Rate the MLB stadiums you've been to

The Game Room
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In no particular order:

Yankee Stadium and Shea Stadium–Might as well start with my old home parks. It was always hurtful to me that the home park of my favorite team (Yankees) had the worst sightlines, the worst prices, and the worst food in the majors. Truth is, I would have starved there if it wasn’t for the Wendy’s across the street. Shea was OK, functional, but nothing special. I certainly hope the new parks are better designed, but, as far as the new Yankee Stadium goes, $25 for a nosebleed seat is obscene.

Dodger Stadium–Amazing that a park built at the same time as Shea and designed by the same architect has survived this long and is in so much better shape. Food is among the best (Gordon Biersch garlic fries…mmmmmm), ticket prices aren’t too out of line, and the fans are great. I went a couple of years ago to see them play the Mets, wore a Mets shirt, and didn’t get hassled at all.

Angels Stadium–Nice. Been there a couple of times. The upper levels are a bit high, but the food’s good and it’s very clean. I actually got more catcalls there for my Yankees shirt than I did at Dodger for my Mets shirt, though it wasn’t anything threatening.

Petco Park–Easy to get in and out of, decent food (but not great), nice wide concourses, but really doesn’t have a whole lot of charm. Better than some, not as good as others.

Fenway Park/Wrigley Field–Two old parks from the same era. I much prefer Wrigley. It’s still one of the best places to see a ballgame. It doesn’t show its age as badly as Fenway, which struck me as kind of dirty and not well-maintained. Now, it was about 20 years ago when I went to both places, so maybe things have improved.

Comiskey Park–I was there for its final season, and, outside of the fireworks display, I remember it being kind of a dump.

County Stadium, Milwaukee–Good brats, decent beer, park was just meh.

Camden Yards–One of the best. Apart from the sightlines under the overhang not being very good (but better than some others), it’s one of the nicest parks in MLB.

Pro Player/Dolphins Stadium–Just OK. As far as dual-purpose stadiums go, it’s not as bad as some people make it out to be. Depressingly empty, though. It hurts to go to a place where the product on the field is good, but the fans just don’t care.

The Ballpark at Arlington–Or whatever it’s called now. Interesting concept–incorporating elements from other famous parks into its design. Problem is, that’s what it looks like–like it was designed by committee. Still, great sightlines and decent food. And, we went to the restaurant on the upper deck on an off-night, and I was actually able to step out of one of the doors and stand behind the seats of the darkened park and look out onto the field. Kinda neat.

Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia)–My first time seeing a game on artificial turf. I stepped out of the concourse into the stadium itself, looked down, and was looking at a GOD-DAMNED POOL TABLE! That aside, for a 1970’s-era bowl stadium, it wasn’t too bad.

Fulton County Stadium–Enjoyable, comfortable, functional, but nothing special.

And one bonus minor-league selection:

Whataburger Field (Corpus Christi, TX)–After seeing minor-league games here in Vegas in what passes for a ballpark, I was amazed at the look of this place. Some of the best concessions anywhere, well-designed, comfortable, and great prices and promotions. I highly recommend it if you’re in or near the area.

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Lessee now…

Memorial Stadium: Orioles: this is where I learned to love baseball. I didn’t see too many games here, but it was my first stadium, so… Score: 8

Three Rivers: Pirates: One of those cookie cutters. Generally lousy, but it was really easy to get around Pittsburgh. For some reason that has stuck with me all these years. Was able to sit close to the action, which is a big bonus to me. Don’t remember the food at all, so… Score: 6

Veterans Stadium: Phillies: Had horrible seats. Fans didn’t seem all that interested in the game. But it was the first place I ever had honey-roasted peanuts. That should count for something, no? No. It should not. Score:6

Camden Yards: Orioles: good sight lines, knowledgable fans, beautiful park. The food was expensive, but that seems to be the standard now. I just love the view of the warehouse. And seeing the smoke from Boog’s waft over the field. My two best baseball viewing experiences happened here, so… Score: 9

RFK: Nationals: Pretty lousy. I’m a washingtonian by birth. Dreamed of having a baseball team. I move to Texas, and a few years later, they get a team. Mediocre food. Mediocre sight lines. Fans didn’t seem particularly knowledgable. But they get a home town bonus… Score: 6

