Flexential® Partners with Major League Baseball to Bring a New Data Center Infrastructure Online to Service MLB’s Digital Platform Growth

Expansion in Denver will support millions of baseball fans’ digital experiences across MLB’s interactive media products and services with infrastructure powered by sustainability features

Denver, CO – June 26, 2019 (PRNewswire) Baseball fans consume games in a variety of ways as they follow their favorite teams and player throughout a season, including across multiple digital platforms built and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB). Those unique digital touchpoint experiences will benefit from a new technology partnership announced today between Flexential, a leading provider of data centers and hybrid IT solutions, and MLB. This summer Flexential will be bringing a new state-of-the-art infrastructure online to effectively support and scale MLB’s requirements for servicing its digital product platforms.

“We always strive to deliver our fans uninterrupted, high-quality access to MLB content at every step of their consumption experiences,” said Truman Boyes, MLB Senior Vice President, Infrastructure. “To meet these expectations requires a data management system with highly reliable, scalable and proximity-based data centers. Flexential was able to respond to our needs in record time with an environmentally-responsible infrastructure to support us as we serve our Clubs and their fans.”

Flexential’s Denver-Englewood data center will complement the league’s east coast presence by providing a secure central location that reduces the latency by more than half, while serving the connectivity and resiliency requirements for MLB. Being closer to the user enhances real-time performance, provides higher availability, and better overall customer experience. This makes it possible for MLB to serve the needs of its 30 Clubs across the country, and end users throughout the U.S., creating solutions at the Edge—right where customers want access to data.

The Flexential Denver-Englewood site also has an industry-leading Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rating and uses power from Xcel Energy that is 28 percent solar or wind generated. MLB wanted to partner with an organization that understands sustainability and focuses on using both renewable energy and green products whenever possible.

Flexential’s site also provides MLB easy access to their cloud partners by offering a choice of cloud access solutions at speeds from 100Mb to 100Gb. With Flexential’s national 100Gb, highly reliable and scalable backbone, these services are easy to provision and deploy.

“As demand for online sports media continues to increase, our data center sites throughout the country are fully equipped to provide the reliability, connectivity, and comprehensive service package needed to support this growing online media platform,” said Chris Downie, Flexential CEO. “With the number of active internet-connected devices expected to grow to 20 billion by next year, the soaring bandwidth and network demands will also explode. MLB’s example of taking the connectivity to the Edge is proof you can overcome those obstacles to provide the seamless user experience every baseball fan wants.”

Online viewing of sports on mobile devices is growing, with a recent Google study indicating 80 percent of sports fans say they use a computer or smartphone while watching live sports on TV to search for player stats or scores, and 30 percent of fans live stream sporting events to their smartphones or tablets.

“As a millennial baseball fan, I want to be connected to the game at all times. In fact, advancements in technology allow me to live stream games, check fantasy scores, keep tabs on divisional races, and watch and share highlights on social, all in the palm of my hand. I feel like part of the game at any time and any place,” said 26-year-old Christian Schneider, Rockies fan and former collegiate and professional pitcher from Parker, CO.

To learn more about Flexential’s colocation solutions, click here.

About Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is the most historic professional sports league in the United States and consists of 30 member clubs in the U.S. and Canada, representing the highest level of professional baseball. Major League Baseball is the best-attended sport in North America, and since 2004, MLB has enjoyed its best-attended seasons in the history of the game. Led by Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr., MLB currently features record levels of labor peace, competitive balance and industry revenues, as well as the most comprehensive drug-testing program in American professional sports. MLB remains committed to making an impact in the communities of the U.S., Canada and throughout the world, perpetuating the sport’s larger role in society and permeating every facet of baseball’s business, marketing and community relations endeavors. With the continued success of MLB Network and MLB digital platforms, MLB continues to find innovative ways for its fans to enjoy America’s National Pastime and a truly global game. For more information on Major League Baseball, visit www.MLB.com.

About Flexential
Flexential offers flexible and essential services that help organizations optimize their journey of IT transformation while simultaneously balancing cost, scalability, compliance and security. The company is committed to building trusted relationships and delivering tailored solutions that suit the individual needs of its customers. Flexential is deeply invested in the success of its customers, who trust it to deliver core data center solutions of colocation and connectivity, as well as cloud, managed solutions and professional services. Flexential’s robust suite of assets spans 21 markets and comprises 40 highly redundant and connectivity-rich data centers. For more information on Flexential, please visit www.flexential.com.

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Contact:
Lori Stafford-Thomas
Senior Director, Corporate Marketing, Flexential
Lori.staffordthomas@flexential.com
720-891-1070

Individuals with Disabilities Increased Participation in Sports, New TD Survey Finds

Four-in-ten individuals with disabilities who are not involved in sports want to participate

New York, NY – June 25, 2019 (PRNewswire) More than half of individuals with disabilities in the U.S. have increased their sports participation over the past five years, according to the Disability Inclusion in Sports Today survey released by TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®.

