SAN ANTONIO

PRNewswire

The city that encourages us to remember is bringing together some notable icons of Texas baseball to host what should be a memorable Big League Weekend at the Alamodome. AstroTurf®, whose roots in Texas baseball go back nearly 50 years to the historic opening of the Houston Astrodome, will furnish San Antonio's showcase venue with a custom synthetic turf system designed specifically for the stadium's baseball conversion. Ryan-Sanders Baseball, a group founded in part by Baseball Hall of Famer and Texas legend Nolan Ryan, is responsible for running the event that will pit the Texas Rangers against the San Diego Padres in two exhibition games, March 29th and 30th. Since it opened in 1993, the Alamodome has hosted its share of sporting spectacles, from Final Fours to NFL Football, professional bull riding to bowl games, NBA Champions to championship boxing. But it has yet to add baseball to its prolific resume of events, until now. In order to transform the behemoth into a Major League ready ballpark, the Alamodome has added dugouts, fencing, bullpens, and features a 133,000 square foot custom-made AstroTurf field. "AstroTurf is thrilled to see baseball in the Alamodome," said AstroTurf President Bryan Peeples. "We are so proud to be involved with these two superb ball clubs and to be a part of this historic event." Baseball may be our cherished national pastime with a fan base that spans multiple generations, but this is not your grandfather's AstroTurf. The field installed will be an AstroTurf GameDay Grass™ 3D52 Diamond synthetic turf system. This third generation artificial playing surface incorporates a few distinct and advanced elements that make it truly unique. The "grass" is a diamond shaped monofilament fiber used primarily in baseball fields for its playability and natural feel. The proprietary RootZone™ is a patented thatch system of textured nylon which holds the sand and rubber infill in place and radically reduces cleat penetration, leading to a faster and more consistent playing surface with a cleaner look. The artificial turf will be tailored to the dimensions of the baseball configuration and include a warning track and infield cut-outs to enable the players to bat and slide on good old fashioned dirt Good old fashioned Texas hard ball might be one way to characterize the aggressive style of play exhibited by Nolan Ryan, Major League Baseball's all-time leader in strikeouts and no-hitters. Setting records must be in the bloodline. Under the stewardship of Founder and CEO Reid Ryan, Nolan's son, Ryan-Sanders Baseball acquired a minor league ball club in 2000 that became the Round Rock Express and promptly broke the Texas League attendance record in only its first season of existence. The group has continued to grow over the last 13 years and it now counts two thriving minor league teams, a baseball school, a sports turf services division, and a lucrative entertainment company under the Ryan-Sander umbrella. Big picture success doesn't come without focused attention to detail, and when the group was tasked with the Big League responsibilities of putting on the first ever baseball games in the Alamodome, choosing the right playing surface was crucial. "Running a major baseball event like Big League Weekend starts with the field of play," said Ryan-Sanders Baseball CEO Reid Ryan. "AstroTurf's state-of-the-art turf system gave us the look, feel, and play of natural grass with the adaptability of a customized field to meet the specific demands of our project." With endorsements like this one and countless others, it's no wonder AstroTurf carries the title of Official Synthetic Turf of Major League Baseball. But more than rave reviews, AstroTurf fields carry scientific approval. An independent study at Michigan State University, funded by NFL Charities, found that AstroTurf GameDay Grass systems looked and performed more like natural grass than any other synthetic product measured. In extensive testing, AstroTurf GameDay Grass systems performed most like natural grass in specific categories such as ball roll, slide resistance, and the biomechanical function of cleats penetrating and releasing properly. The results mean that AstroTurf's fields excel when it comes to speed, performance, playability and safety. It's the caliber of field you'd expect when some of the best ballplayers in the world come together to compete in an historic event. Big League Weekend will feature two world-class teams with Lone Star flavor. The Texas Rangers have taken the state and the nation by storm recently, winning back-to-back American League championships in 2010 and 2011. Known for a potent lineup from top to bottom with proven stars Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz and Ian Kinsler as well as exciting up and comer Elvis Andrus, the Rangers can also show off their arms when Yu Darvish, Neftali Perez or Derek Holland take the mound. Their ranking as third highest home attendance in all of baseball last year –behind only the Yankees and the Phillies - speaks to their wild popularity. In the other dugout we find the San Diego Padres, a ball club whose home base may be California, but whose stars get their seasoning in the Alamo City. The Padres are led by Chase Headley, the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award-winning third baseman who led the National League with 115 RBIs last year. As a member of the 2007 Texas League Champion San Antonio Missions, Chase wowed the San Antonio crowds with his Player of The Year performance. Known for their occasional camouflage uniforms, the Padres score major points for patriotism as the first national sports team to institute an annual military appreciation day, which they did back in 1996. Also scoring major points is Kevin Swank and his Texas-based team at AstroBuilders who handled installation of the custom designed AstroTurf field for Big League Weekend. Working with an abbreviated timeframe due to the busy event schedule at the Alamodome, the experienced installers laid the synthetic turf down in eight days, or roughly one third the time of a standard project. It's another typically stellar performance from the crew that's no stranger to custom AstroTurf surface installation, having worked on several similar projects including the recent convertible system at Reliant Stadium in Houston.

