Personal Ballpark Experiences 2004 (1 Viewer)

[Doug Miller]

Cool wife strikes again. I made my reservations the other day to head to Texas. I'm flying down on Monday 8/29 into Dallas for a 7pm game in Arlington. Next day, driving down to Houston for a 7pm game in Houston. Fly home Wed, after driving back up to Dallas, presumably for another game. Yeah!

Knowing that I have a day in Dallas and a day in Houston, what should I do in the middle of the day while waiting for the game? I was going to do Six Flags, until I saw they were closed on weekdays starting the week before. Bummer. But, that week was the only week that had the Rangers and Astros in town at the same time, so that will work out. Thinking about hitting NASA but picture that being pretty dull.

Any other recommendations for my 2-3 days?

Thanks,
Doug

 

[Lew Crippen]

Depends on your interests. I have a lot of recommendations in Dallas/Fort Worth and a few in Houston. Personally I think that Fort Worth has more to offer tourists than does Dallas. The stockyards (Exchange Street) is a bit of a tourist trap, but still interesting. No trip is complete without stopping into the White Elephant for a beer and a little boot scooting. I also recommend Angelo's on White Settlement for barbeque.

Check out this thread for more recommendations. Star Canyon has closed and I have a lot of restuarant recommendations other than those listed, if you are interested.

I don't find NASA dull and boring at all, but YMMV. You should be aware however, that NASA is on the south edge of Houston and that will add an hour to your driving time to Dallas

 

[Seth Paxton]

I hadn't been in After Hours much so I missed that people were adding 2005 stuff.

I hit Spring Training FLA again, mostly the same parks. My only new park, Toronto in Dunedin, got rained out. I didn't know 100% till I got there, and since I had nothing else to do I went up to check it out anyway. Cute little park that seems like a cozy place to see a game. And my ticket was 2nd row on the home plate side of the dugout.

I had a 3rd row for the Tigers and got some great photos of Randolph, Beltran, etc.

Here's a laugh. In my 2004 photo post I mention Brightpoint and the 85 degrees. We went this year (my wife, aunt and uncle joined me) to a night game and a cold front had come in. Freaking 58!!!! degrees in the same park 1 year later. Brutal.

I had my Digital Rebel and a decent 80-300mm lens with me so I have some great shots. I need to get them posted.



In the meantime I'm getting ready to add a new park to the list. Headed to St. Louis in about 30 minutes for the weekend and will be 1st row on the dugout for Sunday's Cards/Pirates game. It's going to be painfully hot (92 or so) and will be like seeing a Rangers game, but its all good.

I just had to make sure I didn't miss a game in that stadium before it closed. Just look for the jerk in Yanks gear if you watch the game Cards fans (I'm pulling an Elaine via Seinfeld, though I could make it worse and wear my Pirates spring training gear instead).


Also my buddy is going over for a Yanks/Orioles game in Camden on TUE. I'm envious, especially since he got the tix free thanks to a Comcast connection.


Doug
You are looking at about a 5 hour trip down to Houston and with Houston traffic I'd say you don't want to be messing with coming in later than 3:30 for that 7 pm game. I don't know what getting to MM Park is like, but for the Astrodome you typically needed to leave an hour buffer just to be safe.

Since MM is downtown in Houston, I would say get up and head down around 9. That gets you into town around 2-3. That whole section has been improving and there are lots of good restaurants and bars to hang out at, plus some walking around on that north side of downtown proper. That should be enough to entertain you, especially since I think it would be a big risk to try and squeeze in something in that 4 hour window.

I believe there is even a movie theater in the Bayou Place (whatever its called). Of course Memorial or Herman Park are both nearby and beautiful, especially Herman Park for touristy stuff. Check out Rice campus, maybe the Halocaust Surivors musuem (which I hear is very nice), etc. We would go walk around and enjoy it from time to time when we still lived there, its a nice park.

