Triple-A Charlotte Knights tap CommScope for copper, fiber, coaxial ballpark infrastructure

The Charlotte Knights, the class AAA affiliate of Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox, are playing their 2014 season in the new, 10,200-fan capacity BB&T Ballpark in uptown Charlotte, NC. CommScope has been chosen to outfit BB&T Ballpark with its high-performance line of Uniprise end-to-end copper, fiber and coaxial connectivity systems, providing high-speed communications functions throughout the stadium.

CommScope says the telecommunications infrastructure it provides for the ballpark will eventually enable the Charlotte Knights to install other technologies common in large venues, such as a distributed antenna system (DAS), providing better coverage and capacity for wireless services. The newly installed infrastructure currently connects all of the ballpark's communications technology, including monitors, scoreboards and cash registers.

“The Charlotte Knights have a reputation for providing the best possible experience for their fans and we are proud to partner with them to maintain that reputation by providing an end-to-end solution to meet their bandwidth needs,” comments Kevin St. Cyr, senior vice president of Enterprise Solutions, CommScope. “No matter the size of the team, cost is always a concern when building a new venue. CommScope partnered with the Knights to create a cost effective plan to help them develop a state-of-the-art facility at a reasonable cost -- ultimately keeping the pressure off the fans at the ticket office.”

This year, Charlotte's BB&T Ballpark is expected to draw more than 600,000 baseball fans to watch the Knights and experience a stadium that includes many traditional features, as well as accommodating the latest in visual and high-speed computing technology, as seen in the newest sporting venues around the country.

“Baseball in Charlotte has a long history, dating back to the late 1800s, and we are excited about our next chapter in the new BB&T Ballpark,” concludes Dan Rajkowski, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Charlotte Knights. “When we started the design process for this venue in 2012, we wanted to work with a technology partner that had experience with designing and implementing communications infrastructures for large sporting venues. CommScope has experience installing solutions in the world’s largest stadiums, and provided the expertise and quality products to help us achieve our goal of incorporating the right technology.”

In the following video, the Charlotte Knights' Dan Rajkowski discusses the decisions and planning that went into outfitting the technology for BB&T Ballpark.