FUN TECH UPGRADES AT PNC FIELD

Fun Tech Upgrades at PNC Field Ready for Opening Night

Virtual reality batting cage, analytics-driven speed pitch and interactive photo booth add to the fun in 2018

MOOSIC, PA (March 29, 2018) – The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, are excited to announce a wave of technological advancements making their way to PNC Field for the 2018 season. The three exciting new interactive attractions for fans at the ballpark are a virtual reality batting cage, an advanced analytics speed pitch area and a photo station to allow fans to post special RailRiders-brand pictures and hashtags on their social media accounts.

“We are always looking to innovate and be on the cutting edge by trying things that other teams aren’t necessarily doing yet,” said RailRiders Team President/ General Manager, Josh Olerud. “These additions to the PNC Field experience continue the commitment to our fans. We want to make sure they have a fun time every single time they come out to a RailRiders game.” 

The virtual reality batting cage will be available for fans starting Opening Night. “Play the Pros” is a revolutionary fan engagement platform comprised of multiple gamified VR sports products, each serving as the foundation upon which venues and consumers come together with brand sponsors in a fun and immersive fashion.

The game, inside a netted batting cage, allows fans to wear a VR headset and hit from a batter’s box against a virtual pitcher programmed for varying degrees of difficulty and can replicate major league pitch speed and motion. Players can use a regular wooden bat, or there are smaller and lighter bats available for younger users. Each bat has a small black device mounted on the knob that measures location, swing speed and other data. 

Players create an avatar of themselves before their at-bat, which includes warm-up pitches before 10 pitches that are scored. Points on each fan account accumulate each time they play. Created by Monsterful VR, a Manhattan-based tech firm, the virtual reality system debuted in select ballparks across the country late last summer including at the home of the Detroit Tigers, Comerica Park. It will be located adjacent to the Hot Corner Bar on the third base side of PNC Field.

The new-and-improved speed pitch will feature Strike “The World’s First Smart Baseball”. Instead of walking away wondering if the radar gun was accurately recording their velocity, fans will step up to the brand new speed pitch station at PNC Field this season and come away with so much more information than how hard they threw. Each of the Strike baseballs has a tiny computer inside while still maintaining the same weight and balance of a standard baseball. The speed pitch will show fans not only the velocity, but also the location, rotational axis, spin and 3D trajectory of each pitch. An attendant at the speed pitch will have a device with the app to provide detailed feedback for fans on every throw.

The third technological upgrade at PNC Field for the 2018 season is the addition of Social Flash. Fans love sharing pictures and updates of their nights out at the ballpark with family and friends, and the Social Flash RANGE kiosk is going to enhance that experience even more. All it takes is just a few moments to take the photo, customize it with official RailRiders hashtags and logos and then send it to your e-mail address or cell phone where it will be ready to share with the world.

When the RailRiders recently announced additional details of “The Sandlot” Night presented by Dickson City Hyundai, the Social Flash kiosk was envisioned as adding an extra layer of fun for fans. With Sandlot-themed borders and hashtag stamps you can only find at the ballpark, fans will be able to post pictures straight to their social media accounts at one of the most fun-filled nights of the year at PNC Field.

Opening Day is just around the corner on Friday, April 6, against the Syracuse Chiefs at 7:05 p.m. To purchase tickets for Opening Day or for more information about these technology advancements, please contact the front office at (570) 969-2255.