Ranking the stadiums

[Evan]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/specials/fansurvey/2008/index.html?eref=T1

[Thunder Dan]

wow. Cleveland gets #1? I personally think the food sucks there

[Evan]

They should have an option to rate the actual building itself because the Rangers have a nice stadium but I agree with the rest of the rankings that go along with it.

[Thunder Dan]

They should have an option to rate the actual building itself because the Rangers have a nice stadium but I agree with the rest of the rankings that go along with it.

it's funny how the stadiums built in the early 90s still are considered some of the best, and often times better than the new ones today. I'm thinking of Jacobs Field, Ballpark at Arlington, and Camden Yards

[tlongII]

Safeco Field in Seattle is terrific.

[Purple & Gold]

Dodger stadium should be #1. Or as me and my friends call it. Hoochie stadium.

[K-State Spur]

it's funny how the stadiums built in the early 90s still are considered some of the best, and often times better than the new ones today. I'm thinking of Jacobs Field, Ballpark at Arlington, and Camden Yards

Camden Yards at 14 is ridiculous.

[FlavoredIcecream]

Dodger stadium should be #1. Or as me and my friends call it. Hoochie stadium.

:lol Why do you call it Hoochie Stadium? Are there a lot of hoochies there?

I've never been to any ballparks in the West coast but I'm heading out there this summer. My goal is to go to every MLB Park. :elephant:

[DBryant88]

the traffic out of fenway isnt that bad

[MajorMike]

I'm suprised the Cards' affordability is so low; I always thought it was very moderate there.

Of course, the Cards' fans have the #1 Baseball IQ.

[clambake]

there's something about dodger stadium thats electric. every baseball fan needs to see a game here.

[Evan]

there's something about dodger stadium thats electric. every baseball fan needs to see a game here.

I have heard that from a lot of people over the years.

[sribb43]

The only good thing about the Rangers right now is their ballpark....its a great place to watch a game even if they lose most of the time

[monosylab1k]

there's something about dodger stadium thats electric. every baseball fan needs to see a game here.

Really? I wasn't all that impressed when I went. It was nice, but the fans acted like they couldn't care less. 2 hours of the night was spent watching about 10 beach balls throughout the crowd being batted around. They paid about as much attention to the actual game as a typical Rough Ryders crowd. I might have just been to a bad game tho. Reds-Dodgers.

[Evan]

I agree. The stadium is fantastic...so cozy.

But they need to have better food and lower the price of everything including tickets. Nobody wants to pay $10 for kinda cold beer and barely edible hot dogs.

[JMarkJohns]

Camden Yards at 14 is ridiculous.

Agreed. I've only been to a handful on the list, but it tops my list.

I've been...

Chase Field
Petco Park
PNC Park
Yankee Stadium
Camden Yards

I'd like to see a game at Coors Field, AT&T Park, Wrigley and Fenway. May have an opportunity for Fenway this summer. Maybe...

[Thunder Dan]

PNC is probably the best stadium I've ever been to. The team sucks, but the stadium is incredible.

Wrigley is the most overrated stadium I've been to. I used to live 3 blocks from it and have seen seven games there. There is nothing great about it other than the history- but if you actually think about it nothing 'great' happened there. The seats are uncomfortable, most of the views suck aside from box seats and the bleachers. The best part is drinking before the game at all the bars in Wrigleyville.

Dodger Stadium is awesome just because of the views. Catch a day game there and you will know what I'm talking about.

Detroit's new stadium is also nice, but it doesn't compare to PNC- not even close. Catch your favorite team at PNC if you can.

[JMarkJohns]

I'd rank my visits as...

Camden
Petco
PNC
Chase
Yankee
Jack Murphy

Them's the six I've been to. Yankee Stadium was a better tour than it was game experience.

[PHXSpursFan]

I've been to all the NL West Stadiums, and all of them are great in their own rights.

[SrA Husker]

A little old now but I prefer the ESPN rankings

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stadiums

[K-State Spur]

I'm suprised the Cards' affordability is so low; I always thought it was very moderate there.

Of course, the Cards' fans have the #1 Baseball IQ.

Cardinal tickets are pretty ridiculously expensive. $40 for OF bleacher seats for some weekend games.

People are willing to pay though, so can't blame the business model.

[K-State Spur]

A little old now but I prefer the ESPN rankings

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/stadiums

Agreed. Much better rankings.

