Author Topic: Rating the Big League Ballparks (Read 5558 times)

94CougarGrad · « **on:** August 03, 2013, 01:57:17 pm »

By Will Reitch: http://www.sportsonearth.com/article/54586264/?partnerId=ed-7399017-583345943

drew corleone · « **Reply #1 on:** August 05, 2013, 11:07:52 am »

I've only been to 5: PETCO, MMPUS, Wrigley, AT&T and Rangers. I like them all, but the have their pros and cons.

PETCO - Actually, no cons on this one. We sat right above the Astros BP on the RF line. Great seats, great weather and great food. Plus the Astros won.
AT&T - Giants fans were assholes, and I didn't like being up under the overhang down the RF line, but the food and beer was great. Plus the Astros won.
MMPUS - I think we're all familiar with it. Food is meh, but I think the seats are pretty good, no matter where you are.
Wrigley - Much like the Rose Bowl, it's hard to discount the history of the place, though the stadium itself is kind of a dump. And the fans are obnoxious. But Wrigleyville is a fun little area and I thought their hot dogs were the best I've had.
Rangers - I like the ballpark; it's really well designed. But there's no atmosphere outside of the stadium, it's balls hot for the majority of the season, and they still play that stupid The Natural theme in 2013.

NeilT · « **Reply #2 on:** August 05, 2013, 11:24:22 am »

I've been to Fenway, Wrigley, Miller Park, Petco (for a college game), the Ballpark at Arlington, MMPUS, the Astrodome, Shea, old Yankee stadium, and JFK. I took a tour of AT&T. That means 4 of the 10 stadiums I've been to for games are no longer MLB stadiums.

I liked Miller Park, I like the Ballpark at Arlington. I thought Petco was bland, and in one of the prettiest cities in the world it just isn't that well located.

I liked Shea, because it was like the Astrodome without the Dome, and the fans were very nice.

Reuben · « **Reply #3 on:** August 05, 2013, 11:35:26 am »

What's wrong with Petco's location? It's right in the middle of downtown, not surrounded by ugly-ass parking lots, you can walk right up to it, and has decent views from the top deck.

drew corleone · « **Reply #4 on:** August 05, 2013, 11:37:02 am »

And a Ho-Dads inside the stadium with local craft beers.

juliogotay · « **Reply #5 on:** August 05, 2013, 11:43:39 am »

Quote from: Reuben on August 05, 2013, 11:35:26 am

What's wrong with Petco's location? It's right in the middle of downtown, not surrounded by ugly-ass parking lots, you can walk right up to it, and has decent views from the top deck.

I liked that I could walk to Petco from my hotel. I think it may be a neat experience to sit in the old building down the LF line.

Ty in Tampa · « **Reply #6 on:** August 05, 2013, 11:53:46 am »

My list so far, in order.

No longer in use:

Astrodome
Stade Olympique
Fulton County
King Dome
Veterans
Joe Robbie

Astrodome by far the best of these. Of the others, Montreal get points for being the weirdest, but none were worth a shit. Joe Robbie was the absolute worst place to watch a baseball game.

In use:

Minute Maid
Citizen's Bank
Camden Yards
Angels
Safeco
Turner
Trop
Sky Dome
US Cellular

Yes, I'm a homer but I really like MMP. Philly's new stadium is a close second...very well put together and comfortable. I'm used to the Trop so it's not last. Hated Sky Dome (roof closed) and US Cellular for being sterile and isolated.

ETA: Forgot about Montreal...

BudGirl · « **Reply #7 on:** August 05, 2013, 01:04:41 pm »

I've only toured PNC, but it seems like it would be a great place for a game.

Saw games in Yankee 2 and Three Rivers. Three Rivers was ready to go bye-bye, but the fans were awesome. And that was when Chris Truby was "good."

I love Petco. Neil T is wrong.
Ballpark in Arlington - too hard to really enjoy the game because it is so freaking hot.
Fenway - my opinion is not a good one because the fans suck.
MMP is a favorite because I'm a homegirl.