Yankee Stadium: Yankees: I was here the night OJ went on his famous ride, which caused me to miss the only Grand Slam homerun I’ve ever been present to see. Mediocre food. Lots of history. Interesting fans. But Yankee Stadium died in 1976, Score:7

Shea Stadium: Mets: I remember very little about this place. Unimpressive in the extreme… Score:6

Fenway Park: Sooooo close to the field. My first game here, Roger Clemens is pitching. I’m behind home plate. He brushes back Kirby Puckett. The crowd goes “oooooh” and you can feel the tension in the stands. Niiiiiiice. Second game there, with my best friend. Old man behind us tells us stories of rooting for the Boston Braves. He still prefers the Braves to the Red Sox. It’s cramped, and the food wasn’t notable, but the crampedness had a charm to it. A lot of bad seats, though… Score: 8.

Stade Olympique: Expos: Saw this park 2 days after seeing Fenway for the first time, with the Roger Clemens brushback buzz. Pedro Martinez is pitching for the 'spo’s. He hits a Pirate and there’s a bench-clearing brawl. Fans go nuts and cheer. Later, Moises Alou hits a STAND UP TRIPLE. No one makes a sound. It appeared to only have one exit out of the building too. This was one of my worst baseball experiences ever, so… score:3.

Blue Jays Park: I can’t remember what it was called then. Good park. Friendly guy gives me a ticket for the next game. His seats were directly behind the visitor’s bench. I can peer through a crack and see the Yankees sitting in the dugout. Fairly smart fans… score: 7

Tiger Stadium: Tigers: The original one, where Ty Cobb played. One of my favorites. Saw the Orioles here. Davey Johnson smiled at me before the game when I was taking a picture of him. don’t remember the food. The people were nice. I didn’t think that part of town was as bad as it’s reputation. I ain’t gonna move there, but it wasn’t soo bad, so… score:7

Astrodome: Feh. Very unimpressive. nothing to recommend it, as far as I can tell, Score:5

Minute Maid Park:Astros: Nice park. decent access to food. Couldn’t find a vendor in the seating bowl to save my life. George HW Bush walked right in front of me, as did Rick Perry, governor of Texas. Saw a National, I can’t remember who now, get the phone number of a girl on the field before the game. Kinda funny. Score: 7

Texas Rangers: can’t remember the name of the stadium: I had horrible seats so I don’t think I can judge. It was in the first couple years of the stadium. Haven’t been back… Score:6

Colorado Rockies: saw a few games here. Very nice stadium. Nice food, and I was surprised at how knowledgable the fans were. Score: 8

Jack Murphy: It was a day game in the middle of the week, so I was able to get a seat about 3 rows from the field. It was warm, and the game was interesting. Don’t remember the food. Not enough fans there to make a judgement, but there was a lady near me who was OBSESSED with Archi Cianfrocco. Score: 7

Dodger Stadium: One of my favorites. Didn’t see a lot of late arrivals, which is what I expected. I still love Dodger Dogs. And Fire Dogs. My seats weren’t great, but I had a good time. Fans knew the game pretty well. Score: 8

Candlestick Park: Giants: First time there it was one of my worst experiences. August. I caught a freakin’ cold in August in candlestick. I thought the reputation was bull, until that night. I remember thinking the food was pretty good, though. Second time I’m there, it’s a day game and much warmer. Food choices looked interesting, but I didn’t have any money. Score:6

I’ve seen some games in minor league parks in Albuquerque, El Paso, the high desert of California, and here around Austin. The El Paso park sticks in my mind. That may be because I saw Lance Berkman play there. The program talked about what a huge prospect he was. In 3 at bats, he struck out swinging on 3 consectutive pitches each time. “No need to remember THAT name,” I said to myself.

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If it was before June 1989, at was Exhibition Stadium. It has since been torn down and replaced with BMO Field, a soccer stadium.

If it was after June 1989, it was either called SkyDome or Rogers Centre. Same stadium, renamed in 2004 (as I recall) after the company that owns the stadium and the team.

