By Paul M. Banks
Whatever you call U.S. Cellular Field: Sox Park, Comiskey II, The Cell, you must admit the park has come a long way since it opened in 1991. Prior to hosting the All-Star game in 2003, the park began a series of major projects augmenting the park into a warm and friendly baseball-going experience. One prominent detail from 2003, the exploding fireworks within that yearโs All-Star game logo, is prominently featured in 2009โs facelift. The same logo catches the eye at the new entrance/atrium at Gate 5.
โItโs something that is our mark because of the fireworks from the exploding scoreboard and youโll also see the same exploding fireworks on the faรงade of gate 4,โ said Lou Hernandez, director of Public Relations. Fireworks have been a big part of the teamโs brand awareness since the Bill Veeck era- when colorful designs shot up to the sky from the โexploding scoreboardโ following wins and home runs.
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Media were allowed to view the U.S. Cellular Field improvements on Thursday, and the demonstration of the teamโs new out-of-town scoreboard was another impressive sight. It features dynamic color resolution and up-to-the-second updates on statistics and scores. โItโs all through Major League Baseballโs computer and the advantage of this one is you can see whose up, whoโs on base, what just happened and it will flip over to every game in baseball,โ said Scott Reifert, Vice President of Communications.
Down the stretch last year, you might remember how irritating and frustrating it was waiting until they posted an update of the Minnesota Twins (or other teams we needed to lose during the pennant race) score, and by the time they did it was outdated. This year, youโll have a gigantic, enhanced version of Yahoo Game-Tracker available on the wall behind right field to keep you up to speed.
The media tour also included an inside look at the trainerโs room, specifically the new hydrotherapy room at the ballpark. It was kind of like sports bar meets the Sybaris as three massive pools (therapy, cold plunge, and communal hot tub) are centered in a room with four plasma televisions. With all the new upgrades, the White Sox home continues to maintain its place as Chicagoโs most state-of-the-art baseball facility.