[TheTruth]

Coors Field is gorgeous. Sitting behind the first base dugout and seeing that sun set was one of the great sporting event moments of my life.

[JMarkJohns]

Coors Field is gorgeous. Sitting behind the first base dugout and seeing that sun set was one of the great sporting event moments of my life.

So... 1st-base side. I prefer sitting 3rd-base side most times, just cause, but if that's the side you'd recommend, then that's the side I take when I get the chance.

[BUMP]

ive been to five stadiums ill rank them in this order

Safeco Field (many times incredible venue)
Ballpark in Arlington (been there a million just feels like home)
Minute Maid Park
Pac Bell Park (even with Bonds it was nothing special)
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Pro Player/Dolphins stadium whatever the hell its called lol

[JMarkJohns]

Pac Bell Park (even with Bonds it was nothing special)

Really? On TV it looks like a fantastic stadium. I've heard they have great vending options as well.

[MajorMike]

Wrigley is the most overrated stadium I've been to. I used to live 3 blocks from it and have seen seven games there. There is nothing great about it other than the history- but if you actually think about it nothing 'great' happened there. The seats are uncomfortable, most of the views suck aside from box seats and the bleachers.

Couldn't agree more. Would add the restrooms are tolerable if there hasn't been a backup on the floor thru the drains that day. I also do my best to avoid walking under any areas with concrete overhangs.

Other than the supposed 'historical' value (where again nothing signifigant has ever happened here) the place is a complete dump. If you go when the ivy is dead then it looks even worse.

You can't park within 5 miles of the thing and if you aren't the typical city-goer you have no clue how to get on the right el to go there.


On a lighter note, having been to many stadiums that you can argue older or newer is better or whatever, the best food bar none HAS to be the garlic fries at Pac Bell. Plus for such a crappy area of town the stadium is quite nice.

[Thunder Dan]

On a lighter note, having been to many stadiums that you can argue older or newer is better or whatever, the best food bar none HAS to be the garlic fries at Pac Bell. Plus for such a crappy area of town the stadium is quite nice.

the best stadium food is at PNC Park. Pittsburgh has a place called Primanti Brothers and that make these awesome sandwiches that have tons of meat, fries and other stuff on them. They have a giant food court section at PNC and these is a Primanti Bros. stand there, it's great.

http://direwolf.org/images/Primanti%20Brothers%20Sandwich.jpg

[JamStone]

That looks like a "cause of death" on an autopsy report.

[Thunder Dan]

That looks like a "cause of death" on an autopsy report.

it takes atleast 3 months off your life when you eat it, but it's awesome

[JMarkJohns]

That looks like a "cause of death" on an autopsy report.

That's funny... There's a pizza place in Yuma, Arizona named Ronnie's. There pizza is good, but they are most famous for their "pizza steaks" which is essentially a Philly cheesesteak, but includes as many toppings as you want besides the shaved steak slices and you get any of their cheese options as well.

The thing was so greasy, they had to use wax coated paper to wrap it in, otherwise the grease would just soak through the wrapping, the paper bag it came in, and whatnot.

We used to refer to them as a heartattack.

Yo! Get me a heartattack with every cheese, pepperoni, sausage, peppers and olives.

That was my favorite!

You could get a loaded footlong heartattack for roughly 6 bucks, or a small for around 4.

Good eatin...

[JackArse]

there's something about dodger stadium thats electric. every baseball fan needs to see a game here.

probably as long as you see more than just the middle 3 innings like most of the fans there. course, it's due to traffic, but still.

and i still call chase field - the bob
same as i still call u of p stadium - cardinals stadium.
and the US airways center - america west
and jobing.com arena - glendale arena

[MajorMike]

heh, I called it the BOB when went went to the Insight Bowl this year. I went lots of times in the 1st couple years, including the game Big Mac hit a couple out of the back wall in BP (and subsequent Grand Slam in the 1st inning).

[JackArse]

hahaha. nice, when they asked mark reynolds about the new HDTV/scoreboard thing, he said, i'm not gonna pay to fix it when i hit it.

