Knights Put Finishing Touches on New Park Just in Time for Opening Day

[Apollos]

March 7, 2033, Tempe: Knights Owner Chris Van Hauter took gathered media on a tour of the sparkling new Gisolo-Duppa Field ahead of the first games which will be played here in the coming days in order to ensure the stadium is operating effectively ahead of opening day.

The tour began with a walk through the home plate mezzanine section which abuts A mountain on the stadium’s southern side. The warm breezes which cascade off the slopes of the mountain provide energy to the enormous turbines which cool the walkway between the first and third base decks. Scattered amongst the pleasant organic designs incorporated into this deck are a number of Knights paraphernalia hawkers (team stores) and a dozen or more craft beer distilleries, boutique walk-up cocktail stations, and enclaves to secure your monthly sodium intake in one sitting. I’ve been assured by Knights brass that all are top rate. Returning to the first base side the mountain gradually slopes into the mezzanine itself and the flyover which transitions to the right field porch and escalators carrying fans to the upper deck has been fitted with a series of marble columns in a seeming nod to Van Hauter’s promise to bring the Olympic feel to Tempe’s home park.

Immediately noticeable from outside the stadium is a series of of honeycomb-like shades which blanket the outer rim of the stadium and according to the team’s press release, have been strategically placed to ensure that all seats receive adequate shade during day games which run notoriously hot in the desert. Van Hauter promised that the shades had been constructed of recycled aluminum and painted to absorb the mid-day heat; which almost gives the architecturally questionable overhangs an earth-like appearance. While it’s clear that these shades will provide necessary relief for the fans, it’s questionable whether they will aid outfielders in tracking down hard hit line drives and likely gives the recently acquired Dewitt Barry and his accomplices a built in excuse to “lose” a fly ball or two.

The center field plaza beyond what has been billed as the “largest 5K screen in the west” contains a number of loiter areas and places for Knights fans to spend their hard earned coin. It’s also been fitted with a large children’s play area and the team’s “Capital store” as it’s been dubbed, a 5,000 square foot museum to the nameless ball players who currently don Knights jerseys on a day to day basis. The plaza is completed with a further series of marble columns and an enormous fountain which was said to have been based on the blueprints of a similar one found in the Ancient Greek city of Delphi. A proud, 15 foot bronze statue to Apollo, the sun god stands in the center and will surely be the focus of many future selfies and panoramic photos.

Behind the left field stands lies the team’s museum and cultural center which pays homage to a number of the Knights’ best and is crowned by an outsized podium in the middle which proudly displays the club’s 2012 Rodriguez Cup. Half of the museum is dedicated to celebrating famous denizens of Tempe which includes the stadium’s namesakes, Margaret Gisolo and Lord Darrell Duppa. The displays contain a number of fascinating relics from the time of these pioneers and paints a vivid picture of Tempe (and Phoenix's) development over the last 200 years.