This publish is a part of a sequence sponsored by Outdated Republic Surety.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 at all times loads of motion down on the sector, however guests prefer to be entertained within the stands as properly.
That’s why stadiums are using state-of-the-art video know-how to reinforce 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 gear with high-definition cameras, switchers and wiring. The stadium had not too long ago spent $5.6 million to double the dimensions of its scoreboard, and it wished to make the most of the brand new show’s superior capabilities.
Texolve Digital Inc. was chosen for the $4.3 million undertaking, however it wanted a bond. The catch was this area of interest firm didn’t match the standard mildew for contract surety. However, Outdated Republic Surety discovered a method for Texolve Digital to hit a house run and rating a win for PNC Park.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 info 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 methods. Bonding wasn’t one thing that Texolve Digital had expertise with.
As Outdated Republic Surety Bond Supervisor Kerry Enders explains, “With a standard surety contractor, you’re three or 4 years of construction-oriented monetary statements, work-in-progress reviews and job schedules to see if the earnings have held up.”
However the PNC Park undertaking was totally different. “The usual job costing that’s carried out on a percentage-of-completion foundation doesn’t lend itself to this sort of undertaking,” he says. “We had to take a look at it differently. We needed to focus extra on their experience, how lengthy they’ve been in enterprise, their references and their job efficiency.”
In accordance with Enders, “Texolve Digital’s financials had been very robust, however we wished to higher perceive their work and the way properly they carried out on earlier initiatives. What helped is that we came upon their shoppers completely cherished them.”
Offering a greater fan expertise
It didn’t harm that Texolve Digital already had a presence at PNC Park. The corporate has supplied technical help for each house sport because the stadium opened in 2001. One in all only some video methods integrators in Pennsylvania, it excels in a specialised discipline that Texolve Digital President Mike Gianutsos says consists of not more than about two dozen corporations within the U.S. able to doing this sort of work.
“Stadiums want our experience to improve their manufacturing gear and supply a greater fan expertise,” he says. “Gear is getting extra refined and costly, too. Greater dynamic ranges, sooner body charges, 4K decision — rather a lot has modified.”
Texolve Digital takes a soups-to-nuts method to its initiatives. “We design methods tailor-made to our shoppers’ necessities and purchase the {hardware} to satisfy their schedule and price range. We often construct the methods at our personal facility, then mobilize on-site to do the set up.”
For the Pirates undertaking, that meant constructing and testing methods off-site through the 2022 season. When the season was over, Texolve Digital gutted the management room and put in new gear and wiring. The undertaking was accomplished in March 2023.
Making a dream staff 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 rather a lot should you’re an unknown,” Gianutsos says. “We demonstrated what we’re able to and confirmed them different work we’ve carried out. And based mostly on that, they had been superb in offering a product we wanted.”
When it got here time for Texolve Digital to bid on an analogous undertaking on the Penguins’ PPG Paints Enviornment, there was little question 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 could 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 Mission 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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