Favorite stadium and why?

[RobDeer 45]

I'm curious of the stadiums you all have been to, which one is your favorite. Also, of the ones you've only seen on TV which ones would you love to catch a Brewers game at?

 

I have not been to a ton of ballparks so I really can't give a ton on that topic. I do live in Minneapolis and do really like Target Field. On a nice summer day, it's pretty close to a perfect stadium. Great back drop, great surroundings, and quite a bit to explore. I know I might get lambasted for this but I really do like old stadiums and Wrigley was a blast for me. I know it's a peace of junk but when you are inside you can't help but feel the history of the place.

 

At the top of my list for places to see are Fenway and San Fran. Fenway for the obvious reason of it being so historical. I also want to experience that fan base up close. I think it would be great. As for San Fran I feel like that stadium looks like a gem. So cool, down by the water, so much old ballpark feel to it. Seems like a great place to watch a game.

[Raw Biz]

I've been to Great American Ballpark, New Busch, Coors, and obviously Miller Park and County Stadium. All were really nice but I think my favorite would have to be new Busch as far as walking around the stadium is concerned but sitting in the bleachers in Coors was probably my favorite watching experience. I would really like to go to PNC despite the fact that I'd have to watch the Pirates.

[Invader3K]

Unfortunately, my experiences outside of Miller Park and County Stadium have been Old Busch, Dodgers Stadium, and the Metrodome. Not exactly elite buildings.

[Bombers]

Tampa - horrible - never go. Only went because I was in town.

Toronto - horrible - never go. Only went because I was in town.

 

Wrigley - went there on purpose (unlike the two above) and it's always a good time.

 

But the best was when I went to Fenway the last time the Crew played there and had a blast. I highly recommend going if you have the funds.

[Polish Falcons]

I have been to about 20 MLB stadiums. Fenway stands out as by far and away the most remarkable ballpark. I like the classic style and the history. Also I think the ballpark has a beautiful design and very intimate feel. The ballpark is located in a vibrant part of Boston so it is fun to go out or just walk around before or after the game. The fans there are die hard and seem to be knowledgeable and every game is a sell out which I appreciate.

 

Of the newer stadiums, I like PNC Park in Pittsburgh the most. Walking across the Roberto Clemente bridge to get to the great is a good start. Inside the stadium I like it that the ballpark is simple and does not resemble a shopping mall like most of the other new stadiums. I consider the Pittsburgh Primati brothers local behemoth style sandwiches the most noteworthy concession item in all of MLB. The walking ramp from the field level up to the right field grandstand has tremendous views of the playing field and Pittsburgh and its lovely bridges. While I often find the in game entertainment and MLB PA systems to be an obnoxious distraction at baseball games, I enjoyed most of the stuff going on in Pittsburgh.

 

A few of the stadiums I would give a poorest grade would be Nationals Stadium, Citi Field, and Citizens Bank Ballpark. I think these relatively new stadiums are dull and boring, often cookie cutter designs, lacking in unique local flavor, surrounded by parking lots or neighborhoods where I wouldn’t want to be. The absolute worst stadium was Tropicana Field in Tampa; that place felt like a depressing dungeon to me.

 

Other noteworthy stadiums in my opinion include Camden Yards and Wrigley Field. I thought the old Tiger Stadium was far superior to Wrigley, and I wish they never tore it down, but I do think they did a pretty good job with the new Tiger Stadium. The new Yankee Stadium is not bad either and I like it that they offer rather affordable bleacher seats at or near the field level.

[NievesNoNO]

Besides Miller Park I've been to new Busch, Wrigley, Cinergy, Veterans, and PNC.

I can see why they tore down Cinergy and the Vet. as they were awful. I went on a small baseball roadtip a few years back and the gametime temperatures were in upper 80's-90's but the actual temperatures inside those stadiums was crazy hot, it almost made the games unwatchable.

I like new Busch alot. We went down for a game last year and were treated great by the fans there during and out after the game. I would go back there for a game without a second thought. PNC was probably my favorite, I basically agree with what Polish Falcons had to say; the view from the inside the stadium is phenomenal.

I'd really like to get to the East coast and see Fenway and Yankee stadiums and for some reason I've always wanted to get to KC.

[cadillacjosh]

My favorite I've been to is the Giants stadium. Firstly, the garlic fries, they're better than everyone says. Every seat is a good one and the entire building is pretty easy to figure your way around, very spacious. I've been there 3 times now, each time the Giant fans could not be more pleasant. I struck up a couple different conversations about being from Wisconsin and the fans were pretty knowledgeable about the Crew, we had some good baseball talks. McCovey Cove is awesome a great place to watch the game. Although they don't let you stand around for hours and hours but you can watch about an inning, maybe 2 if you hide.

 

Busch stadium is awesome for the above listed reasons, its just a beautiful park. The backdrop is second to none.

