Rate the MLB stadiums you've been to

The Game Room
1

In this thread list the MLB stadiums you’ve been to on a scale of 1 to 10. Feel free to include parks that aren’t in use anymore.

In no particular order.
**
Dodger Stadium.** 7. The stadium has a great baseball atmosphere and many of the fans I’ve met there are very knowledgeable. Decent ballpark food. The seats were a bit cramped, but I understand they’ve redone some of them. I like the view, but the stadium is close to nothing. Before/after the game there are no places to eat or grab a drink. Like all stadiums I’ve been to in California, there are no beer vendors in the stands. In the cheap seats, vendors for anything were quite rare.
**
Houston Astrodome** 8 Wow, that was an experience. I’m sure you can’t get a Texas size beer at any park these days. But, I loved that they served those. Grab one before the first pitch and you’re set. No missing part of an inning because you’re stuck in the line. For a domed stadium, it was very nice although it was straight out of the 1970s. Comfortable cushioned seats although some of the cheaper ones had some weird sight lines. You’re going to get that in any of those 1960s/70s multipurpose venues. Again, there was nothing around the stadium, but at least parking was fairly easy. I didn’t find most of the people there to really know that much about the Astros or baseball in general. In fact, I saw very few fans wearing Astros shirts or jerseys.
**
Candlestick Park** 6 Well, it wasn’t as cold as the horror stories I heard about it. I went in June to a night game and it was pleasant enough. The food wasn’t that great, but hell in San Francisco who wants to eat ballpark food. Where the hell were the beer vendors? And why no Anchor Steam?. The ballpark was pretty remote as well. I had to take a Muni train and then transfer to a bus which went to the ballpark. However, I’ll give these Giants fans some credit. They know their baseball. I got to see them play the Dodgers and I felt like I was at a college football rivalry game. I haven’t yet been to their new stadium, but I’ve heard it is great.

Oakland Coliseum. 8. Yeah, you’re not going to send back postcards of the area, but the stadium is right at a BART stop and there were lots of A’s fans on the train with me. Although the stadium wasn’t sold out, almost every person was wearing A’s green. I was by myself and found myself talking to several people in the stands about the A’s of the early 1970s. Nothing is better than Oakand weather in June and I’m glad the A’s still play some day games. The ushers weren’t the typical prison guards and they let me move down to a decent seat near the dugout. I did wander towards some of the cheap seats towards the later innings and they’re definitely set up more for football. The food wasn’t memorable, but I guess it will do. There isn’t a thing to do near this ballpark. Since it is surrounded by the arena and the airport, there is no atmosphere. Still, I can get off the BART and be in San Francisco!

**Rangers Ballpark in Arlington **9. If this ballpark wasn’t in some anonymous suburb and surrounded by 6 Flags, it would get a solid 10. Parking sucks here and is expensive. Unless, of course, you drive a Lexus: They park for free and get valet service! Once you’re inside, this ballpark is gorgeous. I generally don’t like to sit past third base, but this ballpark has great sight lines even out close to the outfield. The food here is outstanding. There are vendors everywhere who actually try to not block your view of the game. Even the scoreboard is great with lots of stats. The Rangers always have great ticket deals as well. I’d say about half the fans were wearing Rangers T shirts. Of course, they have a lot of promos with free Rangers shirts. They also have some promo where they discount T shirts on specific days. There is a nice museum as well.
**
Jack Murphy ** 7 I’m sure Petco is much nicer, but I haven’t been yet. I liked the old stadium, but you had to sit very close to the field or you’ll get that ‘watching baseball in a football stadium’ view. This stadium had the best food I’ve ever had at a ballpark with those Rubios fish tacos. Amazing. Of course, a couple of cold brews and gorgeous San Diego weather also help! I’d say that most of the fans I met there were very laid back and not exactly die hard Padres supporters. I went there in 1998 to see one of the Diamondbacks very first games and many of the fans there didn’t even seem to mind that Tony Gwynn wasn’t playing. I had actually gone to that game specifically to see him. Although the stadium isn’t close to anything, it is a quick drive away from more interesting areas of San Diego. Also parking was quick and easy and I don’t remember it being very expensive.

