The Top Major League Baseball Stadium
After five years I at last reached my goal I had never grasped. When the 2006 season came to an end, I saw all of today's 30 Major League Baseball Stadiums. Please note: my visits were to the 30 stadiums of the '06 season. Important note since many teams currently whine to have brand new stadium after so much as a soda spill hits their baseball field. Now, blueprints for new stadiums are comming out of nowhere, which will put my little achievement out-the-loop. But, in this time, here are my ideas on the best of the bunch.
The Classics You Can't Afford To Miss
Fenway Park, Boston Red Sox - Fenway Park is home to Boston's baseball fanatics, The devoted crowds from all around come to the legendary ball park to breathe in it's charm and history. Exciting seeing the old-school left field score board, the famous Green Monster, and of course the Yawkey Way pre-game street fair celebrating baseball with delicious food and fun vibes from the crowd.
Yankee Stadium, New York Yankees - Like or not, Yankee Stadium is a place where people feel chills just by sitting down in their seats. Just think about when you were a kid seeing the famous white Facade among the billboards and scoreboard. Amazingly enough, Yankee Stadium is responsiblle for giving tackiness a good name in ballpark ads. Monument Park, holding trophies and achievements of Yankee legends, is important for the heritage of the park. The only downfall of the park is it's so-called closing in 2008, leaving the Yankees new stadium open in 2009. Maybe the Red Sox fans will miss the park. I said maybe.
The Best of the Bunch
Wrigley Field, Chicago Cubs - Nicknamed The Friendly Confines, you'll never find a bad seat in Wrigley Field. The stadium sits in Wrigleyville, with restaurants and bars surrounding. Original is the word to use when describing Wrigley's msot apealing quality. When you walk in, you want to watch a ball game. There are no unnecessary big screens blasting videos, nor expensive gimmicks, unlike Arizona's swimming pool or a kids fun world to measure up to the game. Wrigley could be called one of baseball's purest stadiums.
Dodger Stadium, Los Anglels Dodgers - With a superb view of downtown LA, Elysian Park Hills, and San Gabriel mountains around the stadium, Dodger Stadium is simply "Blue Heaven on Earth," as quoted by Tommy Lasorda. Some things have changed in recently: for instance, many ball park advertisements and a bunch of renovations. However, the spirit of the significant early 60's architecture is still in tact. Moving away from the arts, when visiting Dodger Stadium, you can not leave without having a bite of your first Dodger Dog. You won't be dissapointed.
The New Classics
AT&T Park, San Francisco Giants - Bold statement, yes, but AT&T park maybe the most gorgeous stadium in baseball today. Fans loved it when the Giants moved out of the unappealing, awful Candlestick Park, and into the new built 2000 ballpark. From a marketing standpoint, hard-hitting home runs into right field could fall in the San Francisco Bay. This section of the bay is better known as McCovey Cove, where kayak paddlers row to scoop up balls. I think AT&T Park's main plus is it's ablitity to be charmingly old fashioned with out being too cute. It's brick facade next to the self-operated scoreboard, and varieties of culinary selections are the perfect blend between history and the best of today. It's a good idea to make it in early, so you can get a chance to walk around the staduim. Many spots throughout the park allow full views in it's entirety: the ball park, the bay, and the city skyline.
The Best of the Bunch
Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore Orioles - Camden Yards opened only 17 years ago in 1992, but is already in a league of legendary ball parks. It was the first of newly stadiums to not only keep the neighborhood ball park look, but also helped renew low-end downtown areas. From an architectual standpoint, Camden gains on being neighbors with the inner harbor seaport (they have a fine tuned industrial feel), and the B&O warehouse. right behind the field. The brick warehouse is seen as a dramatic outlay to Camden, and is considered the stadiums most appealing image since its opening. The main attraction of the Yards, however, is the insanely popular Eutaw Street (located just behind the outfield). It's for pedestrians only, and throughfare hosting is in booths and restaurants. This includes a open view of the game.
PNC Park, Pitsburgh Pirates - The Pittsburgh Pirates aren't the most celebrated team on the field in the past few years, but the beautiful PNC Park was quite a gift in 2001. With only two decks, unheard of for most baseball stadiums, it has the smallest capacity of all the MLB ball parks and provides comfort when viewing the game. With a sight for sore eyes, PNC Park is enriched with speckles of its trademark gold color. The stadium is on the Allegheny River banks. It overlooks a beautiful view of downtown Pittsburgh, and also the gold painted Roberto Clamente Bridge. On game days, traffic is closed on the bridge, which allows people to walk to the stadium. The Clemente Bridge leads people to the busy River Walk, directly behind the outfield.
Safeco Field, Seattle Mariners - Opened on 1999, Safeco Field has many old time features, but its current sophisticated traits, along with its natural characteristics, sets it apart from the rest. Eventhough the bulding is huge, there is a warmness in the atmosphere, inviting to any fan. One of the most famous displays is the retractable roof, nicknamed by Seattle, the "umbrella". When rain drops, it only covers the player's field and stadium seats, keeping its reputation as an open-air valve. Out of this world views of Downtown Seattle and Puget Sound can be seen through out Safeco. It maintains it's city feel by works of art being displayed all along the ball park. The most talked about piece is more than likely the bat chandelier. This sculpture contains 1000 bats, dangled above the home plate entrance staircase.
