OPACY Game Day experience

[glenn__davis]

Just got back from a very enjoyable end-of-school-year reward trip with my son.  Went to Cleveland to catch the Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon games.  

This was my 1st foray out of Memorial Stadium/Camden Yards.  I know that many of you have gone to games around the country.  I'm curious as to how you compare the game day experience.  Not necessarily the stadium itself, but how the game is presented within the stadium.

Honestly I thought Cleveland does a much better job than we do.  Prior to the game, the PA announcer gives a bit of a rundown on how both teams are performing, the series thus far, the pitching match-ups, etc.  It does a very nice job of setting the context for the game.  Throughout the game, the video board displays interesting facts/stats regarding the visiting players.  I honestly can't remember if OPACY does this or not but I never noticed if they did.  During replay reviews, the PA announcer tells you exactly what is being reviewed, as well as the result of the call.  I think most hardcore fans probably don't need that, but it's helpful in case you didn't see the play.

I just felt like they made the GAME itself seem more important/meaningful than the Orioles group does.  Sometimes I feel like the Orioles want OPACY to be a social club where they happen to play baseball.  And yes, it would be easy to say that they probably prefer that you not focus on the baseball right now, but it's really always been like this.

Just curious what others' thoughts are and what other stadiums do.

[MurphDogg]

Camden Yards games are the least produced of any MLB games I have attended in the last fifteen years, and I have probably been to 8 different stadiums in that time. Most of the time, that is a good thing.

I can't stand how loud the stuff is between innings at Nats Park is. It demands your attention in the way that the Orioles don't. The Orioles have the crab shuffle, the hot dog race and trivia on the screen but they are much easier to ignore if you aren't interested  because there isn't a person yelling about it. Whereas the Nats other stadiums have hosts (typically cute young women) that loudly yell things and give it more of a circus feel rather than having a break between innings. I just don't need all that, and would find it exhaustive as a season ticket holder.

I do like the things you describe, but if the tradeoff is having a host and increasing the volume between the innings, I am not interested. 

Frankly, my guess is that part of the reason the Orioles don't have that stuff is that the Camden Yards sound system is very outdated, so it wouldn't translate nearly as well, which is fine by me.

As an aside, Cleveland holds a special place for me, because that was the first place I ever saw the Orioles on the road as a kid. My Dad took me on a trip for the last series of the year when I was 7. Of course, the old Municipal Stadium did not have the amenities the current Cleveland stadium does, and the October weather by Lake Erie was quite miserable.

[Frobby]

What I hate at sports events is when the PA announcer is ridiculously over enthusiastic.   As Wizards and Caps games, they announce the home team lineups as though the players were gods descending from Mount Olympus or something, complete with lights, cannons, loud music, you name it.   It’s so over the top.  

I’ve been to a lot of Nats games and I agree their announcer and mid-inning announcements are a bit much for my taste.   I do like the thing where they have a young kid yell “play ball!” Into the microphone before the players take the field at the beginning of the game.   

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to any ballparks besides those two.   Your description of what they do in Cleveland sounds pretty cool.   

 

[rm5678]

4 hours ago, Frobby said:

What I hate at sports events is when the PA announcer is ridiculously over enthusiastic.   As Wizards and Caps games, they announce the home team lineups as though the players were gods descending from Mount Olympus or something, complete with lights, cannons, loud music, you name it.   It’s so over the top.  

I’ve been to a lot of Nats games and I agree their announcer and mid-inning announcements are a bit much for my taste.   I do like the thing where they have a young kid yell “play ball!” Into the microphone before the players take the field at the beginning of the game.   

It’s been a long time since I’ve been to any ballparks besides those two.   Your description of what they do in Cleveland sounds pretty cool.   

 

Yes, the Nats Park announcer is definitely enthusiastic, to say the least, but I do like their live organist (the Trop, Target Field, Truist Park, & others have good live organists too). Would love to hear live organ music at Camden Yards, but I'm sure that's completely unaffordable at this point,

[rm5678]

4 hours ago, glenn__davis said:

Just got back from a very enjoyable end-of-school-year reward trip with my son.  Went to Cleveland to catch the Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon games.  

This was my 1st foray out of Memorial Stadium/Camden Yards.  I know that many of you have gone to games around the country.  I'm curious as to how you compare the game day experience.  Not necessarily the stadium itself, but how the game is presented within the stadium.

Honestly I thought Cleveland does a much better job than we do.  Prior to the game, the PA announcer gives a bit of a rundown on how both teams are performing, the series thus far, the pitching match-ups, etc.  It does a very nice job of setting the context for the game.  Throughout the game, the video board displays interesting facts/stats regarding the visiting players.  I honestly can't remember if OPACY does this or not but I never noticed if they did.  During replay reviews, the PA announcer tells you exactly what is being reviewed, as well as the result of the call.  I think most hardcore fans probably don't need that, but it's helpful in case you didn't see the play.

I just felt like they made the GAME itself seem more important/meaningful than the Orioles group does.  Sometimes I feel like the Orioles want OPACY to be a social club where they happen to play baseball.  And yes, it would be easy to say that they probably prefer that you not focus on the baseball right now, but it's really always been like this.

Just curious what others' thoughts are and what other stadiums do.

I haven't been to Cleveland but from what I heard on the O's telecasts this week, their PA announcer sounds great. Informative and powerful but not corny or over-the-top. An example of him I heard the other day on TV was "Stepping up to the plate....for the Orioles....the leadoff hitter....centerfielder....#31.....Cedric Mullins" (and that was in the middle of the game, not the 1st inning). And sometimes he announced for an Indians player: "Now batting...for the Tribe...."

