This publish is a part of a collection sponsored by Outdated Republic Surety.
A serious league ballpark generally is a feast for the senses, from colourful fan gear to a tasty barbecue sandwich. There’s all the time loads of motion down on the sector, however guests wish to be entertained within the stands as properly.
That’s why stadiums are using state-of-the-art video expertise to boost their followers’ game-day expertise. A working example is PNC Park, the house of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In 2022, PNC Park determined to improve its video manufacturing tools with high-definition cameras, switchers and wiring. The stadium had lately spent $5.6 million to double the scale of its scoreboard, and it wished to reap the benefits of the brand new show’s superior capabilities.
Texolve Digital Inc. was chosen for the $4.3 million mission, however it wanted a bond. The catch was this area of interest firm didn’t match the normal mildew for contract surety. Nonetheless, Outdated Republic Surety discovered a means for Texolve Digital to hit a house run and rating a win for PNC Park.
From sticks and bricks to high-tech
Most contract surety bonds are written for “sticks and bricks” — buildings, roads and bridges — and contractors present construction-oriented accounting data to qualify for a bond.
However what occurs when a contractor isn’t a building firm? Such was the case with Texolve Digital, a nine-person agency that designs and builds video manufacturing programs. Bonding wasn’t one thing that Texolve Digital had expertise with.
As Outdated Republic Surety Bond Supervisor Kerry Enders explains, “With a traditional surety contractor, you’re three or 4 years of construction-oriented monetary statements, work-in-progress stories and job schedules to see if the income have held up.”
However the PNC Park mission was completely different. “The usual job costing that’s accomplished on a percentage-of-completion foundation doesn’t lend itself to this sort of mission,” he says. “We had to have a look at it otherwise. We needed to focus extra on their experience, how lengthy they’ve been in enterprise, their references and their job efficiency.”
In response to Enders, “Texolve Digital’s financials have been very robust, however we wished to raised perceive their work and the way properly they carried out on earlier tasks. What helped is that we came upon their purchasers completely liked them.”
Offering a greater fan expertise
It didn’t damage that Texolve Digital already had a presence at PNC Park. The corporate has supplied technical assist for each dwelling recreation because the stadium opened in 2001. One in every of just a few video programs integrators in Pennsylvania, it excels in a specialised subject that Texolve Digital President Mike Gianutsos says consists of not more than about two dozen firms within the U.S. able to doing this sort of work.
“Stadiums want our experience to improve their manufacturing tools and supply a greater fan expertise,” he says. “Tools is getting extra refined and costly, too. Greater dynamic ranges, sooner body charges, 4K decision — lots has modified.”
Texolve Digital takes a soups-to-nuts method to its tasks. “We design programs tailor-made to our purchasers’ necessities and purchase the {hardware} to fulfill their schedule and funds. We often construct the programs at our personal facility, then mobilize on-site to do the set up.”
For the Pirates mission, that meant constructing and testing programs off-site throughout the 2022 season. When the season was over, Texolve Digital gutted the management room and put in new tools and wiring. The mission was accomplished in March 2023.
Making a dream workforce with Outdated Republic Surety
Gianutsos describes his expertise with Outdated Republic Surety as “stellar.” He additionally provides kudos to surety agent Wealthy Taylor of ACS Surety Bonds in Pittsburgh for putting the bond.
“When a surety firm is prepared to say they’ll stand behind you, it means lots should you’re an unknown,” Gianutsos says. “We demonstrated what we’re able to and confirmed them different work we’ve accomplished. And based mostly on that, they have been excellent in offering a product we wanted.”
When it got here time for Texolve Digital to bid on an identical mission on the Penguins’ PPG Paints Area, there was little doubt who they’d name on for a bond, he provides. “We stated we wished to do the very same factor once more with Outdated Republic Surety.”
“Outdated Republic Surety is simply glorious to work with,” says Taylor. “Not each surety can be prepared to work with a Texolve Digital, however Outdated Republic Surety stepped up and confirmed us they’ll do extra than simply building. As an agent, it’s good to know that I’ve a surety I can depend on like that. It’s spectacular.”
PNC Park Venture at a Look
- $4.3 million in bonds
- Video manufacturing system substitute
- Proprietor: Pittsburgh Pirates
- Contractor: Texolve Digital Inc., Oakmont, Pennsylvania
- Agent: Wealthy Taylor, ACS Surety Bonds, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Outdated Republic Surety consultant: Kerry Enders, bond supervisor, Harrisburg, Pennsyslvania
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