The bank surveyed 503 individuals with disabilities across the U.S. to examine sports participation on the heels of the 17th Annual Achilles Hope & Possibility Road Race by TD Bank, one of the world’s largest road races supporting individuals with disabilities, which was held on Sunday, June 23 in New York City’s Central Park.

“Our support of Hope & Possibility reflects our focus on what people can do,” said Andrew Bregenzer, TD’s Regional President, Metro New York. “This means empowering people to achieve their full potential, based solely on their strengths and abilities.”

Hope & Possibility has grown significantly from its inaugural run in 2002 when 500 participants crossed the finish line, compared with more than 5,800 in 2019.

“We have seen a remarkable increase in people with disabilities competing in road races over the years,” said Genna Griffith, Director of Special Projects for Achilles International. “We have advocated to make road races more accessible to people with disabilities, so they have equal opportunity to compete. This is a trend that we expect will continue as access and awareness of resources continue to drive inclusion.”

Strong motivation to expand sports inclusion
The Disability Inclusion in Sports Today survey results showed a robust desire to participate more actively in sports among individuals with disabilities.

Four of 10 individuals with disabilities surveyed across all age groups who currently do not participate in sports would like to do so. The following reasons were cited as considerations to motivate their participation:

  • Improving your health (45%)
  • Convenience (18%)
  • Funding (13%)
  • Better Accommodations (13%)
  • Better access (12%)

Despite strong motivation, challenges continue to hinder optimal participation, including lack of time (36%), physical demand and/or injury (34%), high costs (30%), and transportation (29%). Moreover, 70% of respondents were unaware of organizations that offer relevant support. The study suggests that sports participation among individuals with disabilities has the potential to reach 50%, twice the rate of the general U.S. population.

The top cited ways to accelerate sports inclusion are by offering accessible training facilities or access (53%), increasing awareness (48%), expanding access to sports medicine (36%), and enhancing funding (35%).

Participation rates vary by age

  • Among those currently involved in sports, 52% say their participation has increased compared to five years ago. This proportion is higher among those under age 40 (71%) and declines to 20% for people over 60.
  • 31% say their participation has remained the same compared to five years ago.
  • Among those who are participating less, age is the dominant factor, increasing from 2% of those under 40 to 40% of those aged 60+.
  • Among those who are not currently involved in sports, 82% who participated in the past two years and 35% of those who have never played sports would be interested in participating.

Walking and swimming lap the rest
The survey found that individual sports are significantly more popular than team sports, as illustrated by the following list, ranked by popularity:

  • Walking (62%)
  • Swimming (54%)
  • Bicycling/Cycling (36%)
  • Golf (26%)
  • Running (26%)
  • Basketball (23%)

Disability inclusion is good business
Businesses and organizations that support diversity inclusion enjoy enhanced brand equity, according to the survey.

In fact, nearly nine in ten respondents strongly/somewhat agree that they would be more likely to do business with a company that supports causes that are important to them, specifically those that help individuals with disabilities. They would also be more loyal to a company that actively supports this community. Nearly three in four respondents (74%) would consider switching their business to a company that offers accessible products and services.

Sports participation hits its stride
The survey shows that sports participation rates are not only higher than ever but are expected to grow among individuals with disabilities.

TD Bank and Achilles International share a deep and abiding commitment to enable people of all abilities to achieve their full potential as embodied by The Ready Commitment, TD’s corporate citizenship program, which empowers diverse communities to prosper in a changing world.

“We recognize that promoting inclusion contributes to a more robust, innovative and productive economy for all,” Bregenzer remarked. “We are proud of what TD and Achilles have accomplished so far, and we look forward to partnering together to facilitate a more accessible sports community — and world — for people of all abilities.”

Survey Methodology
The total sample includes 503 respondents who are people with disabilities. The sample was sourced from MARU’s panels and partners. A random national sample size of 503 has a margin of error of +/- 4.4%. Data has been weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the population. The survey was fielded June 2 to June 6, 2019 by MARU/Matchbox.

About MARU/Matchbox
MARU/Matchbox is a professional services firm dedicated to improving its clients’ business outcomes. It delivers its services through teams of sector-specific research consultants that have technology in their DNA, specializing in the use of Insight Community and Voice of Market technology. MARU/ Matchbox’s research drives decision-making across all aspects of customer experience, including innovation, product, branding, commercialization and communications.

About TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®
TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,200 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.td.com/us. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US.

TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol “TD”. To learn more, visit www.td.com/us.

About Achilles International
Achilles International is a global organization serving 25,000 athletes with disabilities in over 51 chapters in 29 countries. In the US, there are 31 chapters in 22 states. Achilles athletes have disabilities that include amputations, paralysis, traumatic brain injuries, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, autism and visual impairment. Since 1983, Achilles International has played a powerful role in addressing the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities, as well as providing life-changing opportunities for achievement