Florida Marlins Ballpark. 3. Where to start? Ugly and hot. Florida weather is miserable and the unpadded hard orange seats in this stadium make you just sweat and stick to your seat. This is a football stadium designed to cram as many people in as possible. Have you ever met a Florida Marlins fan? Almost every fan was cheering for the opposing team. Food and drinks here were NFL expensive. A view? How about a nice view of the Florida turnpike? Also, you will see the names of Miami Dolphins greats but no mention of anyone from the Marlins. To make it worse, the Marlins have the worst uniforms in baseball. They look like they’re playing a spring training game with their odd uniform combinations.

Chase Field 7. The only urban ballpark I’ve been to. It is right on the new Phoenix light rail line. Kind of a nice baseball buzz around the park on most days. On most days, the fans are usually cheering for the D-backs although Cubs games truly suck with all the Midwest transplants cheering for a team that hasn’t won a World Series in a century :smiley: Yeah, the retractable roof thing is weird. I’ve sat through day games in Texas and Florida summers, so I think the D-backs would have been fine with an open air stadium. The stadium does seem dark which is odd during day games. Every seat in this stadium is nice. It was built for baseball so you can get a good view of the game from any seat. The food is decent, but there are plenty of restaurants around the ballpark so you’re not stuck with just the Chase Field food if you get to the area early. Diamondbacks ticket deals are everywhere, so no one pays regular prices for tickets. The red ‘D-backs’ shirts are ubiquitous and many fans are wearing them to the game and in the sports bars around Central ave.

OK, there are my reviews of the MLB stadiums I’ve been to. Feel free to use your own criteria when you rate the parks you’ve been to.

2

More than I realized, but here goes:

Fenway Park: 6. Seats are close to the action, but with remarkably crappy views, unless you love rightfielders. Plus, they were built for people the size of our great grandparents. The place has been spruced up quite a bit under the new owners, though, and I give special props to the Monster Seats. I’ve been to a couple of games in the luxury boxes, too - the catered snacks are nice, but don’t mix well; fortunately there’s an open bar, too. They look just like Marriott Residence Inn living rooms inside, complete with a TV showing the game that’s going on right outside the frickin’ window. But the seats are open air, at least, and in foul ball range. But I do understand the guy in the Miller commercials who says “I’m gonna get me a hot dog - let me know I’m alive”.

Braves Field: 7 for the experience. Yes, there’s some left - the RF bleachers are now the grandstand at the BU stadium, and the ticket arcade is still standing, too. Dorm buildings arranged where the main grandstand was let you know where the field was. There’s enough left to let you imagine you’re watching Warren Spahn give up a homer into the Jury Box.

Yankee Stadium: 5. All the discomfort of Fenway, but you need binoculars, especially from the bleachers. Plus, you can’t get a good look at the monuments anymore. The place should have been replaced entirely in the Seventies, really.

Shea: 8. Modern enough to be comfortable, close enough to the field to see clearly, and a great view of the pattern at LaGuardia. I know some would take off points for that but it’s a plus for me.

Olympic Stadium: 4 before they put the roof on, 2 afterward. Cold (even when indoors), lonesome, plastic knee-killing field, annoying mascot, laid out for a Canadian-size football field. The few people who came were *not *going to sing along with “The Happy Wanderer” no matter what, Monsieur Le Organiste, so let it go, eh?

Exhibition Stadium: 6, but it would have been lower in the rain. Weirdest park I’ve ever been in - an L-shaped section of roofless bleachers in a corner of a football stadium, with the grandstand fading off into the night. Fence set across the football field, so that homers would keep on rolling into the far end zone. Weird silence in the stands, like the fans think they’re watching tennis or golf. The same seems to be true in the Dome, which I’ve seen under construction but not since - is there a law in Canada against cheering?

