that user experience to be so compromised.

I don't know what the requirements are to make it happen, but I know that cellular providers can add temporary capacity on demand for high-use events like the WCWS... they have trailers called COWS (Cell On Wheels) which are entire self-contained cell sites on a flatbed truck or trailer that can be rapidly deployed. Seems like that is an option that should be explored to ensure adequate cellular capacity on site.

Cell service (internet access more specifically) was *very* spotty for me.

As far as shade goes, Im not sure what you can do about it. It's an outdoor facility and the most exposed in the outfield are on temporary bleachers.

I sat behind home plate for the OU-UCLA series Sat and while it was a great seat, it was a natural concrete cauldron with no access for even a breath of wind. I bet it was 15-20 degrees different even just walking up to the concourse. The direct sun beating down in the concrete stadium and metal chairs just works like a pizza oven.

Cell service (internet access more specifically) was *very* spotty for me.

As far as shade goes, Im not sure what you can do about it. It's an outdoor facility and the most exposed in the outfield are on temporary bleachers.

I sat behind home plate for the OU-UCLA series Sat and while it was a great seat, it was a natural concrete cauldron with no access for even a breath of wind. I bet it was 15-20 degrees different even just walking up to the concourse. The direct sun beating down in the concrete stadium and metal chairs just works like a pizza oven.

We could look to Qatar and the air systems they are using in their stadiums gearing up for the World Cup. Obviously a softball field is smaller than a soccer pitch, but it may help the fans!

I was at HOF stadium Friday for the first round of the Omni tournent, and noticed that brand new video strip boards have been installed in front of both upper decks. I also noticed that the outfield video board is really starting to look bad with *multiple* panels starting to render incorrectly and the LEDs fading badly in even modest sunlight. I was kinda hoping the new strip boards were possibly a harbinger of a new outfield scoreboard/videoboard. Anyone know?

I was at HOF stadium Friday for the first round of the Omni tournent, and noticed that brand new video strip boards have been installed in front of both upper decks. I also noticed that the outfield video board is really starting to look bad with *multiple* panels starting to render incorrectly and the LEDs fading badly in even modest sunlight. I was kinda hoping the new strip boards were possibly a harbinger of a new outfield scoreboard/videoboard. Anyone know?


This year's 2023 WCWS sessions will be held June 1-9, hope they get this corrected over the next 60 days prior to the tournament. This is an ESPN telecast that showcases the WCWS event and puts our city in the spotlight.

We passed Better City, Safer streets 10 year $967 million bonds in 2017 of which $27.5 million was earmarked for Hall of Fame Stadium to expand capacity from 8,300 adding 4,200 upper deck to 12,500 seats and improving the television-broadcast press box. IIRC these bonds expire in April 2028.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0274/4280/6857/files/WCWS_1200x1200.png?v=1683923557
https://publications.learfield.com/products/2023-ncaa-womens-college-world-series-program

June 1-8/9, 2023 - USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQvF6sHtloY4DzSWsVUDSPSeZ7Zx1ot6 eg7rw&usqp=CAU