September 1, 1968 to March 29, 1993

BABY SISTER IS GONE

One day it happened, In the blink of an eye So tragic her life ended, Without a chance to say goodbye. The sisterhood is gone, She left us all Without a goodbye kiss She was the kind of girl, The one we will always miss. Gone but not forgotten, Is what they say. Of course that is true . . . But if only you could of stayed.

Your loving family, Mom - Maria Esperanza; Sisters - Lydia E. and Diana L.; Brothers - Alberto Jr., and Juan C. Sanchez Cerda.

By Sen. Carlos Uresti and Sen. Glenn Hegar  

Google recently brought its self-driving car to the Capitol and gave lawmakers and state transportation officials a spin into the future. But although the hybrid Lexus is packed with technology that lets it maneuver without a human behind the wheel, it can't go anywhere without roads.   Multi-lane urban expressways, interstate highways and state and county roads are just as important to our freedom of mobility as the vehicles we drive, or someday, may drive us! That's why one of our top priorities for the 83rd Legislature is transportation infrastructure.   Texas has done a good job at building and maintaining its highway system. According to a report by the Reason Foundation, we increased transportation spending per mile by 174 percent over the last 20 years, more than any other state. The study, reported by the Dallas Morning News,  cited improvement in all major categories,  except the number of rural primary roads considered too narrow.   Rural and county roads present a problem all their own — particularly in energy producing regions — and it's not just because they're narrow. Over the last several years, large oil patch trucks have pummeled county roads that were built for cars, pickup trucks, and farm equipment.  County roads in the Eagle Ford Shale, Barnett Shale, and Permian Basin regions are deteriorating under the wheels of these heavy trucks, and counties need help with maintenance and repair.   The Texas Department of Transportation says it needs an additional $4 billion a year to expand and maintain Texas' highway system. Unfortunately, only about $6 million of TxDOT's biennial budget is dedicated to county roads, while there is currently a demonstrated need of more than $700 million. Most Texans have never driven on a county road, few of which are even paved. But because of their importance to agriculture and the energy industry, we must take better  care of them.   The day after Google's driverless car was put on display in Austin, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said that Texas' booming energy industry is helping the Texas economy grow faster than that of the nation. He told the San Antonio Express-News that petroleum jobs helped put Texas at No. 3 in terms of job growth. Only North Dakota, No. 1; and Utah, No. 2, are growing faster, thanks to their own shale plays.   Because of the great benefits the oil boom is bringing to working Texas families, counties, and communities, and because of what it means to our economy and the freedom granted by mobility, we must plan carefully for the future. We don't want to kill the golden goose that has brought so much prosperity, and that means taking care of our roads.   Exactly how we acknowledge, quantify, and ultimately fix the damage to our roadways is the million-dollar question — or more accurately, many, many millions — that the Legislature must now answer. The mechanics of this complex equation are still being debated. One approach contemplates the use of rainy day funds, while another would alter property tax calculations in recognition of the explosive growth in shale plays across the state. Either way, we are determined to bring forth a solution to the unwelcome and very significant safety and structural issues that Texas' 21st Century oil boom has brought to our great state.    The Legislature has a rare opportunity this session to address all of our transportation infrastructure needs — from the widest superhighways to dusty caliche roads. Fortunately, there is a growing bipartisan consensus that we must make this investment. There are many roads to the future, and we have to maintain them if we're going to get there.