Alumnus creates fan experience for professional baseball, football and soccer games

By Margaret Schell

D o you ever wonder how the people behind the scenes at Truist Park and Mercedes-Benz Stadiums in Atlanta amp up fans' excitement?

Andrew Rochefort, '20, knows exactly what it takes. After preparing and briefing his crew, he revs up fans by flipping switches, pressing buttons and so much more.

Rochefort is a freelance event-day production assistant for Truist Park and Mercedes-Benz Stadium games. His schedule stays full keeping fans excited about the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United and other third-party games like college football.

Andrew Rochefort preps during pregame before an Atlanta United Soccer match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

"It's a lot of fun," he said. "Depending on what I'm doing with these jobs, my tasks vary slightly."

At Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Rochefort runs XPression and Dashboard software to display graphics, including game stats and videos that transmit onto the halo board: The 360-degree screen located under the roof.

"The lower-third graphics on the halo board are reserved for people who are involved with the national anthem, including the color guard and celebrities who're at the game," Rochefort said. "We make an ID tag for them to pop up on the halo screen."

Although a producer uses the script to set up images and stats in chronological order before the games, Rochefort must be able to make instant changes during the games.

"We click the buttons that go to the next segment," Rochefort said. "Once we hit that button to a feature, it automatically fires to the halo board and any supporting boards."

Throughout the games, the director and producer will choose camera shots that go on the halo board. And Rochefort knows what captures their attention.

"They look for someone who's dancing or has high energy, because during timeouts or innings you want to keep the same tempo and atmosphere inside the stadium," he said. "I try to keep the energy up for the teams during those breaks."

At the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Rochefort starts his workday at least four hours before the games. He attends a production meeting, then meets with his graphics producer to see if there's anything special from a normal game day. He checks to ensure set up and scripts match. Then, he runs through the script with the technical director, director and show caller.

"We run through the script because there's usually different stuff each week," Rochefort said. "When we get to that point in the break or for the halftime event, like during the past two Falcons games, we brought up honor ceremonies for Arthur Blank and Matt Ryan. Those were two very important segments that needed to run perfectly."

The gates open to the public two hours before game time. But before that, Rochefort produces content to run including different pregame segments.

"I put up stat slabs for the Atlanta United players once they come on the field," he said. "The players do 'pose like the pros,' where they perform different short dances. And we try to get the fans to match the players by projecting them onto the screen."

During the game, Rochefort also puts up more stats and sponsorship graphics. And when a player scores a goal, he hits the all-important goal button.

Andrew Rochefort is with the pennant flag after the Atlanta Braves won the 2021 World Series.

For Atlanta Falcons games, Rochefort has little downtime, as there are many breaks and timeouts to cover.

"With the Falcons games there could be 50-plus people in our department, working on the event," he said. "Communication through our headsets is key. I listen to my producer about changes and my director to display certain graphics. It's a lot of moving pieces, but it's rewarding when I get it all done and put on a great show for everyone."

Rochefort started working in sports in 2021 with the Gwinnett Stripers before working with the Braves during the 2021 post-season. That's the year the team won the World Series.

"It was so cool to get that big-league experience on that stage. I was able to even go to some home World Series games," he said. "I got hired to work all 81 home games the following season, and I've been doing that ever since."

Rochefort was hired at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in March 2023. He credits a big part of his success to his experience at Georgia College & State University, where he earned a mass communication degree.

He recalls being in classes with only five to 15 other students.

"I really appreciated the small class size that allowed me to build relationships with my classmates and professors," Rochefort said. "I'm especially glad I got to talk with my professors one-on-one in the classroom."

Rochefort also worked in the Sports Information Department broadcasting all the varsity sporting events at Georgia College. His duties are similar to his role today.

"I appreciate Al Weston and Scott McCloud from GCSU's Sports Information Department," he said. "If it wasn't for working with them, I probably wouldn't be in the career I'm in now."

Once a week for four years, Rochefort and his roommate hosted a sports talk radio show on WGUR 95.3 FM, the university's student radio station.

"It was fun to have a platform to talk about sports and work these sporting events," he said.

Regarding his education, Rochefort especially liked Dr. Christina Smith, associate professor of mass communication. She taught a challenging class and had high expectations.

"Ultimately, her class was super rewarding, because she pushed me to produce my best writing," he said. "I also discovered how enjoyable writing can be when you're passionate about the topic. It's just like being passionate about your job."

Georgia College provided him with the necessary skills to learn how to work well under pressure.

"When I first started doing this, I didn't realize how many people and much prep went into putting on a show," Rochefort said. "After a Braves game, sometimes my friends come into the press box. I'll show them what each person does. They say, 'Wow. I can't believe how much effort you put into this.'"

At just 26 years of age, Rochefort is grateful for this experience.

"Every day, I look forward to going to work for a game or event, because I know that a lot of people who are my age don't know what they want to do with their career," he said. "Being in a job that I truly love is inspiring to me."

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