Running a retractable-roof stadium isn’t as simple as pushing a “close” button when rain clouds roll in, veteran stadium manager Scott Jenkins says.
The Atlanta Falcons hired Jenkins in February to be the general manager of their new facility opening in 2017. It’s his third job operating a retractable-roof stadium after stints at Safeco Field and Miller Park.
The Falcons’ stadium will have artificial turf, but his two previous stops had grass fields. The big challenge was to keep the roof open to grow grass before making a decision on closing it to keep fans and players dry and comfortable during the game.
Stadiums with grass fields move their roofs multiple times a day to capture sunlight, protect the field from inclement weather and cool the seating bowl before the first pitch.
In Houston, one of the most sweltering spots in sports, Minute Maid Park’s roof has “probably moved 4,000 times over 14 years, which is a lot of use,” said structural engineer and senior principal Lee Slade of Walter P Moore, who lives and works in the city.
“I think the frequency of moves surprises most people, and the designers certainly fall into that category,” Jenkins said. As a stadium operator, “you learn that you have to be a weatherman and you have to be at the ready, and it’s going to move back and forth quite often.”
For Jenkins, multiple concerns have played into the open-or-closed decision. Some were obvious — keeping the groundskeeper happy, for instance — and some not so much: avoiding a 10 percent labor penalty for cleaning crews to mop up peanut shells sticking to the seating bowl should it start to rain after a game when the roof was open.
“Because you have a roof, you’re spoiled with the ability of closing it and protecting yourself [against] the rain,” he said. “So there’s higher expectations to how you manage moisture on the field. So you’ll shut the roof.”
First thing the morning after a game, though, the groundskeeper wants the roof open to grow grass. Depending on the weather forecast and the possibility of rain (or maybe snow in Milwaukee), the roof could open and close multiple times leading up to the first pitch, Jenkins said.
“Now if it should rain during the game, you shut it right away,” he said. “Once you shut it, you’re not going to open it. You can see within a 24-hour period, you can go from open to close several times … with the goal of providing the best possible experience for the fans and the players.”
At Miller Park, Jenkins had to deal with the humidity of Wisconsin summers and April’s often bone-chilling cold, which meant closing the roof for games to manage the park’s temperature. It wasn’t as big a concern in Seattle, where the roof does not cover the sides of the stadium.
“You do sometimes think about the roof if it’s going to be a really cold night,” he said. “It does stay a little warmer if you shut the roof. There is a comfort factor that comes into play in Seattle when you don’t condition the air.”
Mariners groundskeeper Bob Christofferson is the team’s point man for what goes on with the weather, the grass and the roof position. The Mariners’ former president, Chuck Armstrong, made the ultimate call on whether the roof would open or close until he retired after last season.
“Bob and I would sweat it out every now and then when we would see the radar and couldn’t get hold of Chuck to say we should close the roof now,” Jenkins said. “You end up cutting it awfully close. You almost want it to rain as the roof is closing. It validates your decision.”
Conversely, Jenkins has gone through some can’t-win situations when it appeared a storm was bearing down on the ballpark on an otherwise sunny day. The roof would close only to have the threatening weather take a “right-hand turn” and miss the stadium, he said.
“Then people look at you and say, ‘Why did you close the roof?’ It certainly adds some challenges at times, but it’s a great tool to have.”