I'm not sure if they discontinued the rail service between MM Park and Rice or not, but it was at least running at some point and would be very convenient for this situation if it still is.


And you will be thanking yourself that at least that Rangers game is at night (they might not even bother with day games around then). In AUG that is pretty brutal and you will be very hot until around the 6th or 7th inning. I mean uncomfortable hot.

 

[Doug Miller]

Just got back from Texas last night. It was a very full few days as I saw a game in Arlington, then drove down to Houston to see the Astros at Minute Maid, then back up to Dallas again to fly out of DFW.

It was a really interesting time to be down there. I went down with a friend of mine. We'd seen the news about the upcoming hurricane coming through New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama. I'd wondered if we were going to get some stormy weather out of it, but the days we were there were clear and hot (although not uncomfortable like the week before). We were taking a break on Monday afternoon before heading to the park when we started hearing more and more news about the aftermath -- We heard about how many people from Louisiana were coming to Houston to escape the storm.

I'll touch on the parks in just a paragraph or so, but wanted to touch on what I saw in Houston first. We got into Houston about 1pm, arrived at our motel, and the lobby was packed. I mean packed. There were around 20-30 people in the lobby, though none of them were in line to check in. Families, couples, pets on leashes. It was a madhouse. I made a point to just check in and head up to the room, get out of the way -- I told my friend that in a way I felt bad. We were staying at a pretty low-end place, trying to keep the trip relatively cheap. I'd wished that we'd stayed someplace nicer so that it opened up another room. But the whole town is full, it's unbelievable. Good thing we made reservations. When we headed out to the game, we looked -- around 80% of the cars were from Louisiana. Wow. I could go on about the families in front of us at Minute Maid Park -- families that didn't even know each other, both from Louisiana, both of their houses gone. (One of the guys saw his street on the news, under water.) I'll just say that while I felt bad for the families in front of me, I knew at the same time that "Hey, they're in Houston. They're at a ballgame. I'm sure they have insurance, and while shitty, they're going to be OK." Where I really feel bad if for all of the families that you know are totally screwed -- There's a reason 30,000 people are in the Superdome, they didn't have money to go and travel out of town, let alone to a ballgame. Visit www.redcross.org today and donate, it was the first thing I did when I got home.

Onto the ballparks:
Ballpark At Arlington (Ameriquest Field): Surprisingly, I think this park actually looks better on TV. The outside really has a Polo Grounds feel to it, but damn, it is HUGE. Everywhere I went felt gigantic in that park.

I've got to say, parking at that place is absolutely stupid. I pulled into the parking lot by the freeway, figuring it would cut closer to the park, only to find I was stranded on the outskirts. Grumble, grumble. Once inside, everything felt big, really felt a little too big for a ball park. Don't get me wrong, it looks nice. I really like all of the billboard area in center field.

Seats were great, I was 9 rows up from 3rd base, and according to my buddies brother (who also hit the game with us,) we spent most of the night on TV (every time a right hander was up). I think I spent way too much on tickets though, these puppies were $58 a piece before tax and convenience -- The park isn't the only thing bigger in Texas, $58?! Sheesh. The place was absolutely empty. Night game with an announced attendance of around 21,000 -- but there was no way there were more than 10,000 there. The fans that were there, well, were pretty mediocre.

Food? First ballpark I didn't eat anything at (other than an ice cream cone). I hit a BBQ place called Shady Oaks for dinner, that was good.

Minute Maid Park: I liked this park quite a bit. Looks nice from the outside, I like the courtyard area with the statues, and the central station entrance is nice (and air conditioned!). It seems pretty weird to have statues of dudes that are still playing for your team though, talk about tieing your hands, have fun getting rid of them.

Unlike Arlington, where there is virtually nothing to do within a mile radius/walking distance, there are quite a few bars and restaurants in the area. Like Arlington, I didn't have anything at the park, damned if Texas doesn't have plenty to eat outside of the park. I'd heard good things about Irma's, so we hit that for dinner. I really liked the fruit lemonade, shrimp tacos, fajitas, and enchiladas. Yeah, I was full. Great dinner.