Veterans’ Stadium and Riverfront Park: 5 (they were the same place, really). More Seventies concrete and plastic with football stripes showing. Seats well-oriented, but with high climbs and high distances - you’d look more down than over at the game.

Metrodome: 4. Same as the above, but with the outside world cut off. Seat layout is designed for football, so too often you’re a little sideways. More knee-killing plastic, and the Baggie in RF is silly too. PA way too loud, perhaps to cover the blower noise? Minny, you don’t have to build a new park - just tear the roof off, put in real grass, realign the seats, and play ball, dammit!

Cleveland Municipal: 2 (and that’s being kind). Another empty barn, crumbling, lifeless, with huge distances from the seats to the field - well, so few people went there that you could move to the front row with no problems. Sit in the back of the lower deck and half the field was cut off, though. The place seemed entirely different for Browns games, btw - having a place be full makes a huge difference.

Jacobs Field: 8. They got it just about right the next time, though. The grandstand is still pitched too high for my comfort, to fit the luxury boxes in, but otherwise it’s fine. It’s architecturally connected to the city around it, it has great concessions, and the prices are low too.

Camden Yards: 9. Not a 10 only because the team is bad and most fans seem to be from the visiting team, taking advantage of Southwest fares and good prices. This place really is everything a ballpark should be otherwise. Everything you’ve heard and read is true. The copycats have not quite been as good because they’ve made changes to the formula.

Tiger Stadium: 7. Seats old and small but close to the action, and well aligned with the field. Lively atmosphere, when the team was good and the place was filled, and without nonbaseballish distractions.

Oakland Coliseum (pre Mount Al): 7. That was a very nice place, before they destroyed the view of the hills. Too much foul area and too much distance, true - but they originated the Dot Races on the scoreboard :). Nice climate helps - no Croix de Candlestick needed there.

Anaheim Stadium: 7. An “attraction” built in the middle of a parking lot on the freeway, with an artificial waterfall that would fit in Disneyland next door. Still, good sight lines and good layout, good concessions, good prices.
**
Jack Murphy Stadium** (before stands built to close in RF): 8. A view like Oakland had but with better sight lines. Friendly, relaxed, fun.

3

Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks. Published in 1998, totally out of date but still an interesting read.

Wiki.
Amazon

4

Not a huge baseball fan, only been to 3 parks, at different stages of life…but here goes, in order of preference.

  1. Camden Yards. Absolutely the best. Been 3 or 4 times. Stunning park, great sightlines, great experience. What I would want every baseball experience to be (minus the poor team, but I went in the 90s when they were respectable)

  2. Chavez Ravine (Dodgers). Went as a kid, so always a soft spot in my heart. Warm weather, Dodger blue, skyline.

  3. Fenway Park. Yeah, yeah, it’s got history. Also has terrible seating, built for midgets (short people, vertically challenged, etc). Like the surrounding area - it’s not a park out in the middle of nowhere, isolated by giant tracts of parking.

5

Roughly from best to worst, and discounting the product on the field:

9 - Pacific Bell Park, San Francisco Giants (or whatever its current corporate name is.) Fantastic stadium in every respect; beautiful location, lovely ballpark, kid-friendly, great walk-around value, and you have to adore the garlic fries. Does get very cold at night.

8 - Petco Park, San Diego Padres. As nice as you’ve heard.

7 - Comerica Park, Detroit Tigers. Very lovely park, and one thing I like about it is they took the idea of a park being built primarily for a particular team and really ran with it. Major disadvantage: it’s in Detroit.

7- Turner Field, Atlanta Braves. A shockingly nice park; you would never, ever know it was once an Olympic coliseum. Has a Braves Hall of Fame, which is a great idea not used many other places. Easy to get good seats and a lovely park. Loses points for there being nothing of interest around it.

