ROUND ROCK, Texas — It’s been 26 years since the Round Rock Express broke ground on what would become Dell Diamond.
Then a year later, in April 2000, the Double-A baseball team would play their first game. Since then, there have been many great games, memories, a promotion to Triple-A baseball and a few titles.
Now the club will spend this season celebrating its 25th anniversary. We took a look back at how it all began.
The Express make Round Rock home
“We went and visited with some people in San Marcos. We went to Georgetown. We went to Round Rock,” CEO Reid Ryan said during the groundbreaking. “We started looking at where was the geographical center gonna be of the Austin metro area in the year 2020.”
That open field off U.S. 79 in Round Rock transformed into a first-class baseball stadium. It’s hosted more than 1,600 games and seen an average of well over 600,000 fans pass through the gates every season.
It also hoisted the 2000 Texas League Championship in its first season, making its mark on Minor League Baseball.
Round Rock Mayor Craig Morgan has seen firsthand what having the Express can mean to the city. It’s why the city and club ownership continue to put money into Dell Diamond to keep the facility just as good as it was when it opened.
“There’s no doubt the Express are synonymous with the city,” Morgan said. “We’ve had a great relationship over the 25 years and it’s continued the 15 years I’ve been in office … and probably only gotten stronger.”
The Express aren’t just a baseball team. They were just named the best place to work by the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce. They’ve also had some of the brightest stars in baseball like Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Adrián Beltré, Carlos Correa and Roger Clemens walk the halls of Dell Diamond.
What’s next for the Express?
Looking ahead at the next 25 years, could Major League Baseball be a part of the future in Central Texas? Officials certainly think so, which is why the push to bring an MLB team to Austin continues to get traction.
If it happens, just don’t expect the Express to go anywhere.
“I’d love for Round Rock to be in that conversation,” Morgan said. “With this facility, I think there’s things that we could do. There’s space around here … I hope this stadium and the Express are here 25 years from now.