[Thunder Dan]

everyone I know that has been to Bank One Ballpark says it's a dump and a terrible baseball stadium. They even wrote about how crappy it was on Foxsports.com last year as one of the reasons the DBack's playoff games didn't sell out

[JMarkJohns]

everyone I know that has been to Bank One Ballpark says it's a dump and a terrible baseball stadium. They even wrote about how crappy it was on Foxsports.com last year as one of the reasons the DBack's playoff games didn't sell out

That's not true at all. You get great sight lines from every seat, can sit and watch in comfort with the roof closed and with the air conditioning on and there's actually a pretty good amoutn of vending options. They've added some since the ESPN.com rankings - probably because of the rankings.

All in all, it is what it is, a stadium taylored for comfort of the fan rather than overall aesthetics. You can't have a traditional ballpark in Phoenix. You just can't. There's only so much you can do with a retractable roof. It has it's novelties - the pool in right field, the restaurant about the left-field bleachers, the jumbotron and the comfortable seats with good angles and views.

It may not be top-10, and, truth be told, may barely be top-20, but it is not a dump. Not at all. In the walkaround there's a tribute to an aspect of baseball on every pillar. They went out of their way to include views from the upperdeck of the surrounding mountains through the cutouts.

The only reason someone wouldn't like it is that it doesn't quite feel like a traditional baseball park. As I said, you just can't have that in Phoenix.

The reason the playoff games didn't sell out is because Phoenix fans in general are fickle. They latch on the the top team the city has to offer. In recent years, that's been the Suns. You watch... within one or two years, Chase will be 80/90% capacity for most games while the Suns hover around 10/12,000 or 60% capacity.

It is a park that's harder to appreciate because of its inabilities, but it offers a lot if the partaker cares to look.

[Melmart1]

I have been to a few ballparks, but almost all of them seem to have been closed in favor of a newer stadium by now. Man I feel old.

I agree that the ESPN rankings are better. I know you guys will just call me a homer but Rangers Ballpark in Arlington being ranked 17 on ESPN instead of SI's 27 seems more on target. Not a perfect place but very nice and family-friendly. It's also one of the cleanest ballparks I have ever been to, and to me that counts for something. I am taking my nephews up there this summer for a weekend and I am afraid they might not settle for Double-A Missions games after this :lol

We used to go to Dodger stadium all the time, and it was always a blast. Of course, this was at the height of Fernando Mania, so maybe that's why it was always packed and a great atmosphere. To this day, those memories to me are what a ballpark should be like. Haven't been since then, though so not sure what its like now.

[GuerillaBlack]

Minute Maid Park is plenty nice. Love the look on the outside, and it is in a growing area of Downtown Houston and not in a suburb (like Arlington).

[SpursFan24445]

Ranking the stadiums I've been in:

Wrigley - love the tradition
PNC
Comerica
Jacobs Field
Skydome
US Cellular

ESPN's list looks a lot better than SI's

[Nash2Amare]

Ive been to: Petco, AT&T Park, Chase Field, Wrigley, Angels Stadium, and Dodger Stadium

1. Dodger Stadium - I went like 6 years ago, but it was pretty awesome.
2. Petco
3. AT&T
4. Chase Field - When the roof is open, it's such a nice park
5. Angels Stadium - Didn't care for this because I had the sun glaring on me for the first 6 innings lol
6. Wrigley - Wasn't impressed at all, but it wasn't bad...

[Burn531]

Pulled Pork at Comerica is awesome! drool..... drool......

[spursfor5]

I was slightly disappointed by Minute Maid Park. While parking is cheap, traffic is horrendous after games, especially if you need to get on the highway. Also, the entire stadium is cramped. They tried to stick in as many seats as possible into the stadium and gave up quite a bit of comfort, especially in the upper deck. The huge glass wall that spans from left to center fields has massive gaps in it and lets in plenty of the humid-hot Texas heat and makes a seat in the upper deck almost as if it were outside. It was a crowded game when I went so we were already packed in pretty tight anyway, but I would imagine it would be a bit more comfortable with seats open next to you.

I never went inside Petco Park but the outside is gorgeous and its location is perfect. Plus I love the luxury boxes right past the left field foul pole.

[PacerFan]

I personally think The Jake is one of the best stadiums around. I remember when it opened Cleveland sold out its first 455 games. Since then they are lucky to get 30,000 most nights, and that is with a good team.

[lefty]

WTF ?

Rogers Center @ 18 ?

They are generous

On a side note, it's a good thing the Expos left for Washington, because the Montreal Olympic Stadium would have ranked # 245