Top on my list to visit are:
2 in Chicago
San Francisco
Colorado

HudsonHawk · « **Reply #8 on:** August 05, 2013, 01:15:39 pm »

Current parks other than MMPUS...

Arlington - I really liked it. It was hotter than the hinges on the devil's front door, but the yard is nice.
Coors Field - Nice also, except I went in July and it sprinkled and I froze my ass off.
Topicana Field - Fans were great, ballpark is awful. Just awful.
Fenway - Historic, fans were nice, at least to me...perhaps because I wasn't really rooting for either team. Most uncomfortable park I can imagine. It's just really, REALLY small and cramped. Still enjoyed going though.

seib22 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 05, 2013, 01:15:54 pm »

I've been to 4 current. Now, I've never been to the old Yankee Stadium so I don't know how it compares to the new one. I thought the current yankees ballpark was pretty vanilla. PNC & AT&T are 2 on my wish list.

MMPUS
Kauffman Stadium
Ballpark in Arlington
New Yankee Stadium

Bench · « **Reply #10 on:** August 05, 2013, 01:44:22 pm »

I really liked Petco too. I thought it was a very charming park and watching games there on TV doesn't do it justice.

Like Neil I really liked Shea. It was so fucking trashy and it absolutely owned it with no apologies. I would get nostalgic whenever I went there. I hear Citi is a very nice park, and that's great, but Shea was pure Mets all the way.

The new Yankee stadium is soulless. I really liked going to the old one.

Target Field is very nice but it seems incredibly tiny.

Miller Park was surprisingly nice. I was there during a day game and it was a really relaxing place with great beer and brat options.

Wrigley and Fenway are certainly historic and have their charm. US Cellular (or whatever "New Comiskey" is called these days) seems like the model for the new Yankee Stadium. Just devoid of any personality.

The Skydome (Rogers something) is cool because it was the first retractable roof, but the seats and amenities are really uncomfortable.

Camden Yards still remains fantastic is admirably holding on to its standard as the original modern ballpark.

Duman · « **Reply #11 on:** August 05, 2013, 02:11:22 pm »

My list

Old stadiums

Astrodome - glad we made a spontaneous decision to stop in Houston for the night during a trip to see my Bro in Law at Ft. Hood.
Shea - saw Pete Rose get game #37 with a hit in 78
Yankee - I was there less than a month after 9/11 so it had a very special aire to it
Joe Robbie - awful venue
Fulton County - Saw Hank Aaron play there in 1974 - my first game, his last season in ATL
Old Arlington - Missed Ryan pounding Ventura by one night!

Current

Fenway - Great history, terrible sight lines
Great American - nice park
Turner Field - has a mall like fell to it instead of being at the ball park. Not bad once you get in your seat but getting there feels like going to the mall on black Friday.
US Cellular -nondescript new stadium

Driven by Busch and Citizens Bank

My top places I want to go are: PNC park, Camden Yards and MMP.

subnuclear · « **Reply #12 on:** August 05, 2013, 02:17:12 pm »

I liked Camden Yards and Nationals stadium about the same. The fan base in Baltimore is cooler and larger than the one in DC, but I like the bigger field at Nationals stadium (and you can see the Capitol from some of the seats on a clear day which is cool). Nationals stadium prices are getting ridiculous though.

MMPUS has never really grown on me, but its good it has a roof.

Fenway is a classic stadium and had a great time when I was there.

I've also been to RFK (terrible for baseball) and the Astrodome (sentimental favorite).

NeilT · « **Reply #13 on:** August 05, 2013, 02:18:10 pm »

Quote from: Reuben on August 05, 2013, 11:35:26 am

What's wrong with Petco's location? It's right in the middle of downtown, not surrounded by ugly-ass parking lots, you can walk right up to it, and has decent views from the top deck.

I was at Petco for the first games held there, for a college tournament. University of Houston was playing UCLA. It was not crowded, and there weren't a lot of vendors. It and downtown were just kind of deserted, so you can take my take with a lot of salt.

