The cover, the delay, and reopening

The decision

An open-air venue makes the same call again and again on a wet day: cover the field or not, delay the start or not, and when to reopen. Covering too early costs play and goodwill. Covering too late costs the surface. A long delay puts the broadcast slot, staff overtime, and the crowd at risk. Calling the game when the rain was about to stop costs the whole event.

The grounds crew needs roughly 20 minutes to deploy a tarp. The operations lead needs to know whether a delay is 30 minutes or three hours before announcing it. Both need a forecast of the next few hours at the venue itself, not a regional probability.

What Odeai gives the venue

Odeai forecasts rain rate at and around the venue in 10-minute steps, three hours ahead, refreshed every 10 minutes.

• Time to cover: when rain is expected to reach the venue, so the crew moves before the first drops.
• Length of the delay: how long the rain is expected to last, so the delay can be announced with a realistic end.
• Reopening: when the rain is expected to clear, and whether a second band follows it.

Proof before commitment

Send us a past delayed game or round. We can replay the forecast Odeai would have issued, against the rain that fell.