Stadium News

This new stadium will have a feature I really, really like and one that is kinda creepy.

First the part I really, really like.

A trip to the concession stand doesn't mean you will miss, say, a home run. If you head to the plaza area, you still will be able to see what is taking place on the field.

The Marlins' new home, set to open in 2012, will feature several state-of-the-art jumbotrons as well as hundreds of television monitors.

Back when the Astros played in the Astrodome, there were television monitors at every concession stand and they were positioned in such a way that the workers could watch the game.  Meaning that while you were ordering the screens were to your back but visible while you waited to pay.  The concessionaires were the best source of information in the concourse.  When you heard a roar from the crowd you could holler into one of the stands and ask what happened, they knew.  Normally the response was: "Get in here, they are showing the replay."  I'm not telling this very well but there was a lot camaraderie between the workers and the fans cramming into the concession stands to catch the replay.  

When Minute Maid was built, they did away with the concourse monitors which was a very sad thing.  Not to mention not only couldn't you keep up with the game when away from your seat, the food got worse.  The combination of the two did shorten the lines but I can't believe that was the ultimate goal.

Now for the creepy part.

"There are going to be no turnstiles at our ballpark. Not one," Samson said. "It will be like a SunPass lane. People will come in and their tickets will be scanned. We'll know who is in the ballpark, where they're sitting and what they've bought. We're not trying to be George Orwell. We're just trying to bring value to their experience."

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"When fans come to the ballpark, we want to understand what they want to buy, what they want to eat, and we can direct them. If we know a fan, for example, that six out of 10 times they're at a game, they're buying a hot dog, we want to make sure they're getting information on where the nearest hot dog is and when is the best time to go when the lines are the shortest."

Do we all get chips implanted under our skin too?

I know online retailers do something very similar but still, there is something about this that strikes an eerie chord with me.  When I go to a baseball game I want to relax and have fun and the last thing I want is to be constantly monitored.  I get enough of that in my day-to-day life.  Of course, if the only way of tracking me is via the ticket stub, that sucker will be trashed early on.