Best Roadtrip Stadium?

[SmartBall]

I went to Wrigley last year and hated it. Keep your history, I 'll keep clean sightlines, courteous employees, and a comfortable viewing experience. I thought old Busch was 10 times better than Wrigley, and that place was terrible. That being said I will still go to Wrigley if I can get tickets because you can just tell it bothers them when opposing fans are there. I haven't been to new Busch yet, but we had a blast in St. Louis when we were there. Fans were fun and we had a real good natured repoir with them. Good night life near the stadium, and normally a good team to watch although hopefully not this year.

[jordanmuehl]

I'm ashamed to say I've never seen a game outside of Milwaukee. = (

[Mike2k33]

I went to PNC last year. The stadium is beautiful, but it's very simple. I find that as a plus. Not too big, not too flashy and a perfect location. Walking over the Clemente bridge is cool, minus the beggars and numerous vendors selling non-official merch. The Pittsburgh area itself is a beautiful, hilly area. Coming out of the Fort Pitt Tunnel and seeing the city open up right before you is a cool sight.

 

I've also been to Kansas City, Cincy and St. Louis(old).

 

I really enjoyed Kansas City. We stayed in Overland Park, KS and finding the park was easy as pie. Tickets were cheap, parking was ample to say the least. There was a rain delay for our second game there so we got pretty trashed in the parking lot. Great times. Fans are very nice but it's tough to get them excited when the team is 20 games back in June. The food in KC is outstanding.

 

St. Louis has a good number of very good fans. However, we met all of those people after the game. The toothless yokels we had to sit by were nothing but annoying. Also, it didn't help that it was 101 that day with 90% humidity. Didn't get to enjoy much of the city as we had to make our way to Cincy right after the game.

 

Cincinnati is pretty nice. The stadium is right on the river, finding parking was simple. Other than that, I don't remember anything that great. I found the fans super annoying. When Griffey hits a pop up half the stadium jumps out of their seat. Also, this is the only stadium that gave us crap for being Brewers fans. Well besides....

 

Wrigley. Note how I left this one off the list up there. That's because we had such a horrible time it's not worth the time to talk about it. It's just a playground for drunks.

[sheetswannabe]

Polo Grounds.

 

I was a fan of PNC, and I loved Philly.

[brewcrew00]

I think St. Louis is a great place to go, the fans seem like great baseball fans, and the stadium is also pretty cool.

Well to each his/her own, but I have to disagree with this one. I lived down in St. Louis for a baseball season, and was more than unimpressed. No parking near the stadium, and what is available is over priced. The fans are snobby, boring, and barely even stand up and cheer during a game changing home run. The stadium is ok, the seating is very gradual so if someone of decent height is in front of you, good luck. Tickets are over priced in "baseball heaven" and they announce a sell out with 10k empty seats. It's one of my least favorite venues.

 

I think St. Louis is a toilet.

That being said, they still have some great fans. They are no better or worse than our fans. Therefore, lay off of them. We have some of the most uneducated, trashy fans in MLB too.

 

Lay off their fans? Thank you board police, I didn't care for their fans, it was my opinion. I even led my comment by saying to each his/her own.

 

[pitchleague]

sheets stated "polo grounds" in the blue font but there are many, many, long gone ballparks that I'd loved to have had the chance to visit. Photos just don't do them justice.

 

Also, how many of you have been to Cooperstown and the Hall of Fame (Baseball, as there are other HOF's in Cooperstown--Hamburger HOF, for instance). My cousin and I shunned Arizona and Florida for Spring Break back in college and made a road trip to Cooperstown. One word: awesome! We spent 5 days up there checking everything out. The Hall of Fame even allowed us to play one of our post-season tabletop baseball games on one of the benches in the actual room of plaques (it wasn't busy in March at all) so that was cool. Of course, it just happened to be a game where we had 2 brawls and a league-record 13 players, managers, and coaches ejected. Thus started the annual "Hall of Fame Game" in our league where each team is required to get every player on their roster into the game. But I digress . . .