 

Angels stadium is my sentimental favorite. I caught a foul ball the first time I went there, off the bat of Tori Hunter. It sits on display on my desk and I can see it right now. Some of you I've talked to know I'm a huge Angels fan (#2, obviously, to the Crew) so there's a lot of love to that stadium. The rock garden is pretty sweet. I guess its mostly a pretty normal park, fairly cookie cutter, but its nice.

 

The absolute worst I went to was the Oakland A's stadium. Its in a bad neighborhood and its a rough crowd there. Police and security guards are pretty much everywhere, its not very easy to sit and relax. Not a very well layed out stadium either.

 

While I'm pretty much doing California, the Dodgers stadium to me is the most average stadium. If you can picture County stadium without the Beer glass, the nostalgia, and your love of the team, thats Dodgers park. It just is, nothing special about it. Although I did see Manny hit his 2nd Dodger homer there, Mannymania was pretty hot then. It was a circus.

.

[JimH5]

My favorite MLB stadium is Coors. It was the first "luxury" stadium I had ever visited and I thought it was an awesome place to see a game--the mountain air doesn't hurt.

 

But some of my favorite baseball watching experiences were at some of the Florida Spring Training sites. . .The Chain of Lakes park in Winter Haven was terrific, and Holman Stadiumn at Dodgertown in Vero Beach was awesome. Even the Astros park in Kissimmee was a fun place to see baseball. The smaller parks, the promise of a spring team, the casual atmosphere. . .all good times. I had a couple memorable days seeing an afternoon game in one town and then an evening game in another. Very fun.

[GAME05]

i've been to only a few, but Coors was my favourite experience. i usually hate sitting in the bleachers, but there it's the best seat, watching the sun go down over the mountains in the west, and then the skyscrapers rising to the immediate east. gorgeous. the fans there were completely apathetic--the Rockies rallying to beat the Brewers in the 9th barely earned a cheer.

 

i've driven by Kauffman a few times and have always wanted to go. the place just looks really interesting.

 

a lot like Jim said, some of my best watching experiences was when i'd take walks on Saturday mornings in Fort Atkinson and happen upon a softball game. i didn't know a soul there, but i'd grab a few cheap hot dogs and beers, park myself on the bleachers and just enjoy the game. i don't think any of the times did i ever even know the score.

[Principessa21]

I've been to Miller, 'Old' Yankee Stadium, Shea, Fenway, Camden Yards, and Turner Field. My favorites (ranked) are Camden, OYS, Miller, Fenway, Turner, and Shea. I'm hoping this year to get to New Yankee Stadium, Great American Ballpark, and Target Field.

I'd really like to get to the East coast and see Fenway and Yankee stadiums and for some reason I've always wanted to get to KC.

I would really like to go Kauffman too (but then again, I would love to go to every stadium). I like their scoreboard and all the fountains. I think I read that KC has the most fountains of any city except Rome. Also I liked Fenway but just be aware that it's kind of a dump (ie old, cramped, obstructed views).

[wisconsinfan47]

The most fun I've ever had as a baseball / Brewers fan was the Brewers-Sox series at Fenway a few years ago, even though we got swept. Great atmosphere around the park, pretty stadium with a lot of neat quirks. Great hot dogs, knowledgeable fans who were very friendly and curious about our club and city. I felt as though their fans respected us for travelling so well, something their fanbase is certainly well known for. Fenway, the best park I've been to.

 

Besides Miller and County I've been to...

 

Wrigley - always a fun time. Sure it is a bit of a "dump" but it just feels like baseball. Overrated dogs and an overrated surrounding neighborhood, but still a classic.

New Busch - gorgeous ballpark with a great view of downtown from the upper deck. Their fans are passionate and knowledgeable...about the Cardinals. Surprised how little some of their fans knew about the Brewers considering we play 15+ times a year. They were very nice though, even as the Brewers led 11-0 in the 5th. Avoid the concessions - overpriced, soggy hot dogs and Anheuser Busch

Metrodome - Terrible. Awful. Total dump. Had a great time going and celebrating a victory a posse of Brewers fans, but this place literally had no redeeming qualities. Twins fans embody "Minnesota nice" to a T, which is awful. I'd much rather sit around a bunch of aggressive drunken Cubbies.

 

If I had to rank the 6 I've seen a game at:

1. Fenway

2. Wrigley

3. Busch

4. Miller

5. County

...

...

...

100. Metrodome

[joepepsi]

Target Field is beautiful. Love Camden Yards, except you can't see the game from the concourse/concession area. But the field, warehouse area, and views are beautiful. It's also an easy walk fro the Inner Harbor-you just merge on the sidewalk with everyone else and they take you right up to the stadium. Downtown Baltimore is really wonderful.

