Willie Mays Memorial

In 2022, I had the privilege and honor of partnering with the San Francisco Giants to produce a memorial show for baseball and cultural legend Willie Mays.

Mr. Mays had been in declining health in the preceding years, and the Giants were in discussions with his family and estate on coordinating a memorial celebrating his life’s contribution to baseball, his country, and the cultural and societal impacts he had.

The request was to be able to activate and assemble the necessary equipment and personnel to execute a projection-mapped memorial showcase with two weeks’ notice for the indefinite future.

The sensitivities surrounding this project were profound.

The initial step was a site survey of Oracle Park and the surrounding areas to identify potential canvases for project mapping. Collaborating with our technology and audio-visual partners, Lux MC and the Giants’ Operations Team, we conducted lidar scans of various areas of the park and conducted a feasibility study. For numerous reasons, including the imperative to be operational within two weeks with no specific deadline, the clock tower at Willie Mays Plaza was the selected location.

Concurrently, we were collaborating with the creative and archival teams of the San Francisco Giants to develop the visual design of the memorial.

With the content approved and finalized in advance, extensive on-site preplanning, and regular check-ins with all partners, we were able to successfully execute the memorial when the time came to pay proper respects to one of our national heroes.