The park itself is very nice. The air conditioning is a nice change from the upper 90's heat outside. With the windows and the grass, you still feel like you're almost outside. I would have liked for them to have opened the roof after sundown, but oh well. The park itself is very much like Safeco here in Seattle. Between the two, I'm still more inclined to choose Safeco. No, not because I'm a homer. Let me explain.

I felt pretty far off the field at Minute Maid. I was 24 rows up from first base/right field. I walked the park before the game, and was surprised how high everything was. Left center looks cool on TV, but when you're looking over that section you feel really divorced from the field. Same goes for Right. There are very few areas in the park where you're "right there". Safeco on the other hand has the area behind the bullpens (which are located in Left center) where the fans can literally be next to a major league pitcher, seperated only by a chainlink barrier. There's also a secondary raised area in Left center above the bullpen and below the seating level where you can see right down onto the field. And let's not forget dead Center at Safeco where you can reach over and catch a home run ball that bounces off the CF's glove.

I thought Minute Maid looked terrific, but was not as practical as Safeco. (Similar criticism of SBC Park.) Fan wise, seemed pretty similar to Seattle. Have a real penchant for showing up after the game has already started, for some reason need to get up and down fifty times, and get more excited for the opportunity to throw a nerf ball into a hoop on a guys head (for no prize), than they get when the game is on. Still, they cheer when it's exciting and show up, which is more than they did in Arlington.

Overall, I had a nice time in Texas. Really friendly people (but really bad drivers. )

www.redcross.org

Doug

 

[Doug Miller]

Thread revival!

Usually by now I've hit a park, but with a new 2 month old (and the 2-1/2 yr old), I was getting the stink eye from my wife everytime I brought it up.

A-HA! But now it's cool. I had a voucher for $100 off a plane ticket that expired next month, so on August 16th I'll be heading down to Denver to see Coors Field. I have a friend that, funny enough, works for Coors. I'll be meeting him early, we'll do Six Flags, then head through the city. I'm planning on 2 games, flying out the next night.

If that wasn't enough, the day after I made my reservations I got the call from work -- I "have" to go to a meeting in Chicago on the 9th, so I'm flying in a day early to do Comisk... er, US Cellular Field. Sox were in town, Cubs weren't. I've been to Wrigley before, but I'll probably still take the train up that way so I can get some better pictures this time.

Oh? My wife? Yeah, she wasn't too pleased that now I'm seeing 2 parks. I have to, it's for work!

Anyone else been anywhere new this year?

Doug

 

[Alex-C]

I just had to give back some Giants-Dodger tix at AT&T Park for August 19th. face value for the pair was $110 ! Just couldnt pull that one off right now. That amount will be vastly surpassed by our air conditioning bill this month (I live in the CA central valley and its been very hot!).
And it was even a Saturday night game....in the club level....inside 3rd base no less !!!

Aw well, I have been before and have more tix (free) for games later this season.

If they werent someone else's close to me, I would have ebay'd them, but it wouldnt have been cool to him to do that.

Oh well. We just went to game 2 weeks ago. I got some great pics. I will post them somewhere and link it here for those who are interested....

 

[Lew Crippen]

I went to a game at Dodger Stadium fir the first time. As my son and I were walking to the park, we were discussing the fact that it is now one of the oldest ballparks in the majors, which seems strange to me, as I they were the Brooklyn Dodgers while I was in high school and played for a few years at the Coliseum while Chavez Ravine was being built.

So for me Dodger Stadium is not an old park, but except for just a few, it is.

 

[Philip Hamm]

The fifth oldest ballpark in the major leagues at this time - behind the aforementioned Doger Stadium, Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, and Wrigley Field, is my Nationals' RFK Stadium. And it's a complete s-hole.

 

[Shane Martin]

Dodger Stadium doesn't feel old which helps keep its feel. AFAIK, they don't have any plans to build another stadium and I don't blame them.


