Image above from Wikicommons.
We are a nation that is obsessed with our sports. From football to baseball to soccer, we gather around our television or crowd our local bars to watch our favorite team play. In my opinion, nothing beats the football season, but whatever professional sport you enjoy, weather is vital to the day to day operations for those sports teams.
With many venues outdoors and 50,000 or more fans in the stands, it's no wonder teams are concerned with weather conditions. While the sport that experiences the most weather delays is baseball, other sports such as soccer and football also know how valuable weather conditions are for traveling and game-day planning. If heavy rain or snow is expected, this will impact not only the game-plan for the coach, but also how the grounds crew will take care of the field. Add in lightning threats (which typically leads to an evacuation of the stadium) and you quickly realize weather is one of the franchise's top priorities. Of course, you could always track the weather using phone apps and other online sources, but most of the time these will leave you with more questions than answers. This is where having a private weather service becomes crucial.
Don Follett, director of grounds for the Baltimore Ravens, said:
“In my duties as the head grounds keeper for the Baltimore Ravens, the weather is the first thing I check each morning. It is the last thing I check at the end of the day to get a heads up on what tomorrow may be like. The weather dictates just about everything I can plan on getting done that day. WeatherWorks has become a very reliable partner for us at the Ravens. We use your accurate forecasts to help us win football games each and every day.”
More so now than ever, it is critical to have weather information you can trust, especially when considering the safety of the fans, players, and personnel.
Dan Shemesh of the New York Red Bulls MLS team says it best:
“An accurate and timely forecast is essential to the safety of our fans, players, and employees. We rely on WeatherWorks around the clock to assist us with decisions as they relate to snow removal and other severe weather impacts.”
So while the mantra "You Play to Win the Game" still holds, remember that there is more that goes into a game. As you can see, weather plays a huge role in the daily operations during gameday and beyond and here at WeatherWorks we are proud to provide our excellent service to all of our sports franchises and clients.
