- It’s a new era for Major League Baseball, where balls and strikes are verified via the Automated Ball-Strike system
- T-Mobile’s private 5G network powers the ABS, tracking every pitch that crosses home plate
- Big Magenta’s branding is everywhere at the stadium. Does that surprise anyone?
A trip to T-Mobile Park shows how magenta branding and a private 5G network are changing the game.
T-Mobile in 2018 inked a deal for naming rights to the stadium, home of the Seattle Mariners, that extends through 2043. The agreement, valued at $87.5 million, replaced the former Safeco Field. The park sits next to Lumen Field, home field of the Seattle Seahawks.
T-Mobile likes to take credit for a lot of things and if you ever get a chance to attend an event at T-Mobile Park in downtown Seattle, you’ll soon see just how serious it takes its branding. Like, T-Mobile is everywhere.
See what we mean? The T-Mobile branding is real.
No more arguing over ump’s calls. The Automated Ball Strike (ABS) system was recently implemented by Major League Baseball (MLB). Real live umpires are still part of the game, but the ABS technology verifies whether they’re making the right calls. Players, coaches and fans all find out at the same time.
The blue radio to the left is an Ericsson Dot radio that is part of T-Mobile’s private 5G network that is the backbone of the ABS system in the park. It connects to 12 Hawk-Eye cameras that sit around the perimeter of the field to triangulate each pitch as it crosses home plate.
Even the cupcakes get the royal T-Mobile treatment. These were offered in the T-Mobile suite, where the operator hosted media for Friday night’s game between the Mariners and Kansas City Royals.