This weekend I visited Baltimore and while it was 100 degrees, the 2nd level club deck was worth the $50. Waiter service to my seats, air conditioning and plasmas when I want it and a killer view of the 1b side made the visit worth it and I have to admit that Oriole fans are quite nice as well which.


Looking at Phillip's list, Yankee Stadium and RFK are both gone while the others will still be used until who knows how long. In truth I think it's a credit to who built the parks and how well they were designed for a baseball experience.

RFK is a craphole so I don't mind seeing it go. I just hope they don't screw up the design and make something gimmicky like the little hill out in the middle of CF at Minute Maid Park.

 

[Doug Miller]

Woo. These whirlwinds are fun.

Went to Chicago to US Cellular Field on the 9th. First impressions of the park weren't all that great. Sorry Sox fans. Good fans, but the ballpark was pretty mediocre. First things first, there's nothing to do around the park. I took the "L" in from the city, and the only thing close to the park is a hot dog stand up the street. When comparing other parks (no, not just Wrigley) it's nice having a big variety of stuff to do outside the park, US Cellular didn't have it.

When I was inside, the park was really clean, but not really exciting. The view was good, the seats were fine, but the park just didn't have any pizzaz. The only thing I really thought was cool about the park, and wondered why they didn't do it all over, was the brick around all the inside concessions. I was thinking, wow, this looks pretty good, why didn't they do this everywhere? Then I found out, that was added later when so many people complained about how sterile the park was.

The funniest/lamest/worst part of the trip was the complete cluster-f**k that is leaving the park. 44,000 people in the park, how many take the "L" home? Yeah, I'm betting about half of them. Nothing like thousands and thousands of people all rushing to the 8 turnstiles at the station. What a logistical nightmare. Surprisingly, I was on the train in less than 10 minutes. It wasn't really that bad, but the picture I took is worth a thousand words.... pics to come later.

Overall, the park was on the bottom half of parks I've been to. Food was OK in the park, good variety.

Just got back from a day over trip to Denver and Coors Field. My experience there was a lot better than US Cellular. I was down to Denver to visit a friend of mine that works for Coors. I was going to buy his ticket since he was going to show me around town, but since he works for Coors he said he'd see if he could score some freebies. Yeah.... good freebies. I took in the first game in one of Coors luxury boxes. First time (and probably last) being in a luxury box. It was cool for the experience, but I prefer being down with the fans, which I did for game 2. Game 2 I went solo, bought a $4 (yes, $4) "Rockpile" ticket, then sat 20 rows up from 1st base because the place was so empty.

Unlike US Cellular, there's a ton to do in Denver by the park. Quite a few bars, a lot of things in walking distance. When I was in the day before I walked through the on-site brewery. I ran low on time day one, so I skipped the bars around the park, and decided I'd just do the brewery in-park on game 2. But, at least I had the option.

For the record, I'm not really a drinker. Just never developed a taste for it. My buddies like having me around if not for my wit, then because I'm always good for being the designated driver. (And boy did they need it.) That said, I had a Coors Light in the box (out of respect) and one of the Sandlot Reds from the brewery.

Really enjoyed the park. The field felt close, I felt if the top section of seats were gone, that it would have felt like a Spring Training field. That's not an insult, I mean that it felt almost intimate. The fans were pretty average to low (like Seattle fans), but I really liked the park and the area. Worth doing another time.

That's all... (That's all? Long enough.) Pics later.

Doug

 

[Jason L.]

I knocked out a couple of stadiums this year bringing me down to 4 teams that I haven't seen a home game at.

Anaheim
Cleveland
Detroit
Tampa Bay

For some reason every time I am in LA the Angels are out of town, but given that LA is somewhat close to Vegas I will knock it out soon.

