Live From MLB All-Star 2024: League's Global Events Team Runs to the Rodeo for MLB Draft in Fort Worth Van Wagner, Solomon Group put finishing touches on massive effort By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Sunday, July 14, 2024 - 2:00 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Major League Baseball dives into the utmost of immersion for many of its tentpole events: Field of Dreams in Dyersville, IA and Rickwood Field in Birmingham, AL, to name a pair. Opting to go all-in on Texan flair for the 2024 MLB Draft, MLB Global Events is relying on two notable partners - Van Wagner, who's involved for the first time as the in-venue production arm, and Solomon Group for tech needs - to pull off an entertaining handful of days within the historic Fort Worth Stockyards.
We looked at a couple of sites, says Emilie Matson, manager, global event experience, Major League Baseball. This one was the most authentic and gave us the best opportunity to have the most fun and produce a really great show.
Breaking the Mold: League Goes Hyper Localized for Fourth Event on the Road When the league decided to move their annual Draft away from MLB Network's studios in Secaucus, NJ, their first attempt at an onsite production during MLB All-Star festivities was in Denver in 2021. For that year, the show was produced from the Bellco Theatre in the Colorado Convention Center. In 2022, the event was done outside for the first time at L.A. Live in Los Angeles. In 2023, Seattle's Lumen Field - a venue packed with NFL-standard infrastructure, a massive footprint to handle a ton of foot traffic, and other advantages - was a proper location that was adjacent to T-Mobile Park. This year, however, MLB Global Events went a different route with Cowtown Coliseum - a more intimate venue with a history that matches the town's longtime relationship with the Wild West. To make a memorable splash in a state like Texas, the building was a perfect fit. A lot of times, fans emotions are conjured by the building that they're sitting in. For Solomon Group, which has the main goal of augmenting this experience with a myriad of additives, decided to not overdo their portion of the job by letting the space speak for itself.
MLB's Emilie Matson and Van Wagner's Lindsay Anson at their perch in the venue.
Every year, the MLB Draft is crafted to the city that hosts MLB All-Star, but for this one, we asked ourselves how we could make this one look like the state of Texas, says Steven Fink, co-founder and executive producer, Solomon Group. Moving into a place like this, we developed a scenic design that would make our job so much easier.
Surprisingly for a 116-year-old venue, the infrastructure was more advanced than most would expect for a building that opened two years before Rickwood Field. As a beloved location known for cattle, bull riding, and the excitement of a good old-fashioned rodeo, Cowtown Coliseum has kept up with the times with a recent renovation. On the tech side, 17 new LED displays, including a dazzling main videoboard on the far wall, were installed. The lighting quality was greatly improved as well with the addition of a new lighting rig at the building's center. A few things were added by Engineer Rob Kodadek, including lighting on the beams on the building's roof.
I've been in a lot of buildings that host the rodeo, but when we walked into this venue and saw what they already had installed, [Cowtown Coliseum] is a couple years into a lot of renovation work, adds Fink. The new management team had a pretty impressive, built-in system for bull riding.
To ensure that the league's overarching vision meshed with the entertainment elements that Solomon Group supplied, Solomon Group's Senior Producer Victoria Sumrall has an open dialogue with the league representatives from MLB operations including VP, Global Events, Jeremiah Yolkut, and Coordinator, Global Event Operations, Hikari Shumsky.
Sharing the Space: Game Creek Video Trucks House Van Wagner, Solomon, Broadcasters Outside of Cowtown Coliseum, two of Game Creek Video's onsite mobile units - Gotham and B9 - are packed with a full house of onsite staffers. Not only is Van Wagner and Solomon Group using this space, but so is ESPN and MLB Network. MLB Network has provided these accomodations and MLB Network's Senior Remote Technical Manager Zaac Christopher is the main point of contact for Van Wagner. Operationally, Director, Technology, Jeremy Havens, and Manager, Technical Operations, Patrick Steadman, are leading Van Wagner's onsite strategy. With a hefty amount of commercial traffic in the area, local businesses are highlighting special events with fans in town. One business is Billy Bob's, which promotes itself as the World's Largest Honky Tonk that hosts numerous concerts and musical events, and is located next to Cowtown Coliseum and shares their back-of-house space with the rodeo venue. Van Wagner arrived early to set up their compound, but country singer Hunter Hayes was scheduled to play at Billy Bob's on Saturday, July 13, which presented a major hurdle that needed to be navigated.
Solomon Group's Steven Fink is also onsite to assist the league and Van Wagner.
We were working within half of [the building's footprint] since they were getting ready for the concert, says Havens. We lost some production space for our mobile units, so that was a fun one to work around.
Technologically, the in-venue show will be driven by 13 total cameras, which includes five from ESPN, five from MLB Network, and three operated by Van Wagner. Those three are a podium POV, a hard camera at a slash position, and a RF SteadiCam. In addition, MLB Network will share its live Zoom feeds of remote prospects and all 30 clubs' Draft rooms to be displayed on the videoboard.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
All the Truth in My Lies Coming to Netflix on August 28
Entertainment
04 June 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Download the imag...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Larry Tanz, VP of Content, EMEA, Delivers a Keynote Speech at ...
04/06/2026
Back to All News
Turn Your Living Room into a Stadium With the New FIFA World ...
04/06/2026
Keeping conversations real on LinkedIn Published on Jun 4, 2026 Categories: Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Communications
Share
LinkedIn
Facebook ...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
Live From MLB All-Star 2024: League's Global Events Team Runs to the Rodeo for MLB Draft in Fort Worth Van Wagner, Solomon Group put finishing touches on massive effort By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