 

I'd like to see a game at PNC, Giants, and Petco. Those look like the best stadiums on TV. The Reds park looks nice too.

 

Nothng wrong with Miller Park. I didn't like it much at first, but it's a great place to watch a game, especially when the roof is closed. It's pretty damn hot in there on summer, humid days/nights.

[mothershipconnection]

I went to a lot of stadiums growing up, but childhood memories being foggy and idealized, I'll rank the ones I've been to in the last 10 years.

 

1. AT&T Park (Pac Bell when I went). The setting on the ocean is awesome, the 2-3 games we went to were in different sections and the views of the action were all good, the stadium is in a nice location, and the weather is never too hot to stay comfortable.

2. Petco

3. Miller

4. Chase Field

5. Minute Maid

6. Rangers Ballpark (too hot - no roof on that baby was a horrible idea)

7. A couple of spring training and Northwoods League fields I've been to

8. HHH Metrodome

[elbobbo82]

I've been to County, Miller, Camden Yards, Wrigley, US Cell, and Riverfront and Shea, both in the years before their respective demises.

 

I really liked Camden despite being in the absolute top row, it was sold out and it is in a really cool part of town near the water. Wrigley is what it is, meaning that you can appreciate the history even as you are uncomfortable for three hours watching a game. I'd have to say Miller Park is my favorite place that I've been to, just slightly over Camden, probably because I get to watch the Brewers there!

[Warning Track Power]

(Excluding Miller Park and County Stadium) It's gotta be Petco Park. Living in Southern California has its advantages as I have 3 stadiums within an hour from my front door. But of those three Petco shines pretty brightly and would imagine the ambiance around that park would rival any other in baseball. Its location in the Gaslamp District of San Diego is the equivalent of the Brewers building Miller Park around Water Street with the party atmosphere before and after the game. More specifically, the building types would be more like the Third Ward i.e. renovated old brick buildings once your in close to the ballpark. Great bars and great eats all around when your there. Plus its San Diego...the talent is off the chart.

 

Angel Stadium is great for the game specifically but they really are ridiculous when trying to tailgate about drinking; to the tune of $350 tickets. Plus there really isn't much to do before or after the game. Like Miller Park, you're driving to the next event.

 

Dodger Stadium is the most overrated ballpark ever. Terrible food, terrible fans, terrible seats. Bad location other than when the smog allows you to see the mountains.

[RightFieldCoder]

I've been to County, Miller, Wriggly, GAB, and HHH.

 

Wriggly's a dump. It's the worst place I've ever seen a game.

 

I went to a Phillies/Reds game the first year of GAB. It was a fun experience. I had no interest in the outcome of the game, so I just enjoyed the baseball and got to soak in the atmosphere. Two things struck me at that stadium. It seemed very small, almost minor league sized. Height, dimensions, everything seemed small. The staff there was the best I've ever experienced. I took home more trinkets from that game than any other in my life, including an autograph, when I didn't support either team. The concession stands were always cheerful. The fan relations booth was excellent during a rain delay, and became even kinder when they found out I was actually a Brewer fan travelling with a Red Sox fan.

 

HHH was my first indoor baseball experience. I understood why they wanted an outdoor stadium. It also wasn't fun since I was at every game of a Twins sweep against the Brewers. I also couldn't understand why I couldn't have a lid for my soda.

[Cracked Bat Collector]

I've been to 27ish I believe and without hesitation I can say PNC Park is my favorite. Two I've not been to that look great on tv that I am dying to go see are Coors & Kauffman.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

This is how i'd rank em...

 

Top Five- Target Field, PNC, PacBell, Coors, Petco

Next Five- Arlington, Camden, Miller Park, Kaufman, Wrigley

 

MP is very functional, with a good atmosphere, and a great exterior, but inside its a bit "stale"

[jerichoholicninja]

PETCO and Dodger Stadium are the only other Major League stadiums I've been to. PETCO is great. I would rank it above Miller Park. I love the way half of the park is a baseball stadium and the other half is sort of like a carnival/festival. The location and surrounding area is great too. Dodger Stadium wasn't anything special. It did have a sort of weird feeling about it. Our seats were in the outfield and when we got there for batting practice it felt weird looking into a giant wall of yellow seats. Overall it's nothing to really write home about. Quite a departure from PETCO and Miller.

[BillyRed]

I've decided my next goal in life is to get to all of the MLB parks. I've been to 19 so far (5 of them now extinct) and am always looking for trips that can include more parks. I think Wrigley, Yankee Stadium (the original), Fenway have to be judged differently than the newer parks simply because of their historical value. It's been 15 years since I've been to Fenway and I would love to go back.