RFK Stadium - Washington Nationals 7/6/2007

I wanted to see this stadium before they build the new park - if only to see the place where the Cowboys beat the hell out of the Redskins for so many years

1. Don't bother to show up for batting practice. The outfield seats are very far away from the field. It takes a monster shot to hit it into the seats. I didn't see one ball go into the outfield stands during BP. This is a big negative since BP is sometimes more fun than the game.
2. Since the Senators have been spawned from the Expos - why are there no retired numbers except for Jackie Robinson? Where are Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, or Gary Carter?
3. There was a loud contingent of Brewers fans. Who would have thought?
4. As you can see below there aren't a lot of fans there on a Friday night in the summertime. I walked around the upper deck level of the stadium and there were no lines to most of the concession stands and the employees were just sitting there with nothing to do. I am officially saying this franchise is in trouble. Sure they will get a boost when the new stadium is built but after the newness wears off I predict they will be in trouble. You heard it here first.
5. You can't leave the stadium and re-enter. I hate that.
6. I couldn't even bring in a empty soda bottle so I could fill it from a water fountain.
7. I got a ticket for $5. I can't get a ticket at the minor league affiliate here for that cheap.
8. I liked the Big Head Presidents race [see last picture].
9. The Metro station is nearby. Mass transit is essential for a positive ballpark experience.

 

[ThomasC]

They're the Nationals, not the Senators.

 

[Jason L.]

D'oh! The funny thing is that I first wrote "Washington Generals" before I noticed it.

 

[Francois Caron]

Man, some things don't change! The crowds in Washington are just as thin as they were in Montreal!

 

[Philip Hamm]

Well, you have to remember, RFK stadium holds upwards of 60,000+ fans. It looks empty for baseball when there are 30,000 seats filled. That's one of the worst things about the old multi-use stadiums. They always looked empty for baseball. The new stadium will seat about 40,000 and will look a lot better. And it will have better food, though the "Dominic's" wieners and chorizos are pretty great.

But for the record, I agree. As much as I love baseball and I love having it here, there's a reason that baseball failed in this town twice before. Washington DC is just not a baseball town.

 

[Doug Miller]

I'm glad you guys gave the thread a bump. I was just going to do that myself. I'm heading to Philly and Pittsburgh the weekend after Labor Day, I'll be sure to report back. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to my Philly Cheese from Pat's, and a Priminati Bros sandwich (even though I don't like slaw) in Pitt.

I really like the flowerbed they have in DC, it looks cool!

Doug

 

[Jason L.]

PETCO Park – San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants 4/9/2007

I had already been to Jack Murphy stadium and I thought I would check out the new digs. This may not be the most opulent stadium, but given its downtown location, proximity to mass transit, and that fact that San Diego is always beautiful – this ballpark experience is one of the very best.

1.There is a large 7-11 and a Quiznos right next to the stadium. Awesome.
2.It is located downtown [right next to the Gaslamp District I believe], but you don’t get a view of the skyline inside the stadium.
3.It is located right next to the Rail Line. Sweet.
4.Lots of beautiful, tan, thin women.
5.$6 off with Military ID.
6.The PETCO name sucks. They need to work on that.
7.You can leave the stadium and come back in. Perfect to make a 7-11/Quiznos run after batting practice and before the game starts.
8.They still haven’t finished developing the area right near the stadium, which will only improve things.
9.I like the sandbox near the right field wall where kids can play [last pic]. There is also a mini-field next to the ballpark where kids can play.

 

[Philip Hamm]

I love Petco. They have the doggie treat salad bar there and I like getting the letters for my dogs. That's all.....

 

[Kevin Hewell]

I don't know about Milwaukee but Aaron's number is retired here in Atlanta. There also is a huge picture of the ball he hit to break Ruth's record on the back of the scoreboard that is very visible from the entrance plaza and the stadium's address is 755 (number of Aaron's home runs) Hank Aaron Drive.

 

[Jason L.]

The Sports Guy [aka Bill Simmons] has a photoblog of his recent trip to Tropicana Field in Tampa Bay here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...ns/tampa/part1