Live From MLB at Rickwood Field: League Renovation Highlights the Historic Venue’s Heyday

League production partner Van Wagner taps local staffers for game-day show

Over the past two seasons, Major League Baseball built and played on a Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA. Tonight, the league plays on a real-life field of dreams: Birmingham, AL’s Rickwood Field, where numerous baseball greats once graced the diamond. The league, aided by production partner Van Wagner, turns back the clock in a newly renovated ballpark to present what it was like to watch a game during its peak in popularity.

MLB’s Robert Field leads the league’s Global Events’ efforts at Rickwood Field.

“We tried to keep all the elements that Rickwood Field has for our fans to enjoy,” says Robert Field, senior manager, global events, Major League Baseball. “We didn’t want to change the history of this stadium.”

Two Years in the Making: Regular-Season Game Honors the Negro Leagues

A project of this size and scope required immense preparation and planning. Building on the momentum of the second MLB at Field of Dreams, in August 2022, and to fill a void in the calendar when extensive construction at the Dyersville site prevented a tentpole event from being played the last year, MLB leaned into the idea of hosting a regular-season game that paid homage to the Negro Leagues. As part of an effort Initiated by Gerald Watkins, chairman/executive director, Friends of Rickwood Field, the nonprofit organization that manages and preserves the historic venue, MLB VP, Events and Game Presentation, Brian O’Gara, Field, and their team traveled to Alabama in October 2022 to check out the site. Because the oldest ballpark in the U.S. is still intact despite nearing its 114th anniversary, the league teamed up with the city to give it a refresh and bring it up to the league’s current standards.

Van Wagner has employed local staffers to operate this manual scoreboard in left centerfield.

“[Birmingham’s] job was to renovate the playing field [with the assistance of BrightView], and we would handle the rest,” says Field. “To keep its authenticity, we wanted to keep a lot of its original infrastructure, like seating, roofing, and lighting.”

Even so, the project included a handful of add-ons to update the venue’s overall look and follow player-safety guidelines. Musco Lighting, which handled the lighting for MLB at Field of Dreams, was recruited to install towers behind the manual scoreboard, the stands behind the third baseline, and other locations. Since pace-of-play rules weren’t around in the 20th century, pitch clocks needed to be installed near the third-base dugout, along with an elevated position behind the home-plate section of seating. Behind the right-field wall, an LED videoboard with a 16:9 aspect ratio was erected to display the live statistics and video content that today’s baseball fan is accustomed to seeing.

MORE FROM MLB AT RICKWOOD FIELD:

• FOX Sports Celebrates Black Baseball With Special Broadcast in Birmingham
• FOX Sports’ Francisco Contreras and Tom Lynch Dive Into the Operations Plan
• FOX Sports’ Negro Leagues Tribute Game Aims To Take Sound Way Back
• MLB Network Eulogizes Willie Mays in Real Time During Tuesday’s MiLB Broadcast
• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum Connects Rich History to Tribute in Birmingham

Aesthetically, and one of the most collaborative components from an event-presentation perspective, the league and its sponsors had to come up with a plan for implementing engaging ads. The original fence, a wood-turned-concrete structure that had a centerfield distance of an insane 478 ft., was covered with messages and billboards featuring several bygone companies. During the renovation, a new fence was installed with a considerably shorter distance, and the wall is now adorned with creative ads evoking an older era of baseball. Also, intricate details make the padded wall look like wood, including scuff marks, chips, and hammered-in nails.

Van Wagner’s Bob Becker heads the team working the MLB’s Negro Leagues tribute in-venue production.

From a production perspective, a stadium built in 1910 doesn’t have the necessary connectivity or the space to accommodate modern-day technologies. Typically producing high-profile events in state-of-the-art control rooms in sports behemoths like SoFi Stadium, Van Wagner had to adapt its plan to a much smaller, antiquated environment. With space at a premium, the bulk of the staff is stationed inside Game Creek Video Apollo mobile unit. The crew is led by Van Wagner President, Productions, Bob Becker; Lead Producer Shannon Landers; and Director, Technology, Jeremey Havens.

“Whether it’s laying down fiber or sharing resources, we had to work closely with FOX Sports and MLB Network from the beginning,” says Becker. “With the help of Game Creek Video, we brought in our normal allotment of Ross Video equipment because, no matter the location, we still need those pieces to be successful. Normally, we use 13 XPression [graphics] systems for a single board, but, at Rickwood Field, we have our normal two-channel XPression system: one driving GIP [game in progress] and the other driving all our insert graphics.”

Major League Baseball and its sponsors created wood-like billboards on the outfield wall.