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Wonder why they didn’t rename it the Rogers SkyDome or something. SkyDome was always a fairly iconic name, you’d think they’d have wanted to capitalize on that somehow.

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Fenway, 8. Beautiful park, great history, Legal Seafood clam chowder if you’re in the premium seating area, a minimum of screaming loud music and asinine promotions between innings. Wildly overpriced seats if available, even for crappy locations as in the vicinity of the Pesky pole.

Enron/Minute Maid Field. 6. The worst, loudest and most distracting between-inning promotions ever. Do not sit on the right field side for evening games unless you want to be sun-blinded. Quirky but fun design, free parking available a short walk away. Bad food.

Astrodome. 7. Comfy, fun little park.

Shea Stadium 5. Downgraded for the incessant jet noise, the stupid home run apple and general feeling of cheap generic '60s sports park.

Wrigley Field. 6. Went once, sat in the bleachers, may as well have been on the moon, not that the party-types who sit out there care. Downgraded because I can’t stand Cub fans/announcers/ethos.

Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis. 4. The coldest August day I ever spent at a ballgame, also designed to seat you as far as possible from the action, such as it was.

Metrodome. 3. Hefty bags for fences. Idiotically bouncy turf.

Great American Ballpark. 5. What’s the point of being on the riverfront if you can’t see the river from the stadium seats?

Yankee Stadium (pre-renovation), 6. Memories colored by a friend and I having been gifted by a kindly stranger with box seats to watch Vida Blue get pasted by N.Y. Downgraded for being the home of the Yankees.

Where Cleveland and Pittsburgh play. 6. These might as well be the same stadiums. Retro, so-so.

Riverfront Stadium. 5. Plastic stadium, plastic fans.

Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia. 4. Makes Riverfront seem warm and inviting.

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It’s a pretty long list, so I’m blowing off the 1-10 ratings and just putting them in order.