 

There was also a bar/restaurant about a block for the Hall that had these awesome beef speidi (sp?) sandwiches. I want to say the restaurant's name was something along the lines of Louisville Slugger's or something--it was definitely a baseball-themed establishment.

[TheHappyYoungster]

My ranking of Major League Stadiums I have personally attended:

 

1. Milwaukee County Stadium - boy, do I miss that stadium.

2. PNC Park - unbelievable sight of downtown, water and bridges. Best ballpark food and people leave you alone. Pittsburgh is a lot like Milwaukee...drink a can of beer anywhere on the streets around the stadium. Blue collar town.

3. Wrigley - hate the Cubs and have differences with their fans, but there is no better place to watch a game from the bleachers.

4. Miller Park - location is only downfall.

5. Jacobs Field - Beautiful stadium-love the homer porch down left field line where fans can stand right up against the top of the wall. Boring downtown area from what I remember.

6. New Busch - Very nice view of downtown. Cards fans are courteous and very passionate about their redbirds. New Busch has nice blend of old and new.

7. Old Busch-the sight of the Suds Series was an old relic. A sea of red.

8. Shea Stadium-needs to be taken down.

9. New Comisky - if you make it out of there in one piece, you're doing okay.

10. Metrodome - what a horrible place to watch a game. Boring food, a boring drive from Milwaukee and artificial turf!!

 

I'm headed to Philly and Yankee Stadium this September if anyone has any advice.

 

"Happy"

[dikapalooza]

Been to Miller Park, Metrodome, Wrigley, Great American, Kaufmann & Petco (plus Omaha and Des Moines)

 

I will only comment on the one park I have been to that hasn't been mentioned yet (Petco).

 

This was an outstanding ballpark. Caught the last two games of the Brewers series last year. Saw Braun's first MLB home run, that was pretty cool. Sat in the upper deck behind the plate for one and in the lower deck in right field for the other. The sightlines were all very good when we walked around the stadium. Didn't go on top of the warehouse, though; they warned those were obstructed view. The beach actually looked like a good place to watch the game, there was a lot of activity going on in that area before and after the Sunday game. Parking wasn't the best, but the trolley has a stop literally across the street from the stadium. We found a ramp for $10 only a few blocks away. If you're going to stay downtown, there is a hotel with a skywalk directly to the stadium. I don't remember which one. Plus, the activities around the stadium are plentiful. It's right on the edge of the Gaslight District, which is the big nightlife and entertainment area. Of course, the weather was great. In late May, the evening was cool and the afternoon was very warm, but not too hot.

 

Don't know where we're going this year, but Pittsburgh sounds like it might be a good choice. Would have been Boston, but conflicts with other plans.

[jjfanec]

DC was definitely the worst stadium I have ever been to. The outfield sits hung over the field so we couldnt tell if the fly ball was a homerun, a double or an out unless we watched the base runner. Honestly the stairwells smelt like a combo of stale beer and urine and the fans were awful. It may have just been where we were sitting but the people were obnoxious and put a damper on the night. The price was terrific though. 5 bucks a piece for a big league game is a great deal to me even if the stadium is poor.

[NeedMoreFans]

I'm ashamed to say I've never seen a game outside of Milwaukee. = (

You're not the only one. Hundreds of baseball games, only all in Milwaukee (unless you count a AAA game in Des Moines when I was about 7 or 8 that got postponed due to tornadoes).

 

[Boy Jeenius]

KC is great. Easy access and parking. Fans are big time friendly. Wrigley is great if you sit in the bleachers, sitting in the lower deck is no fun at all. Cleveland is a great park, fans are ok. Texas is a great park and a pretty good time. Atlanta's good, nothing overly special. Minnesota is an absolute crummy baseball experience. Haven't been to the new parks in St Louis or San Francisco yet, but it was cool to have been in the old parks, especially Candlestick.

[owbc]

Some comments:

 

Detroit was surprisingly nice...and this was before they made the playoffs. I recommend taking a trip there, if you can get tickets this year.

