Avid reader, Hawkeye, wants to know what makes a good ballpark. And since we are all a little burned out here at the site, we figured we would let him ask all of you that question. If you get a chance, checkout Tommy Craggs stadium tour on Deadspin.
Since it’s the middle of baseball season, let talk about my favorite things in baseball: The Ballparks. I love the history (Fenway, Wrigley, Old Yankee), the architecture (Camden Yards, Pac Bell/SBC/AT&T Park) and the scenery (PNC Park). Only other park I’ve been to is Miller, and I got to see the outside of Coors Field while coming out of the Falling Rock Tap Room in Denver. Otherwise…
I’ve not seen any of these parks except in pictures or that talking box in my living room. I am one of the poor schmucks “blessed” with one of the all-time worst parks out there. I have had to watch my baseball…in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Now first time I entered the ‘Dome back when I was in the 2nd grade (back around 1984), I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Big white roof, the higher air pressure that made your ears pop when you left, hell even the baggie in right field was cool (this was back when they had the pennants there, not advertising).
As I got older, I realized that maybe the ‘Dome is not all it’s cracked up to be. It’s dingy, there’s a funky smell in it all of the time, and the sight lines suck. I mean really suck. I spent an entire 9 innings staring at a 1st baseman’s ass. Worst of all, you have to go INSIDE to watch a baseball game. Instead of being outside enjoying both the game and weather. Thankfully this all changes next year with Target Field.
So , dear readers, what makes a ballpark “great”. Is it the atmosphere, the history, architecture or something else? On the flip side, and makes one “bad”? Besides the reasons I already listed.
Popularity: 1% [?]
Good: History, architecture, amenities
Bad: Cookie cutter look and feel cbh49er(Quote)
I would say history used to play a big part. But now you only have a handful of stadiums that actually have history within them. Fenway, Wrigley, and maybe Dodger stadium.
what makes one bad? a catwalk sparty(Quote)
what i like to see in a stadium, not sure of the order though:
- knowledgeable, passionate fans (you need someone to cheer with/against)
- comfortable seats/good sightlines
- open air (miller park’s roof better be open when i’m there next month)
went to fenway once, the seats are very uncomfortable and i’m not even a big guy, but it was a nice experience and knowledgeable fans. also got to see manny park one on the expressway and pedro pitch
been to wrigley several times, but now i’d probably only go there if the brewers were in town. i’ve always been stuck among stereotypical cubs ‘fans’ who don’t seem to know the first thing about the game or even pay attention to it. ruins the experience
been to new comiskey a few times also, it’s ok and the fans weren’t bad. although had an obstructed view seat for the world series rematch a couple years ago, but there was a grand slam so that made it memorable sae(Quote)
Sae, I am going to Miller on July 30th, you ever been? cbh49er(Quote)
History is great and all, but if I’m paying an absurd amount of money to go to a game, I want all the stuff the new ballparks provide.
/wants a new Fenway john(Quote)
i’ve been there but not for a game yet, which is pretty sad. haven’t been to a brewer game in milwaukee since county stadium. i’m going there to see us beat the astros in august sae(Quote)
Old Yankee Stadium was a tad disappointing. Definitely could appreciate the history but the atmosphere wasn’t what I expected. However, a lot of that had to do with the fact that it was a July game against the Orioles and the Yankees destroyed them.
Fenway was awesome, great atmosphere, amazing history, again atmosphere had a lot to do with it being a September game, plus the Red Sox coming from behind to win.
Shea wasn’t that bad to me, it was old and sort of a dump but I had a good time there. Phillies stadium and Nats Stadium are about the same things, if you have been to one you don’t need to go to the other. Plus, they are both around absolutely nothing, which hurts the overall experience.
Camden Yards is the greatest of the ones I have been to. Beautiful park, lots of bars around it, great food.
Heading to Wrigley and as I mentioned above Miller Park for the first time at the end of the month. Have high hopes for both.
PNC is next on my wish list, as well as the Giants stadium. cbh49er(Quote)
I’ll be watching you guys beat the Nationals and enjoying every minute of it. cbh49er(Quote)
but you just have to pay for all those other things once you are there. not as if they are free. i am going to a game to watch a friggin game. what i like about the new stadiums are the big concourses. don’t feel like herding cattle when i leave a game. sparty(Quote)
Miller’s a nice place. Looks frickin gigantic from the outside, alot smaller looking inside. Nice beer choices there. No idea what the food is like, but supposedly the “secret sauce” is good. I’ll take their word on that one. My main problem with the place is there is nothing nearby except parking lot. Great for tailgating, not so much otherwise.
