Dell Diamond is the home stadium of the Round Rock Express, the Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Texas Rangers major league

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team. On April 16, 2000, the then- Double-A affiliate Express played their first home game at the stadium. Dell Diamond is built on 85 acres (344,000 m²) of former farmland on the east side of

Round Rock, Texas Round Rock is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, in Williamson County (with a small part in Travis County), which is a part of the Greater Austin metropolitan area. Its population is 119,468 as of the 2020 census. The city straddles the Ba ...

, a rapidly growing suburban city northeast of Austin.

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

and his son

Reid Ryan Reid Ryan (born November 21, 1971) is an American baseball executive, former college and professional baseball player, and son of Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan. He was a pitcher in minor league baseball, and currently serves as the ...

, part owners of the Express, originally wanted a stadium inside the city of Austin, but found a more attractive site in the City of Round Rock, with support from the city leadership. The city of Round Rock contributed $7.35 million to the $25 million cost of the facility. The city owns the ballpark and gave the Express a 38-year lease. Local-based computer technology company Dell contracted for naming rights in a deal that will cost the company $2.5 million over 15 years.

Events

The stadium has also hosted several college games, including some early-season

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

contests in 2007 while the Longhorns' home field,

UFCU Disch-Falk Field UFCU may refer to: * UFCU Disch-Falk Field, the baseball field of the University of Texas at Austin * United Federal Credit Union, a credit union in Michigan * University Federal Credit Union, a credit union in Utah * University Federal Credit Unio ...

, was undergoing a major renovation project. A showcase neutral-site game was played on February 21, 2012, between the Baylor Bears and Texas State Bobcats. Dell Diamond is also the designated site for the

University Interscholastic League The University Interscholastic League (UIL) is an organization that creates rules for and administers almost all athletic, musical, and academic contests for public primary and secondary schools in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the largest organi ...

state baseball tournament. On February 13, 2016, the stadium hosted a rugby union match between Canada and USA Rugby, as part of the

Americas Rugby Championship The Americas Rugby Championship, often informally called the Americas' Six Nations, was an annual international rugby tournament between six North and South American nations: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United States and Uruguay. Origin ...

. On June 25, 2007, Manny Parra, pitcher for the visiting Nashville Sounds, pitched a

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

against the Round Rock Express at the ballpark. On July 11, 2001, the ballpark hosted the

Double-A All-Star Game The Double-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1991 to 2002 between professional players from the affiliated Double-A leagues of Minor League Baseball—the Eastern League (EL), Southern League (SL), and Texas League (TL). Tea ...

in which a team of

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

-affiliated All-Stars defeated a team of

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

-affiliated All-Stars, 8–3, before 12,046 people in attendance. In 2004 Nicole Richie &

Paris Hilton Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conrad ...

"worked" at the stadium for the day. This was filmed as a part of a Season 2 episode of ''

The Simple Life ''The Simple Life'' is an American reality television series starring Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. It depicts the two wealthy socialites, as they struggle to do manual, low-paying jobs such as cleaning rooms, farm work, serving meals in fast ...

'', their reality TV show. In October 2016, the stadium hosted the Traxxas Monster Truck Destruction Tour prior to the field's being resurfaced. From September 2017 to mid-March 2018, the stadium was transformed into a set for the fourth season of television's '' Fear the Walking Dead''. As a result, the field had to be resurfaced again because vegetables had been planted on it and the grass killed with chemicals to attain a post-apocalyptic look.

Rugby union

In 2019, the Austin Elite, of Major League Rugby, announced Dell Diamond as their home stadium for the 2019 season. Dell Diamond has also hosted international matches for the

Gallery

File:Dell diamond 4DM.jpg, The Dell Diamond is the home field for the Round Rock Express. File:Ballgame.jpg, The third base stands as seen from right field on September 3, 2011

References

External links

Ballpark Profile Round Rock Express The Dell Diamond
{{Austin Herd Round Rock, Texas Buildings and structures in Williamson County, Texas Baseball venues in Texas Baseball venues in Greater Austin Rugby union stadiums in Texas Concordia Tornados baseball College baseball venues in the United States Dell Austin Gilgronis Major League Rugby stadiums 2000 establishments in Texas Sports venues completed in 2000 Pacific Coast League ballparks