6 - Rogers Centre, Toronto Blue Jays. Significantly improved over the last five years due to a concerted refurbishment effort; would have earned a 4 in 2004. Still too much concrete and astroturf and not enough good food, but unique, great sightlines, and unquestionable the best LOCATED stadium in all of baseball.

6- Cellular Field, Chicago White Sox. Not as bad as I have been led to believe. Good looking park, good food, nice area in center field. Reasonably priced. Loses two points for being inthe damned ghetto.

6 - Bank One Ballpark, Or Whatever It Is Now, Arizona Diamondbacks - A modern park with nice amenities, but a bit too vertical in construction and the structure of the outfield looks stupid in person. Well located.

5 - Fenway Park, Boston. A lot of points for history and an enthusiastic crowd; not actually a comfortable park, though. Very expensive and the food was surprisingly bad, though maybe my expectations were too high. Definitely not Wrigley. Location is an unfortunate combination of being in an area that’s hard to get to and yet simultaneously not near anything else you’re planning on seeing. Still, hey, there aren’t many ballparks with this kind of history.

5 - Angels Stadium, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in Orange County California - Serviceable. Accessibly only by car, so far as I can tell. Not ugly, nice walkaround, but nothing special. VEry good, enthusiastic fans, which I did not expect.

5 - Miller Park, Milwaukee. Serviceable. Actually, it’s above average inside, but very, very poorly located and getting from your car to the stadium is only a slightly shorter walk than if I’d just started walking from my house in Ontario.

5 - Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees. For all its glory and history it was in a lousy neighborhood and the place looked its age.

3 - Exhibition Stadium, Toronto - One of the more ill advised ballparks in recent baseball history, but ranks above the really bad ones by virtue of a very nice location, a good crowd, and being sort of goofy and charming.

3 - Shea Stadium, New York Mets - Bleah. Nothing, really, was good about this park.

2 - Whatevertheycallit Coliseum, Oakland. Hideous ballpark, terrible food, located nowhere. The move to Fremont cannot come too soon.

0 - Stade Olympique, Montreal Expos - Hideous. An absolute dungheap and an embarassment to Major League Baseball. It was painful to attend games in this gigantic pile of merde.

I’ve been in more stadiums but I keep forgetting which ones I’ve been to.

6

RickJay

You seem to be one of the resident baseball experts here…you’ve never been to Camden Yards? Just wondering what it ranked…

7

8 - Yankee Stadium - Yes, I’m a homer, but I’ve been there so often it feels like a second home. The concessions suck; the traffic sucks worse (unless you go by subway,) but walking out of the tunnel on a sunny day, seeing the facade and the green outfield grass, and anticipating Bob Shepard’s voice? That, my friends, is baseball heaven.

9- Camden Yards - Just a fantastic atmosphere and setting; great concessions.

8 - Kauffman Stadium - Sure it’s old now, but the waterfall is still cool and the fans love their team.

7 - Busch Stadium - Rabid, knowledgeable fans and I’m partial to stadiums right in the city.

2- Shea Stadium. Seriously hideous. Horrible colors; bad concessions; fear your car will end up at one of the chop shops right next door.

7 - Toronto Skydome. I was lucky enough to have great seats, so I can’t be totally objective. I remember the crowd being a lot of fun, if not that "into"the game. I was only there the once so I can’t say that’s normal.

8

I am afraid that the opportunity has never come up. I’ll get to it sooner or later!

9

The Fremont move is off. The A’s are in a tough situation. The Bay Area probably won’t build them a new stadium, but I’m not sure where they could move to. The A;s will probably have to hunker down and stay in Oakland until the economy improves.

10

The Raiders are tied into the place on a long-term lease too, aren’t they?

So much for tearing out that monstrosity in center field, then.

11

The good thing about being by Six Flags is that you can park in their lots during the park season - I believe it’s cheaper than stadium parking, and can get you closer than a lot of it too (it is definitely cheaper if you have a season pass to the park :D)

I like the park, and am sad that I haven’t gone in a while.