Anonymous(Quote)
Anonymous=me HawkEye19(Quote)
No question about that. One of the worst features of the ‘Dome. narrow to begin with, even narrower with all of the stands lining the concourses. HawkEye19(Quote)
yeah, you have to head for water street which isn’t very close. but i think they run shuttles, so you can start at water street, hop the shuttle, and not worry about parking sae(Quote)
any of you ever been to the old Tiger Stadium? sparty(Quote)
Are you refering to thr Trop…why I oughta! GatorTrey(Quote)
I agree the ONLY thing I’d want in some of the older stadiums are the concourses.
Wrigley’s wasn’t too bad, but I sat in the bleachers…still freaking great.
But some of the college football venues I’ve been to have some of the worst concourses barnone. GatorTrey(Quote)
I may have answered that already. HawkEye19(Quote)
I’ve seen games in Three Rivers, The Old Cleveland one, The Jake, Wrigley, Baltimore, PNC, and Whatever we’re calling the one in Houston now
By far and away the nicest is PNC. Just a gorgeous stadium. Great views. It’s what a ballpark should be.
My favorite was Wrigley because I’m a cubs fan and I find the field magical.
I don’t remember much of the cookie cutters other than I’m glad that they’re done
I hated houston’s stadium too. Baseball should not be played indoors Johnny(Quote)
I think the most underratd stadium in baseball is Turner Field. Great view, great architecture, great environment… GatorTrey(Quote)
so you know about the trough. sparty(Quote)
I agree with most everyone on the history factor having been going to Wrigley since I was five. I’ve been to Fenway and sadly, the fans there top Wrigley.
I think the fans definitely have something to do with what makes a stadium great. I’ve been to Busch in St. Louis and despite being a Cubs fan, I love the Cards fans there. Makes me regret all those hammer’d tirades on I went on at my own ballpark against them…
Miller is a cool looking stadium but the atmosphere is pretty lame. Except when they play either the Cubs or Cards. It’s packed for Cubs games.
Never got to go to old Yankee. Still regret that. Souvenir City(Quote)
I went. Once. When I was like 8.
I’ve never been more frightened at a baseball game than at that ballpark. Souvenir City(Quote)
I agree with the group that says the top 5 are Camden, AT&T, PNC, Fenway, and Wrigley.
There’s no denying the history of Fenway and Wrigley. That said, Yankee was a giant disappointment to me. I dated a girl from NYC around 2001-2003 and went to a ton of games as her dad was a big shot doctor with season tickets 5 rows behind home plate. I had gone to games before that, but went to a ton of games around that time. That place was a piece of crap. A historic, giant, piece of crap. It was dirty, the hallways were small, the sight lines sucked, it’s in a terrible neighborhood, and the team is evil. I’ve been to Fenway, and the only thing about Fenway that is bad is the seats and a few sight lines. I’ve never been to Wrigley, but I’ve heard it’s awesome.
I’ve been to Camden so many times that I can’t even count. I’ve heard PNC and AT&T are close to if not just as nice. I’ve got to see those places. guyinthecorner(Quote)
explain this part? that is NYC culture at its finest. nobody gets mugged or killed around yankee stadium. sparty(Quote)
sparty-
It’s a bad sign when the thing you can say about the stadium’s neighborhood is that nobody gets mugged or killed.
Look at the neighborhoods around Baltimore, Boston, and other places that I haven’t been to like Wrigley, Seattle, San Francisco, and other places.
Neighborhoods kill stadiums. See Washington and Philly. guyinthecorner(Quote)
and how did the Bronx kill Yankee Stadium? Yankee Stadium made that part of the Bronx thrive. Once again, your hate towards a team distorts any kind of logic that you have. sparty(Quote)
“trough”? that sounds scary Hawkeye19(Quote)
with a footnote: thanks to George Michael Steinbrenner III sparty(Quote)
I didn’t mean that the Bronx killed Yankee Stadium. I meant that it kills the chances for it to be in the elite group with other stadiums that have good neighborhoods.