Here is a video I found about him:

https://www.facebook.com/BallySportsCleveland/videos/inside-the-park-indians-pa-announcer-bob-tayek/10156409226034951/

 

[fansince1988]

50 minutes ago, rm5678 said:

I haven't been to Cleveland but from what I heard on the O's telecasts this week, their PA announcer sounds great. Informative and powerful but not corny or over-the-top. An example of him I heard the other day on TV was "Stepping up to the plate....for the Orioles....the leadoff hitter....centerfielder....#31.....Cedric Mullins" (and that was in the middle of the game, not the 1st inning). And sometimes he announced for an Indians player: "Now batting...for the Tribe...."

Here is a video I found about him:

https://www.facebook.com/BallySportsCleveland/videos/inside-the-park-indians-pa-announcer-bob-tayek/10156409226034951/

 

Great video, thanks for sharing. Everything a PA announcer should be, and more.

[eddie83]

23 hours ago, MurphDogg said:

Camden Yards games are the least produced of any MLB games I have attended in the last fifteen years, and I have probably been to 8 different stadiums in that time. Most of the time, that is a good thing.

I can't stand how loud the stuff is between innings at Nats Park is. It demands your attention in the way that the Orioles don't. The Orioles have the crab shuffle, the hot dog race and trivia on the screen but they are much easier to ignore if you aren't interested  because there isn't a person yelling about it. Whereas the Nats other stadiums have hosts (typically cute young women) that loudly yell things and give it more of a circus feel rather than having a break between innings. I just don't need all that, and would find it exhaustive as a season ticket holder.

I do like the things you describe, but if the tradeoff is having a host and increasing the volume between the innings, I am not interested. 

Frankly, my guess is that part of the reason the Orioles don't have that stuff is that the Camden Yards sound system is very outdated, so it wouldn't translate nearly as well, which is fine by me.

As an aside, Cleveland holds a special place for me, because that was the first place I ever saw the Orioles on the road as a kid. My Dad took me on a trip for the last series of the year when I was 7. Of course, the old Municipal Stadium did not have the amenities the current Cleveland stadium does, and the October weather by Lake Erie was quite miserable.

Wanted to echo this sentiment. Was at the game last night. The speaker system is terrible. Very hard to hear in some spots. Not like this is the first time I noticed it but it seemed even worse on some levels. 

[fansince1988]

14 minutes ago, eddie83 said:

Wanted to echo this sentiment. Was at the game last night. The speaker system is terrible. Very hard to hear in some spots. Not like this is the first time I noticed it but it seemed even worse on some levels. 

Agreed, and if you are sitting under one of the speakers you can't even have a conversation with the person next to you. The scoreboard in CF is also dated by todays standards, and needs to be upgraded. 

[sevastras]

I haven’t been to a Cleveland game, but I think the Orioles do a good job of letting baseball be the focus and not all of the circus stuff that other people are talking about with the Nationals. A lot of minor league games I go to do those sort of things and it annoys me to no end. It reminds me of when I went to the World Series in 2010 in SF(they do similar to the Orioles). The couple we sat next to happen to be in SF for the week from Texas for business and thought it would be neat to go to the game(our tickets were $600 each so who knows what that date night cost them). Spent much of the time on their phones and left in the 7th inning.  I think the circus stuff is for those fans and not us who I would consider hardcore fans. I don’t think the typical/normal fan spends time on message boards. I would say my wife is a pretty big fan of the Giants and a baseball purist and she hasn’t even considered going to a Giants message board. 

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

2 hours ago, eddie83 said:

Wanted to echo this sentiment. Was at the game last night. The speaker system is terrible. Very hard to hear in some spots. Not like this is the first time I noticed it but it seemed even worse on some levels. 

Looks like the last major upgrade of the speaker system was in 2009. The speaker system at OPACY has never impressed much throughout the years.

EAW Delivers Nearly 300 Loudspeakers For Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Quote

May 26, 2009 

Oriole Park at Camden Yards has housed the Baltimore Orioles since its unveiling in 1992 and continues to be a favorite among baseball enthusiasts. 

The park recently benefited from the installation of a new distributed sound reinforcement system, featuring nearly 300 loudspeakers from EAW, which was completed in time for the Orioles’ April 6 season opener against the New York Yankees.

 

Quote

 

SIA selected a wide range of EAW products for the project. EAW AX364-WP (weather protected variation) loudspeakers were used for the upper and lower deck front-fire coverage, while EAW MK2394-WP full range loudspeakers handle upper deck down- and rear-fill,  as well as lower deck rear-fill and outfield front-fire. In addition, EAW JFX100i compact loudspeakers perform club level front-fire and lower deck down-fill coverage. 

An EAW UX8800 digital signal processor was employed for loudspeaker processing, with the system also incorporating BSS for system control, 110 Crown power amplifiers and a 48-channel Yamaha digital mixing console. A digital audio network is utilized for signal distribution throughout the stadium, minimizing signal loss and improving reliability and control. Remote monitoring and control of every amplifier channel is also provided.

 

 

[eddie83]

31 minutes ago, OsFanSinceThe80s said:

Looks like the last major upgrade of the speaker system was in 2009. The speaker system at OPACY has never impressed much throughout the years.

EAW Delivers Nearly 300 Loudspeakers For Oriole Park at Camden Yards

 

 

It needs to be taken care of. I’m not there for the bells and whistles but it’s pretty bad.