Companies in the know about pinball factor at new Yankee Stadium aren't talking--Passan

Jeff Passan, Yahoo, quotes a scout: "“I’m supposed to be watching baseball, not pinball,” he said.... Still, there are methods to combat a home run explosion.

• RWDI, a Canadian engineering company, has positioned itself as the industry leader in
• assessing wind patterns at stadiums.

• The company uses computer modeling to determine whether wind will batter fans in a hot dog line or send a ball rocketing toward a particular section of the field.

Though the studies can be exhaustive,

• RWDI spokesman Bryan Hayter said one conducted at new Yankee Stadium

• did not qualify as such.

“We didn’t do a terribly elaborate one,” he said.

When asked to expound, Hayter said the company does not divulge specifics from its studies, and that

• perhaps Populous (HOK) would be better suited to answer.

The architecture company formerly known as HOK, Populous started the retro ballpark craze with its design of Camden Yards and is generally the go-to company for new stadiums.

• Populous contracts RWDI for its wind studies and uses the results to modify its original designs.

• Populous was not terribly interested in discussing the flaws at Yankee Stadium, either.

“Unfortunately, the Yankees are asking everything go back through them,” said Gina Leo, the company’s spokesperson."..."Yankee Stadium Produces Pinstriped Pinball:" 6/1/09

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