4 minute read
What's on the Texas Rangers' HOME FIELD PLATE?
BY ELIZABETH HERRERA LAUER
Any professional kitchen is an intricate ecosystem of wiring and water lines, of equipment that needs to stay at specific temperatures and layouts that conform to health code requirements.
Now multiply that by an impressive array of dining options for 40,000-plus baseball fans, in 177 rooms with high-end equipment and creative décor themes, built within an ambitious construction timeframe.
This ecosystem, which will include everything from tacos to barbecue to a wine bar, presented challenges during construction. Bill Walter, electrical project manager and food service manager on the project, noted that separating the food service areas from other areas of the venue was one of the first electrical tasks.
“We try to have an individual panel that feeds specifically to a food service area,” Walter said, so if an adjacent corridor has any electrical problems, it won’t affect dining service.
He explained that different pieces of equipment require certain voltages and capacities. Layout and installation depended on where the structural steel was, Walter said, so one of the big challenges was determining what was going to connect below and what would connect above. “Once we tie in all of the health inspections, sometimes they get to redirect us anyway,” he added.
Project Engineer Josh Tobolka was closely involved with the health inspections, working with a third-party health inspector. “We’ve got walk-in coolers that store wine and beer, and those have to be down to the operating temperature,” he said. “The coolers range from 36 degrees to 40 degrees. The walk-in freezers need to get down to 1 degree.”
He added that the surfaces must be smooth and cleanable, equipment must be up and running, and the hot water needs to be operational.
Timing was also a big factor the team needed to keep in mind, because some steps couldn’t be completed before others.
CLUB CAPACITIES
Field Level Home Plate Club – 600
1st Base Lounge – 135
3rd Base Lounge – 190
Lower Level 1st Base Club – 430
Speakeasy – 140
“From a construction standpoint, we have to wait for some of the finishes, and in some of those high-end areas we have a lot more premium finishes,” Walter said, “so we have a lot more considerations and time constraints we have to deal with.”
Some of those finishes traveled from overseas to get to the job site.
“We had to order these different tiles and finishes that are going in these concessions and suites months before they needed to be installed,” Tobolka said.
As far as equipment, Walter listed the three- and four-compartment sinks and individual handwashing sinks, which are typical of most kitchens, plus unique features like heated countertops.
“On the bar top, they’ll have heating plates or cold plates built into the counter. You hardly notice them — no one is burning their hands on it — but it’s keeping the food warm,” Walter said.
Then there are the showstopping pieces of equipment, like ice cream makers, pizza ovens that resemble brick ovens, big wood-fired smokers for barbecue, and “tons of margarita machines,” Tobolka said.
“My favorite aspect of the food and beverage scope of this project is seeing the bulk coolers, keg coolers, and the various pizza ovens and smoker ovens throughout the kitchen commissary being installed,” Senior Project Engineer Collin Lane said. “I am excited to see the Rangers organization and fans getting such a topnotch [food and beverage] facility that they will be able to enjoy for decades to come.”
While part of the Manhattan team focused on the equipment, Project Manager Shane Griffin worked with everything around the equipment to get the space ready for food service, whether that was getting walls up, laying tile or installing countertops. He described how elevated every aspect of the interiors was, going beyond the standard ballpark décor of subway tile and steel.
Particularly in the premium spaces, “the kitchens and concessions, they don’t just have stainless steel countertops and epoxy flooring,” Griffin said. “They have granite countertops and tile walls, ornamental metal and custom glass.
“As you walk down to the lower concourse on one side you have the suite entrances, which have reclaimed lumber on the front of them that really stands out,” Griffin said. “Then you have tile walls on both sides, and then you have about 20 different concessions, and they’re all themed differently.”
The keg bar, for example, has half kegs on the wall with TVs; the chicken-centric restaurant has chicken wire details reminiscent of a coop; and the barbecue restaurant has a rustic theme. In keeping with the stadium’s clear views, the taco place has glass surrounding the area where tortillas are made.
– COLLIN LANE, SENIOR PROJECT ENGINEER
“Aesthetically, I think it looks incredible,” Tobolka said. For him, the light fixtures are a design highlight, with some resembling helmets or beer taps, and some using a red stitching design like a baseball.
Walter was eager to hear feedback to see if his instincts were right about which spaces would be the biggest hit with fans, and Lane was proud of the job overall, and what it would mean to Rangers fans.
“Being involved on this project means a lot to me, and I really like the great memories and moments that it brings on a daily basis,” Lane said. “Whether it is achieving the major milestones of completion, working around the largest U.S.-made conventional crawler crane in North America to erect the roof structure, or enjoying watching the fans during the sneak peeks and first events, it is very rewarding all around.”
