How The Shadium calculates shade

The Shadium separates four inputs: where the sun is in the sky, what is known about the venue, the weather, and the real game schedule. A reliable sun position does not make unmeasured stadium geometry reliable, so each field has its own confidence status.

1. Sun position — NOAA Solar Calculator

For any date, time, and location we compute the sun's azimuth(compass direction) and elevation (height above the horizon) using the NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory Solar Calculator, based on Jean Meeus's Astronomical Algorithms, including atmospheric refraction. This tells us the apparent direction sunlight is coming from at first pitch and throughout the game. Typical agreement with NREL SPA is within 0.01°.

2. Stadium orientation & geometry

MLB section identities come from published club charts or club-linked maps. Orientation has a recorded precision range. Horizontal placement, row elevations and depths, overhang dimensions, and obstruction meshes are separate fields; the current MLB row and obstruction geometry is modeled rather than surveyed.

3. Weather — Open-Meteo

Clear-sky geometry is only half the story. We pull cloud-cover and conditions from Open-Meteo so a heavily overcast forecast is reflected in what you should actually expect at the game.

4. Game schedule — MLB StatsAPI

Shade depends entirely on the real first-pitch time, so we use official MLB schedule data (MLB Advanced Media) to tie every calculation to the actual game you pick, in the stadium's local time zone.

Accuracy & limitations (the honest part)

• Exact MLB section and row results are not currently published. The internal geometry model is useful for engineering, but it has not passed the measured- geometry and independent shadow-observation release gate.
• A published seating map proves section identity and order; it does not prove row depth, rake, elevation, overhang depth, roof height, or the shadow boundary.
• Weather changes fast. A forecast is not a measurement, and passing clouds or an open/closed retractable roof can change conditions at game time.
• The general venue dataset was last reviewed on May 21, 2026. Teams rename parks, tarp sections, and occasionally change home venues — we update as we learn of changes.
• The Shadium is an independent tool and is not affiliated with MLB, MiLB, the NFL, or any team.

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