12

Did you go to the new Busch stadium? That is one I’d like to see.

13

No, this was in '91.

14

The only one I’ve been to is PNC Park, home of the unfortunate Pittsburgh Pirates. It’s pretty nice as far as seating, views, etc. But the food sucks and is way overpriced.

15

Fenway- MY HOUSE. Been going there when there were $1 bleachers and the Box seats ended at Pesky Pole. They PACK them in there, so don’t even think about being comfortable if you’re “above normal size” and even if you’re not big, it’s a crap shoot. And there are plenty of great restaurants in Boston, so no excuse for relying on the “cuisine”, although it’s actually improved over the years. Sox in a close one, kickin’ butt or getting blown out, it doesn’t matter Freezing in April or muggy in August, who cares? The place will be Rockin’ !!! The most passionate fans in all of professional sports by a long shot. Until you’ve been to Fenway, your life as a baseball fan is incomplete. (What do you mean “biased”??) And remember, whatever you do, AVOID THE RIGHT FIELD BOX SEATS!!!. You don’t go to a ball game to watch the bullpen all night. Why do you think those are the only tickets available?
Take the SRO ones, you’ll thank me later
Olympic Stadium- absolutely awful- don’t like to say bad things about the dead, so I will just say the place was EMPTY. The only time I’ve been there when there was a crowd was when the Red Sox were there. The only problem with that was the concession lines were 45 minutes long due to the fact they weren’t used to the large crowds. The one great thing about Montreal was that the ushers were GORGEOUS, every one of them.
**
Candlestick Park**- Cold and empty (for a June afternoon inter-league game against the Angels). Food was decent, not too pricey. Very laid back fans for those who were there. The nice thing about the lack of interest was the availability of good seats right behind home plate.

Veterans’ Stadium- horrid football stadium, and that’s being nice. They definitely have fans that are into the game

Marlins Stadium- see Veteran’s Stadium- only newer and no fans and I mean NONE. You call up to see what time they game is and they reply “What time can you get here?”

Camden Yards- OBSTRUCTED VIEW!!! IN A NEW STADIUM !!. And I thought the right field seats at Fenway were the worst. At least they’re closing in on a hundred years. Brand new stadium where you can’t see the right fielder from right field seats?? No excuse for that. BTW, GREAT food, thanks Boog

Shea- dirty ugly, nothing really there. Fans seemed ok, nothing special. I do admit I’ve had some great conversations with some impressive Mets’ fans, but that’s been at Fenway. The planes didn’t really bother me, but maybe because I’ve haven’t been there enough times. I could see how one could grow tired of them.

Yankee Stadium- ton of history, great place to watch a game, fans definitely into it, and this was at non- Sox games. Always sat up in the upper deck as I loved looking at the old wall vs. the new wall in left center.

Skydome- not too bad, but I admit a bias to the city of Toronto, by far the nicest city I’ve ever been to. Not too big of a fanbase, but there definitely are some serious fans that I’ve talked to. A must for anyone visiting is the glass floors on the CN Tower observatory right next to the Skydome.

Wrigley- HEAVEN, great place to watch a game. The fans are great. The 4 times I’ve been to a Cub’s game have been a great experience. The fact that I was a Red Sox fan went over great and plenty of stories were exchanged.
**
Comiskey/Cellular Field**- basic, nothing special, nothing too bad. Fans seemed more interested in being antiCub than against their present opponent.

Jack Murphy- nothing special. As ElvisL1ves mentioned “Friendly, relaxed, fun.”

Miller Park- Surprisingly nice inside, much better than what it appears from the outside or on TV. BEST FOOD at any ballpark I’ve been to, including Camden. Hit for the cycle when I was there (hot dog, Italian sausage, Bratwurst, Cheese wurst.) Did I get a Polish sausage or is that a Bratwurst?? Anyway, it was 4 different kinds and I could actually feel my arteries constricting as I ate. Parking is awful, right off the highway, but forever to park then walk to the stadium.