 

Of the recent parks I've been to I would rank the top as follows:

1. Target Field. I loved this place. From the best food options I've seen to the design of the park.

2. PNC Park. As many have mentioned walking across Clemente Bridge was cool. Too bad the tenants are so bad.

3. Coors Field- Right in the heart of downtown Denver.

4. ATT Park. Neat setting (not along the Ocean as someone else said but instead right on San Francisco Bay). McCovey Cove struck me as being smaller than I expected but still pretty cool

5. Comerica Park Detroit- I liked all of the Tigers around the stadium.

6. Safeco Field Seattle

 

The worst 2 are unquestionably Miami (Pro Player, Dolphin Stadium, Landshark, Joe Robbie or whatever the hell they call that place now) and the DumptyDome.

 

Others I've been to:

Fenway, Yankee, Wrigley, Miller Park, County Stadium, old Busch, Progressive Field in Cleveland, US Cellular, Great American (Cincinnati), old Arlington Stadium, Kaufmann Stadium in KC.

 

This summer the plan is to knock off New Yankee Stadium and CitiField.

[madrx]

Great off-season thread idea. My favorite would be AT&T park. The setting is great and the sight lines were fantastic. The fans were also very laid back and friendly. I caught a game there when the Brewers began their season against the giants. I was staying on the north side of the bay and the ferry picks you up right outside the park in the cove, so no parking issues.

 

Kaufman in KC is a nice park with very open lines and is super easy to get into and out of due to its location off the interstate. I think the new Busch is beautiful, but lost some of the feel of the old park there. Old Busch was nice once it became a baseball-only facility. I was disappointed with Wrigley the first time I went to a game there. Infield seats in the grandstand were awful as all flyballs completely disappeared due to the roof.

[bucks2281]

I've been to MP, County, Wrigley, Metrodome, Comerica, PNC, Shea, Old Yankee, Wrigley, Nationals, Tropicana, Busch, Progressive, RFK, Marlins and 3Com.

 

The new Busch Stadium and Comerica Park are gorgeous. I know it's blasphemy, but these two parks blow away Miller Park, in terms of character and interior beauty. I can't say enough about Fenway. Yes, it's a dump, but the atmosphere (Green Monster, "Let's go Red Sawx" chants) and the concession choices atone for the cramped, uncomfortable seating.

 

I was really disappointed in Nationals Park. It's terribly bland and it lies near just an absolutely terrifying neighborhood.

[ecjimg]

I cant keep track of all the name changes.

Lets see, Ive been to Wrigley, White Sox old, White Sox new, old yankee stadium, fenway, Camden Yards, old Busch, new Busch, Petco, Chase, Phillies new stadium, Jacobs Field, Metrodome, Kaufman (is it still called that), and whatever the new stadium in Atl is called.

 

I really like Chase (Phoenix). Its so much like Miller Park except the concourse is better. I was also impressed with Camden Yards. Didnt like the Atlanta and new Busch staduims. They both seem like several separate parts that dont really fit together well.

[LouisEly]

Firstly, the garlic fries, they're better than everyone says.

 

For me, the garlic fries have a peak marginal utility of about three. Starting with about the fourth fry, the law of diminishing returns starts coming into play real quick.

 

Sentimentally I have to go with Miller Park. I was at the very first game ever played at the Keg, the exhibition game against the White Sox. Took an hour redialing on the phone to get through to get tickets. I remember walking in through the gates by home plate and walking out to look at the field and just being mesmerized. It seemed like there was a little smoke or fog in the air that just made it seem surreal. After all the years at County Stadium, walking into MP I was just blown away. That, and being able to get brats and multiple varieties of Leinies. You don't know how much you love something until you can't get it anymore. And you don't realize how easy and cheap it is to get to/park by the stadium. Petco, Dodger Stadium, AT&T, Fenway... not so much. Oh yeah, and a lot of stadiums don't allow you to tailgate. None of the stadiums in CA allow it.

 

Logically I'd go with Petco. The surrounding Gaslamp district is fun, and one of my favorite restaurants in the world is the Gaslamp Strip Clup (an upscale grill-your-own steakhouse, the name is a play on words from their signature cut of mean - the New York strip). The rooftop lounge at the top of the Marriott is always a good time. It can get a little hot on Sunday day games.

 

Fenway is next. As someone else said, knowledgeable baseball fans and easy to talk to - they were in awe of my jersey. Not good food though. And the women... aren't pretty. SFO is nice for day games, but can get real chilly at night games even in the summer if the fog and wind pick up. And the food... see above.

[davemakovec]

I've only been to a few (County, Miller, PNC, Target Field, Metrodome), but I LOVE PNC. It's tiny, and I mean that in a good way. From everywhere, you feel like you're right on top of the action. Target Field is really nice, too, but the drawback is that there's no ability to tailgate whatsoever. Metrodome is and was a dump unfit for man nor beast. I was so happy it collapsed. Ok, I take that back. It's good for roller-blading in the winter. Nothing else.