And this is in no way biased. I was excited to go to Yankee the first time. I don’t care who plays there. I just took a trip to Fenway this Sunday with three of my best friends who are all Yankee fans. None of them had been there in 15 years. They didn’t care that the Sox plpayed there. They were excited to see it. guyinthecorner(Quote)
it was. sparty(Quote)
the only thing that killed the old yankee stadium was that the stadium itself was a dump. what is killing the new stadium is that they have obstructed views and ridiculous prices. people that have gone there say it is awesome. sparty(Quote)
In Yankee Stadium’s defense, its not like Baltimore is the nicest neighborhood. There are some bars near the stadium but overall Baltimore is a pretty crap town. cbh49er(Quote)
/fixed
Had to. Souvenir City(Quote)
Souvenir, have you lived in DC? Just was wondering because you seem to hate that area a lot. cbh49er(Quote)
Don’t hate DC. Just the Nationals being moved there and the terrible product they’ve put on the field. DC is a great town, but moving a team there at this point in time was an awful idea.
The Wizards, Caps and Skins have a following. But, the Nats never will. Not solely because of the product, but mainly because people that live in DC really don’t have an allegiance to the city. They’ve all moved from a different part of the country to live there. My brother lives in the Navy Yard area, 3-4 blocks from Nats Park. He’s been to 3 games in 5 years.
How many “natives” of DC can you say you’ve met in your life? I’ve probably met a handful. The ones that grew up there got out after they left school.
/jmorris’d
//hopefully somebody gets that Souvenir City(Quote)
I agree with you, I am an unabashed Nats hater, and find it funny how they cried for baseball and now don’t give a crap about the team. Just was curious. cbh49er(Quote)
is this the mens’ room trough? believe wrigley still has theirs, but i haven’t been there in a few years sae(Quote)
Yup. We’ve still got the trough. If you haven’t seen the famous video…
@cbh49er – Sad thing is, Nats Park is a beautiful ballpark. I went and saw a Cubs game there last year on a visit and it’s a great facility. It was about 50-60% full due to Cubs fans being there but the showing for Randy’s 300th win this year was a disgrace. I don’t care if it’s raining, that’s probably the last time in history to witness that in person. Souvenir City(Quote)
I was at Randy’s 300th. I was one of about 800 or so. guyinthecorner(Quote)
There are not many ballparks or other sports venues that are in the nicest parts of town…the land is cheaper in that area.
I didn’t think the area around Yankee Stadium was that bad at all.
The area around Wrigley is awesome…I damn near got killed slipping down the wet stairs of a bar in Wrigleyville though (I had been drinking, so it wasn’t completely the bar’s fault) GatorTrey(Quote)
i enjoyed the area around both fenway and wrigley. it feels like baseball is the only thing in the world…not quite on par with lambeau on game day where the game IS the only thing in the world, but still enjoyable sae(Quote)
i went to the twins-tigers game at the done last friday. it was my first visit their in probably 10 years. thankfully i won’t have to go back. talk about sightlines, mine was of the clock above the baggy in right field. target field is long overdue. arkbadger(Quote)
Surprised no one has talked about the new Yankee stadium first-hand – so here goes:
Went to a game there a few weeks ago. Good site lines, at least in Right Field. Wider isles, more bathrooms, and of course more places to eat then the old stadium, although two of the restaurants require a “special” ticket. The exclusive restaurant for the highest priced seats (the ones that are always half empty) was COMPLETELY empty when I walked past there during the game. They need to open up all restaurants to anyone with a ticket instead of this caste system.
The pretzels were stale, but I actually got our money back when we asked for it – never did that at a ballpark before, but at $6.25 a pretzel, damn. Also wish I knew that they close down entry to the Monuments 90 minutes prior to the game, but the museum was nice.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t tough catching a subway downtown after the game. JimS(Quote)
yes, about 25 years ago, saw the yankees there. Conigliaro hit a homer that was just 10 feet away from me. knightwhosaysni(Quote)
Being there until 12:30am probably didn’t help much. HawkEye19(Quote)
/tj
Koivu headed to the Mighty Ducks.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=4313826
/end tj Fiesta Trio(Quote)
Damnit. There goes the #2 center for the Wild. HawkEye19(Quote)
hawkeye, actually we left after the 14th because i had to drive 10 hours the next day, but yeah, didn’t help much. arkbadger(Quote)