  1. Wrigley Field, Chicago - Yeah, it does help that it’s home to my favorite team, but even if it weren’t I think I’d love it. There are some things wrong with the old girl (obstructed view seats, narrow walkways, crummy bathrooms), but there’s oh so much right about it. To me it is a shrine, and when I’m at Wrigley there is never anyplace else in the world I want to be.
  2. Fenway Park, Boston – Suffers from some of the same old age maladies as Wrigley, but there’s no place you’ll get closer to the game or its history. Looking out at the Green Monster is the closest you’ll ever come to Baseball Heaven (unless you’re looking at the ivy at Wrigley!).
  3. Yankee Stadium, New York – I’m a big Yankee-hater from way back, but even so, Yankee Stadium is hallowed ground to any baseball fan. I look forward to visiting the new place, but I doubt they’ll come close to recreating the aura of the House That Ruth Built.
  4. Camden yards, Baltimore – The best of the newer stadiums. The Eutaw street vending area gives it an old-time feel, but it’s got great sightlines and all the modern amenities.
  5. Pac Bell Park (or whatever it’s being called these days), San Francisco – McCovey Cove, the giant baseball glove, garlic fries… what’s not to love?
  6. Old Comiskey Park, Chicago – Some great memories there might have this higher on this list than it might otherwise be, but this old place sure had character.
  7. Petco Park, San Diego - Great architecture, and it’s almost always baseball weather there! I especially like the incorporation of an old existing building into the ballpark.
  8. Jacobs Field, Cleveland – It’s a nice, comfortable, modern facility in a convenient location. But it’s the atmosphere that made it a great time, at least when I was there. Cleveland truly does rock, and the game felt more like a party.
  9. PNC Park, Pittsburgh – Another beautiful new facility, but with lots of homage to Pirates history. Great views of the rivers and surrounding areas too.
  10. Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati – A fine place to see a ball game, with nice architectural nods to its riverfront location. And Skyline Chili Dogs at the concession stands!!!
  11. New Busch Stadium, St. Louis – A really nice new park with lots of personality.
  12. Tiger Stadium, Detroit – Another old historic park, but by the time I got there it had become fairly run-down, and it was in a truly terrible neighborhood. Still, I’m glad I went.
  13. Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia – It really is a nice stadium. Just too bad it’s in the middle of nowhere…
  14. Miller Park, Milwaukee – My favorite of the retractable-roof stadiums. From tailgating in the parking lot to Bernie Brewer and his big slide, I’ts a guranteed fun time at the ol’ ball park.
  15. Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City – It’s stuck waaay out on the Interstate with nothing at all around it…. But it’s really a nice place. The fountains in the outfield are a nice unique feature.
  16. County Stadium, Milwaukee – I always thought of County Stadium as Wrigley’s little sister. It was nowhere near as beautiful or historic, but the game day atmosphere was similar. And again, the tailgates were always a fun time!
  17. ** New Comiskey Park**, Chicago – I never bought into the complaints about the steep upper deck. The sightlines are good, the food is great, it’s a good place to watch baseball. Just doesn’t inspire much passion in me. The overall look is dull and sterile.
  18. Comerica Park, Detroit – It’s a nice, comfortable, new place. Aside from the big Tiger sculptures, though, there’s just nothing all that interesting about it.
  19. Safeco Field, Seattle – The same architects who built New Comiskey are responsible for Safeco as well, and it kind of reminded me of Comiscey with a sliding roof. Nice enough place. Fun neighborhood around it.
  20. The Ballpark @ Arlington, Arlington TX – Big and square, it’s like they built an old-style city stadium in the middle of a massive parking lot.
  21. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles – Not bad, but it actually has much less charm than it appears to on TV. Ridiculous traffic and parking nightmare.
  22. Turner Field, Atlanta – Much like Comerica, it’s a nice but not all that exciting place. Went there on a chilly, rainy evening though, so maybe I’m not giving it a fair shake.
  23. Bank One Ballpark (now Chase Field), Phoenix – A huge warehouse of a place, innovative when it was built but already a bit dated.
  24. Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim CA – It tries hard, but it ultimately has a mall/theme park kind of feel, in the land of malls and theme parks.
  25. Alameda County Stadium, Oakland – A multi-use park that nevertheless works pretty well for baseball. Clean and comfortable, not much of an atmosphere.
  26. Skydome, Toronto – The first retractable-roof stadium was a technical marvel in its time, but it’s a white elephant now. Too big for its own good, and it still has artificial turf!
  27. Candlestick Park, San Francisco – Not the best place for baseball, but what a unique old joint that was.
  28. Minute Maid Park, Houston – Way too many bells and (train) whistles. Sensory overload from the relentless turned-up-to-11 music and 43 different scoreboards made it tough to enjoy the game.
  29. Memorial Stadium, Baltimore – A decent, stately old place, but not a lot to recommend about it. It lived past its prime.
  30. Arlington Stadium, Arlington TX – It was a minor league stadium before the Rangers moved in, and it looked and felt every bit the part. A field surrounded by some bleachers. Yawn.
  31. Old Busch Stadium, St. Louis – Very similar to other cookie-cutter round stadiums of its era, Busch gets some extra points for the Gateway Arch-inspired design elements and good downtown neighborhood.
  32. Shea Stadium, New York – Also similar to the round buildings but open to the outfield to break up the monotony a bit. The upper deck is so high you can almost touch the planes flying over from LaGuardia, and you get 200 chances a game to do it.
    33 – 36. Fulton County Stadium, Atlanta; Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh; Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati; Veterans Stadium, Philadelphia – Here’s those cookie cutter circles I was talking about. Devoid of all personality, they might all have been built from the same blueprint. Fulton is first on the list because it had real grass. But still.
    37-38. Pro Player Stadium, Miami; Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego - At least the round parks were built for baseball. These are first and foremost football stadiums where they play(ed) baseball. Doesn’t work.
  33. Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland – Another football stadium, but a gargantuan, monstrous, cavernous one. Baseball had no business anywhere near this building.
  34. Olympic Stadium, Montreal – Kind of cool looking from the outside, but ugly and boring as hell inside. I give it a few points for having a roof tah was designed to be opened – except that it was broken for about the last decade of its use as the Expos’ stadium and stayed permanently closed. It was like being in a giant tent.
  35. Astrodome, Houston – I hate, hate, HATE permanent-dome stadiums. The Astrodome was less horrific than some others, but it was still awful. This is they place they invented Astroturf for, for Christ’s sake.
  36. Kingdome, Seattle – Ugly inside and out. Went there on a beautiful sunny afternoon and it was grey and dreary inside. Yuk.
  37. Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL – Ditto everything about the Kingdome, but it’s lower on the list because the playing surface is in terrible shape and because they still freaking play there! I hope the recent success the Rays have hade will renew interest in a new stadium there.
  38. Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis – Truly an abomination. A domed warehouse-like football stadium with fake grass, and folded-in football grandstands showing behind that stupid Hefty-bag outfield wall when they play baseball there. Which they shouldn’t. Ever.