Navin R Johnson · « **Reply #14 on:** August 05, 2013, 03:41:02 pm »

My List

Old Stadiums, Astrodome, Yankee Stadium, Old Arlington, Metrodome

Current, MMPUS, Ballpark at Arlington, Tropicana, Marlins Park, Target Field, Petco, Safeco, Angel Stadium, Dodger Stadium, AT&T, Coors Field, Wrgley.

Favorites stadiums, MMPUS, Petco, AT&T. Arlington would be on there if they had a roof, great place but uncomfortably hot.

Wrigley is a total dump, but the atmosphere and surrounding neighbor are fantastic, even with all the cub fans. Old Yankee stadium was awesome just because of the history.

I really want to get to PNC, it is a favorite of several folks that I know who have been to every park.

I also enjoyed the Tropicana too, I think Hudson mentioned it is awful, and it is. But it made me a bit nostalgic for the Astrdome with the tiny concourses. They also had a decent beer selection and a place to smoke cigars. Some good bars within walking distance too.

Ty in Tampa · « **Reply #15 on:** August 05, 2013, 03:47:34 pm »

Quote from: Navin R Johnson on August 05, 2013, 03:41:02 pm

I also enjoyed the Tropicana too, I think Hudson mentioned it is awful, and it is. But it made me a bit nostalgic for the Astrdome with the tiny concourses. They also had a decent beer selection and a place to smoke cigars. Some good bars within walking distance too.

I give them credit for doing everything they can to make you feel like you're not watching a ML baseball game in a high school gymnasium. Some of it works, most of it doesn't.

hostros7 · « **Reply #16 on:** August 05, 2013, 04:08:27 pm »

Arizona (think it was Bank One Ballpark when I went) - Meh
Arlington (old) - nothing special
Arlington (new) - fun baseball stadium. It was cool to enter into the centerfield area the first game I attended, but, as mentioned above, there is nothing around the stadium
Dodger Stadium -unique in terms of architecture. Definitely dug the weather and the experience, but, again, nothing around the stadium. Dodger dogs were entirely underwhelming.
Shea - shithole. Terrible met fans (and I almost mean that in a positive way). When I was a kid, I hated the planes flying so low over the stadium. Always secretly rooted for someone to fall off the higher decks into the netting above the lower bowl behind homeplate.
Old Yankee - felt less historic than I had anticipated, but it was still a special place to watch a game. I love being able to take the subway to the ballpark.
MMP - still one of my favorites, although it's getting shitty to attend games where astros fans are outnumbered by visiting fans every night. I've never had access to a diamond club equivalent at another stadium, but, if you are lucky enough to get to sit there, it's probably one of the best pro baseball watching experiences you can have. On the other end of the spectrum, I think there are great sight lines all over the stadium, and one can have a great night at the park for a reasonable cost.
Dome - tons of great memories here. Mike Scott Game probably the #1 (and perhaps my earliest MLB memory)
Wrigley - the Wrigleyville pre-game experience is top notch if you're into that sort of thing (i.e. fratting out with cold bronsons at loud bars). To me, it was great to just be around a big group of people that seemed genuinely fired up to go watch baseball. If I had allowed myself to suspend knowledge that the reality was that these people were actually fired up to go watch baseball and not simply fired up to get crunk enough to endure that turd pile of a club get its shit kicked in for the second century in a row, my experience would have even been more greatly enhanced. The field itself and the ivy-covered walls are beautiful. The iconic scoreboard and sign outside the stadium are great.
Fenway - the charm of the stadium exceeds the comforts by a mile, but the charm is considerable. The Red Sox seem to have tried to make the surrounding area a wrigleyville lite. It feels special and old world to walk up to a stadium not surrounded by miles of parking lots, smack dab in the center of town.
Coors Field - solid, MMP-era stadium, though it's hard to mess up anything surrounded by the Rockies.
AT&T San Fran - The giant glove is a hickey on an otherwise great sports venue. The planners got this one right.
Safeco - looked great passing by but didn't get to a game.