16

No Cisco Field?

I’m heartbroken. I was looking forward to that - I get to the Bay Area quite a lot, as my best bud lives there.

17

Heres a few old stadiums (that probably would not get mentioned otherwise)-

RFK stadium for the old Washington Senators- (1) I saw the Yankees vs Senator and all i can remember is concrete.

Parc Jarry (Jarry Park) for the old Montreal Expos (7) Intimate small park much like Fenway without the obstructions. I loved going to games at Parc Jarry.

Atlanta Fulton County Stadium (3) I went to many Braves games during the lean years in the late 70’s and 80’s. Not an ideal stadium.

18

Parks I’ve been to from best to worst:

Camden Yards: They got everything right with this one. A great place to watch a game. Also gets points for the fact that the O’s are so hated in Baltimore that as a visiting fan it’s easy to get great seats.

Yankee Stadium: Loses points because the neighborhood around it sucks, but once you walk out the tunnel, you are in a different world. Beautiful interior, tons of history, and great atmosphere. The place was starting to fall apart though.

Citizens Bank Park: Enjoyable place to watch a game, but nothing really stands out about it. Despite being in the city, there is nothing around it.

Fenway Park: I like the surrounding area and the exterior of the park, but the place sucks once you get inside. There are nicer minor league stadiums. Uncomfortable and bad sight lines. I love historic buildings, so I had really high expectations, but Fenway was a huge let down.

Shea Stadium: There is nothing good to be said about the place except that it is gone. No charm or history.

19

I made it to a game at the Astrodome when I was very young and therefore can’t remember much.

More recently, while in college at Pittsburgh, I went to a number of Pirates’ games at PNC Park. It really is beautiful, and from what I’ve read, it’s one of the best looking parks in all of baseball. It’s a shame the team is so bad.

20

Kaufman Stadium (Royals): 9 The product on the field is terrible, but the accommdations are fantastic. I’ve spent dozens of afternoons as a kid in the outfield General Admission seats eating chocolate frosty malts and too much soda and peanuts. The fountains are great, the concourses are wide, and now that they’ve replaced the astroturf, it’s just a beautiful park.

New Comisky (Cellular One now? White Sox): 6.5 It’s a pretty decent place to watch a game, despite the neighborhood. I did take in a game in the outfield bleachers, which I don’t recommend for anyone with vertigo or trouble walking/climbing - those steps and seats are STEEP. But the park is really nice.

Nationals Park (Washington Nationals): 8 I caught a game last year, and fear for the money that’s not going to be recouped at this gorgeous park. Really large capacity, but it feels intimate, even from a few levels up.

Wrigley (Cubs): 4 Listen - I really enjoy watching the Cubs play, and the surrounding area is great. The fans are fun to be around. However, the atmosphere makes up for the majority of this score, as the comfy confines are a total crap hole. People actually feel nervous walking around the concourses - they’re too narrow, make you feel like livestock, and it would take one person yelling, “FIRE!” to start a stampede. The view from anything other than box seats is atrocious. I don’t want them to change a thing.

Great American Ballpark (Reds): 7.5 This is a wonderful new park, with nary a bad seat in the house. I’ve sat in the nosebleeds, I’ve sat in box seats, I’ve sat down the line - they’re all great views. And looking outside the park at the fantastic view of the river is a treat.

Busch Stadium (old, Cardinals): 4 I caught a game in August as a child, and nearly got heat stroke. I was pretty unimpressed by the view near the water fountain which my mom made me chug from most of the game - but it was my first NL game, so that was cool.

Coors Field (Rockies): 6 I liked the fake rocks in the outfield when I first went, but have a feeling they will lose (have lost?) their novelty at some point. The field-level box in right field seems like a really cool idea, and I seem to remember someone saying that every single seat is angled towards home plate, regardless of location.