Logistically, to handle this production at a time when the company is also executing shows for the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City; Men’s College World Series in Omaha, NE; and more, a majority of Van Wagner’s onsite team comprises local staffers from Down in Front Productions. The Birmingham-based live-events company has experience with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the UFL’s Birmingham Stallions, and other sports entities, but, at Rickwood Field, some team members will be responsible for operating the manual scoreboard in left centerfield during the game.

Remembering the Say Hey Kid: Death of Willie Mays Adds Emotional Emphasis

On Tuesday night, the sports world lost a true icon with the death of Willie Mays, a 24-time All-Star and arguably the best all-around player ever to play the game. It’s difficult for fans not to think of Mays at Rickwood Field this week. A native of Birmingham and a former player for the Birmingham Black Barons, which called the venue home from 1920 to 1960, he was certainly going to be at the center of tonight’s hat tip to the Negro Leagues. Two days after his death at 93, the league’s tribute isn’t deviating much from the original plan but is adding a huge layer of emotion and appreciation for his life.

“I think we’ll do a little more than we were planning on doing,” says Field, “but [his death] will only enhance the tribute. Our line of thinking is how we can recognize and uplift his legacy.”

An LED videoboard was installed at Rickwood Field for the in-venue show.

Tuesday night, crowds were present at the ballpark for MiLB at Rickwood Field: a minor-league contest between the Birmingham Barons and the Montgomery Biscuits. In the fifth inning, Becker and his staff pivoted their run of show to deliver the sad news to the fans in the stands.

Says Becker, “Major League Baseball wrote a beautiful PA announcement. We made an In Memoriam graphic on the fly. Our DJ played “Say Hey.” We showed all of the B-roll that MLB Network used on the broadcast, and the standing ovation that followed created a very touching moment. Baseball’s a great game because there are no quick whistles and you’re able to pick back up with normal activations afterward.”

Production Trio: League, Van Wagner, FOX Sports Provide Atmosphere, Ambience

In addition to entertaining the fans who walk through the turnstiles, the league and Van Wagner are working with FOX Sports to provide atmosphere and ambience for those watching at home. To make this possible, MLB needed to come up with a different solution for the network’s four main camera positions — high home, third base, first base, and centerfield — since the venue doesn’t have the camera wells typical of all 30 MLB stadiums.

Modern elements like the pitch clock were added during the renovation of historic Rickwood Field.

“A lot of the cameras are actually on the roof,” says Field. “We spoke with our engineers to make sure it was structurally sound and stable. When we figured that out, it was safe for the camera operators to go up there, and it has worked out well.”

On the in-venue side, satisfying FOX Sports’ camera needs also satisfied Van Wagner’s needs: the videoboard show will be based on of the broadcaster’s four hard cameras and two RF handhelds. Having handled similar events in the past, including the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Major League Baseball and Van Wagner are familiar with how each other works, and the latter was completely on board with the former’s idea for the game-day experience.

“When we told them about this concept,” says Field, “they embraced it as much as possible. With Brian’s direction and Bob’s expertise, we’ve been able to come up with some cool concepts.”

Without a proper control room at Rickwood Field, the show caller will be positioned here behind home plate.

A brainstorming process birthed a cohesive brand and theme that will look similar both to fans in the stands and viewers to watching television. Diving headfirst into nostalgia, the videoboard will leverage graphics with a black-and-white template, and the stadium will be filled with jazz and other music appropriate to pre-WWII baseball. The designated DJ, Ray Castoldi, is accustomed to throwback music genres as longtime organist for New York Knicks and New York Rangers games at Madison Square Garden.

Something Special: Recognizing the Past, Inspiring the Future

Through the consistent work of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, the recent inclusion of Negro Leagues statistics into the MLB record books, and the gradual acceptance of black players’ impact on the game, MLB at Rickwood Field has the opportunity not only to leave an indelible mark on the city of Birmingham but to create long-lasting ripple effects within sports and society. When fans look back at this in-person experience, this special game is shaping up to be a watershed moment.

Game Creek Video Apollo mobile unit houses Van Wagner’s onsite team for the MLB’s Negro Leagues tribute game.

“[Thursday night] is the culmination of a celebration that began with the 100th anniversary in 2020,” says Field. “We’re hoping that this game will propel things forward so that people can continue the legacy of the Negro Leagues.”

For the league’s partners, it’s thrilling enough to be included in this ambitious endeavor. “When you watch some of the videos being produced by FOX Sports or what MLB has in store for fans in the stadium, you get choked up thinking about it,” says Van Wagner’s Becker. “It has been an absolute honor to be a part of something this special.”