A Diamond in the Central Texas Rough



Texas limestone dominates the exterior of The Dell Diamond, Aug-2000.

Looking down the third-base line.

The outfield berm fills quickly on sellout nights.

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Quick Facts: Rating: 4 baseballs
This new gem is on the outskirts of Round Rock, a growing community less than 15 miles northeast of Austin on I-35 (the town is named for a round rock in the river that marked the Chisholm Trail). The ball club, the Round Rock Express, is owned by the Ryan family: Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan is a principal owner and his son Reid is president.

The Dell Diamond – which had no official name until Dell Computer, possibly the area’s largest employer outside of the state government, came through – is one of the most attractive facilities from the outside, with a considerable amount of Texas limestone incorporated into the exterior.

It’s a nice-looking park inside, too, with lots of stadium seats and only limited sections of benches down the lines. An unusual feature is that Round Rock’s locker room is in left field, rather than under the stands, and the players walk down (and up) a ramp near the left-field foul pole.

There was something I did not care for. To accommodate additional concession stands, they were built perpendicular to the concourse in eight mini-buildings. But the design is such that the concourse isn’t wide enough for all the foot traffic it draws.

For the 2005 season, the Express added capacity and became a Triple-A team. The Edmonton Trappers moved to Round Rock; the existing Double-A team relocated to a new stadium in Corpus Christi. Alas, both clubs are getting $10 to park in their lots now, and here at Round Rock fans have no choice because of the location. Concession prices have also risen through the roof.


Game Date League Level Result
433 Thu 24-Aug-2000 Texas AA Tulsa 6, ROUND ROCK 5
1841 Tue 22-Jul-2019 Pacific Coast AAA Omaha 9, ROUND ROCK 2
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This page updated 23-Jul-2019