Still need to get to: Coors Field, Denver; Nationals Park, Washington; and the new stadiums in New York.

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Wheelz, I envy you. I wish I’ve visited that many ballparks.

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It’s nice to be envied. :wink:

It’s taken me 20 years to build that list. A friend and I take a week each year and pick a direction. (We’ve also visited 111 Minor League parks.)

I always tell people it just takes a little planning and a Rand-McNally, and you can do it too!

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For those who love Wrigley and place it high on your list - could you expand a little more as to what it “gets right”? I’m not saying I don’t LOVE going to games there, I do. I just also hate it at the same time. Is there anything they could do to improve things? It seems that there is tons of room to expand the concourses on the 3rd base side, and possibly building out a bit on the Addison St. side. Any thoughts?

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(I will add that I say that cautiously, because it needs to be done correctly. What they did to Notre Dame Stadium* was not a good example.)

*For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, back in the early 90s ND wanted to expand their seating capacity from 50,000 to 80,000. Originally built in 1930, the brick building has a lot of history, and as such, everyone wanted to maintain the original building’s integrity. What was proposed was an outer “shell” that would buttress against the original structure without altering it in anyway, and expanding the bowl above it. It went from thisto this. The revisions aren’t bad - they’re actually pretty gorgeous as they fit in very nicely with the buildings around the stadium. But the light yellow brick is a signficant departure from the old red brick of the original.

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10 - PacBell: A perfect ballpark in an absolutely perfect location. Cha-Cha bowls, garlic fries, Sierra Nevada beer.
9 - Wrigley Field: Points deducted for the recently departed owners coasting on the general upkeep, but recent changes haven’t changed the overall feel too much.
8 - Miller Park: Points deducted for it being a dome and the general stuck in a middle of a gigantic parking lot and freeway intersection location, but a great overall stadium and great food.
6 - Turner Field: Not horrible, but all-in-all a pretty generic place, nothing particularly memorable about it. Major points deducted for the corporate-synergy Cartoon Network thing they had going on beyond center field.
5 - McAfee Coliseum: Yeah its old, yeah its dated, yeah Al Davis ruined it by putting a giant luxury box in the outfield and removing the scenic views of the hills, but the atmosphere is still pretty great and now that they’ve closed off the upper deck, it actually feels like you are watching a baseball game in person again. Now if only Oakland had a baseball team…
5 - BankOne Ballpark (Arizona): Was pretty impressive on my first visit in 1998, less so in later visits. Originally had a great brewpub across the courtyard from the stadium, but it got turned into a dance club before my last visit. There are no swimming pools in baseball! There is also nothing particularly “Arizona-y” about the place once you are safely inside the A/C.
5 - County Stadium (Milwaukee): A nostalgic 5…my first major league ballpark. Had the same great food that Miller Park inherited. The Lightbulbvision scoreboard that seemed so amazing in 1983 was a joke by 1990.
3 - Fulton County Stadium: Cookie-cutter blandness. My one memory of my one visit…a creep jacking off at the urinal trough… I might as well pretend that I visited Veteran’s, Three Rivers, Riverfront…but at least it had natural grass.
3 - New Comiskey Park: My one visit was in the El Capitan seats…about five rows up in the upper deck. I’m generally not one given to a fear of heights but I had major vertigo anytime I stood up. And you could hardly a tell a game was going on in the distance. And the view? Pathetic. At least the stockyards closed a few decades back.
2 - Candlestick Park: My one visit was a classic Candlestick experience…an April night game (the Brewers’ first National League game in SF). Colder than late season football games at Camp Randall in Madison, Wisconsin. +2 points for the garlic fries. Didn’t attend another Giants game until PacBell opened.