Dell Diamond Named Back-to-Back Baseball Field of the Year
Texas Turfgrass Association Honors Home of the Round Rock Express for Second Straight Season
ROUND ROCK, Texas – For the second year in a row, the Round Rock Express are proud to announce that Dell Diamond has been named the Baseball Field of the Year by the Texas Turfgrass Association. Under the guidance of Head Groundskeeper Nick Rozdilski, the playing surface at Dell Diamond hosted a variety of unique events ranging from international rugby and soccer to the Camp Gladiator Games Finals, all in addition to over 90 baseball games in the calendar year.
“Nick and the entire crew at RS3 Turf continue to go above and beyond and we could not be prouder of the work they have all put in this season,” Express General Manager Tim Jackson said. “Dell Diamond has become a premier destination for sports and entertainment events of all kind, largely thanks to the elite-level playing surface that RS3 Turf provides and maintains year after year.”
Each year, the Texas Turfgrass Association honors outstanding sports fields across the state. Their mission is to recognize those who go above and beyond to make sure their complex is one of the best in Texas.
Dell Diamond began 2019 as the new home of Austin Elite Rugby, hosting six of the club’s Major League Rugby matches against a variety of international foes. The field conversion to accommodate rugby season included removal of the pitching mound and replacement of the infield dirt with grass as well as the installation of goal posts. In addition to Austin Elite Rugby, Dell Diamond was selected as one of just two venues in the United States to host the Americas Rugby Championship, marking the third time in the last four years that USA Rugby and the ARC have hosted a match at Dell Diamond.
After the final rugby match on March 16, Rozdilski and his crew transformed the playing surface back to baseball just in time for a March 31 meeting between the Round Rock Express and Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks as part of Houston Astros Futures Weekend, an event that welcomed the Express back into the Astros family as their Triple-A affiliate. From there, the Express hosted 70 home games, in addition to the makeup of a rained-out road game in New Orleans, as well as three additional contests in the Pacific Coast League playoffs.
In the midst of Round Rock’s regular season, Dell Diamond played host to the 2019 Texas UIL State Baseball Tournament for the 20th consecutive season, an event that included 15 high school playoff games in the span of four days. The venue also welcomed in three high school all-star games following the state tournament.
Not long after the State Baseball Tournament, RS3 Turf was at it again, converting the baseball diamond into a soccer pitch for a July 7 international friendly between Liga MX foes Toluca and Santos. The conversion again included removing the pitching mound and installing sod over the infield dirt. Following the game, the field was reverted back to baseball for the return of the Express on July 11.
After the conclusion of the Pacific Coast League playoffs, Dell Diamond hosted the Camp Gladiator Games Finals for the second year in a row, an undertaking that required the removal of the pitching mound and infield dirt for the third time this season. An event that utilized every square foot of the field’s playing surface, the CG Games Finals saw over 1,000 athletes participate in the group’s biggest event of the year.
In addition to Dell Diamond, RS3 Turf provides the daily groundskeeping services for Memorial Stadium, home of the Boise Hawks, Class A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies, as well as Hodgetown Ballpark, home of the Amarillo Sod Poodles, Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres and Baseball America’s 2019Organization of the Year. RS3 Turf is also providing consulting services for the Rocket City Trash Pandas, Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, and their new ballpark in Madison, Alabama.
With over 25 years of combined experience in the sports turf industry, RS3 Turf offers a full line of professional agronomic services including construction, renovations, and consulting for any athletic surface. Over the last decade, RS3 Turf has been sought out by professional, collegiate, high school and youth sports organizations for expertise in the realm of athletic surface management and construction.
RS3 Turf recently teamed up with Texas-based Act Global to unveil a new line of baseball-specific synthetic turf known as NR34 Turf, forwarding the future of baseball turf technology and player safety. The organization has also partnered with Whittlesey Landscape Supplies to provide a custom line of Nolan Ryan-branded sports field materials. The NR34 brand includes products ranging from calcined clay conditioner, mound clays, infield mixes, drying agent, chalk and warning track material.
With additional clients across the National Football League, Major League Baseball, Minor League Baseball, Little League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the National Collegiate Athletic Association, RS3 Turf has provided a variety of services for organizations of all sizes.
For more information on the Express, visit RRExpress.com or call (512) 255-2255. Keep up with the Express on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and join the conversation during our historic 20th season using #20STROng.
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