Next places to hit: Kaufman, PNC, Jacobs, St. Louis.

chuck · « **Reply #17 on:** August 05, 2013, 05:15:54 pm »

PNC is my favorite. I can't imagine how much fun it must be to go to a game there now that their team is worth a damn.

juliogotay · « **Reply #18 on:** August 05, 2013, 09:26:38 pm »

My list (not ranked by preference):

Fenway Park- Twice. Loved it despite having a support beam between me and pitching mound on one occasion.
DC Stadium- Charmless. Bad neighborhood. I'm sure it was great for football. Must have been 10 or 15 of us in the park.
Wrigley Field- numerous times. I always enjoy the experience and the neighborhood. Been there in April when it was snowing.
Comiskey (old park). Made it the last year. Reminiscent of Fenway without the cache. Concourses were shoulder-to-shoulder. Terrible neighborhood.
Royals Stadium- Saw Brett's first homestand there. Reminded me alot of Dodger Stadium.
Coors Field- Beautiful park, great neighborhood but something strikes me as missing.
Arlington Stadium- Reminiscent of Colt Stadium. Fit right in with Six Flags atmosphere.
Current Ranger stadium- like some have said, so hot you don't want to be there. Very easy to lose car in parking lot because they don't have the good sense to put Section markers on the lightpoles in the lot.
Colt Stadium- My first. I thought it was nirvana.
Astrodome- Absolutely blew my mind the first time I stepped foot in there. Never had a bad seat in that arena.
MMP- Good yard but a little over tricked-up.
Dodger Stadium- Great baseball stadium. Very comfortable. Good sightlines.
Petco Park- I enjoyed it. Well located. Pitchers park for sure.
ATT- One of my favorites. Beautiful setting. Good smells, good food. Lots of public transportation choices.

Regrets: Wish I had made old Yankee just because of saw a game from there almost every weekend on tv during the season with Pee Wee and ol' Diz.
Tigers Stadium- Looked like a great ballyard.
Connie Mack, Sportsman's Park, Forbes Field, Crosley Field.
Glad I missed: all of those cookie-cutter, multi-use things in the same cities referenced directly above.
Hope to make: Practically everything else but that mess in Miami and the domes in Tampa and Toronto.

chuck · « **Reply #19 on:** August 05, 2013, 09:34:23 pm »

Quote from: juliogotay on August 05, 2013, 09:26:38 pm

Regrets: Tigers Stadium- Looked like a great ballyard.

I regret never having been to Tiger Stadium, either.

Ebby Calvin · « **Reply #20 on:** August 05, 2013, 09:44:11 pm »

In order of when I remembered them:

Astros
Royals
Giants
Dodgers
Angels
Yankees
Orioles

I liked the Giants stadium, but it lacked the grandeur I'd expected (and I wasn't impressed with the food). Yankee was boring, so was Anaheim.

I have fond memories at all of them, though.

Limey · « **Reply #21 on:** August 06, 2013, 08:59:45 am »

Other than the two iterations of Houston parks, the only other venue I've been to is (was?) the old Rangers' crib. It was on my first trip to the US in July of 1990 and, while I wasn't aware of the phrase "balls hot" at the time, I was acutely aware of the sensation. The temperature on the board just after 10pm (prolly somewhere around the 7th inning) was 94.

I was in the upper deck behind home plate, and it is still the only time I have been within grabbing distance of a foul ball. It was a towering foul pop, coming down right on us. I was frozen in place, beer in one hand, hot dog in the other, and could not react to it quick enough. It dropped into the (empty) row in front, bounced up off the seat back, grazed my head on the way up and was gathered by one of swarming a pack of vicious schoolboys.

Thank fuck they hadn't invented youtube by then.

BlownRanger · « **Reply #22 on:** August 07, 2013, 10:25:13 am »

Kansas City is to be applauded for some visionary foresight. In the early 70's, a time during which every other city was building round, symmetrical, multi-purpose mausoleums to be shared by all outdoor teams, KC shocked everyone by building separate stadiums for their baseball and football teams. Imagine that!

The only thing they failed to anticipate was the luxury suite craze. I think Royals Stadium (Kauffman) only had about a half dozen suites when it was built. I know Arrowhead had a major overhaul to add suites awhile back; I don't know about Kauffman.