Washington Nationals Training Facility
MLB Spring Training Elevated Through Innovative Video Coaching System Integration
The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida comes alive every spring with locals and out-of-towners flocking to a $145 million, two-team facility that amplifies a fan-centric Spring Training experience. The 160-acre complex features a 7,700 capacity stadium as its centerpiece, along with six practice fields per team. Diversified was awarded a contract to design, integrate, commission and test a new, innovative video coaching system integration based on the Behavior Analysis and Training Software (BATS) platform, which analyzes pitch and swing via video recording.
The challenge was to coordinate the installation while two professional baseball teams, the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros, were preparing for the upcoming season. To add to the complexity, the IP cameras were required to support two independent video coaching systems while ensuring absolute transparency of security concerns. Having completed a similar project at Nationals Park in Washington, DC just a few years prior, Diversified welcomed the challenge.
Diversified worked closely with multiple stakeholders in coordinating the successful installation of IP, pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras on all practice fields throughout the highly active facility. Accurate setup of the camera system required working closely with the two teams and the requirements of their respective video coaching system integrations. The cameras fed back to the video core and video control room and then into the BATS platform.
Diversified successfully addressed the teams’ security concerns and implemented the project on time and on budget. Outside of Spring Training, the multi-purpose facility will also host amateur-level tournaments in baseball and other sports, as well as corporate functions and cultural events for the community, such as concerts and food festivals.