 

Can't argue with PNC being the best, the ballpark is beautiful and the food was great as well. However, Camden Yards had the best and cheapest food ($6 for a sandwich, side, and pickle) and parking ($10 for preferred) out of any place I had been to. Say what you want about the Orioles management, but the stadium experience was superb.

 

I have to agree, the ushers at GABP were very nice. I also enjoyed the open-air upper concourses.

 

Yankee Stadium was awful, that place only has the history and nothing else.

 

Haven't been to New Busch yet, but the fans were great at the old one. I've also found Twins fans to be knowledgeable and friendly. It was interesting to see that the crowd at the Metrodome on a Friday night was mostly families instead of college students like you would find at Miller Park.

 

Avoid US Cellular Field.

 

However, in terms of total experience, you can't go wrong with Miller Park.

[SeriesFinale]

Detroit was surprisingly nice...and this was before they made the playoffs. I recommend taking a trip there, if you can get tickets this year.

I'm surprised it took this long for someone to mention Comerica. Fantastic park: nice amenities, sightlines, food, etc. The fans have been super-friendly and knowledgeable (a rare combination) every time I've gone.

 

I'm also a really big fan of Phone Company Park here in San Francisco...it loses a few points for getting pretty chilly at times (much warmer than the 'Stick, though). I think Petco is great as well.

 

Personally, I'm making my first trip to Yankees Stadium (which should be the #1 roadtrip for every baseball fan in 08 who hasn't been there) and Dodgers Stadium this year.

 

As of now, I guess my ranking of currently-in-use parks I've been to, all things considered (including amenities, sightlines, food, fans, history, transportation, cost) would go:

 

1. Comerica Park (Detroit)

2. AT&T Park (San Francisco)

3. Wrigley Field (Cubs)

4. Fenway Park (Boston)

5. Petco Park (San Diego)

6. Miller Park

7. U.S. Cellular Field (White Sox)

8. Turner Field (Atlanta)

9. Tropicana Field (Rays)

10. Busch Stadium (St. Louis)

11. Rogers Centre (Toronto)

12. McAfee Coliseum (Oakland)

[pmg4]

Dang! For a while I thought I would be the first to mention DET. It's the only out-of-town game I've been to, but I went the year Comerica opened. I had been to Miller Park for several games, and had always thought it was a little too industrial. Nobody get upset-- it's nice, but Detroit put together a beautiful park. They have these huge columns in the promenade behind the stands, and each one documents a decade in Tigers history. The collections of photos and other stuff displayed is beautiful. And there isn't much bare steel showing-- a big plus.

 

I was saddened to admit it, but the second new park I had ever seen after County was far nicer than the first. If Comerica had a roof it would be perfect, but with a roof they probably couldn't salvage that terrific view over the bleachers.

 

Also, after 6 years of season-ticket holding in the old red seats on the third base side of CS, the only ball I ever caught was a foul tip by Henry Blanco in Detroit. Still have 'er.

[Teatoe993]

I had a great time at Comerica too. I attended the last game of the DET series last year. The stadium is located in the one nice part of town. And it is a beautiful park to watch a game. The bartender was friendly and described the experience from the no-hitter a couple nights before. The fans were friendly, at least until the dude in front of me got uptight when my friend was dogging on Sheffield. And also after the Brewers barely won the game, the fans were telling me to go home. Believe me I was. Detroit is a city in major decay. I drove past the old Tiger Stadium (it is still there) and was hoping my car wouldn't break down because the neighborhood was so bad. I plan on seeing AT&T in San Francisco this season in July. I doubt I'l be disappointed. There are also a ton of great minor league ballparks out there too. I remember going to Colorado Springs Sky Sox games in the late 80s when I was a kid and watching a lot of that early 90s Indians team play as prospects. Appleton & Lansing are fun single A parks. I've been to a few wonderful AAA ballparks in Indianapolis, Oklahoma City & Memphis. Memphis is quite possibly the best baseball stadium experience I have had in all of baseball at any level.

[brewers4eric]

I always felt that the best way to make a good trip out of a bad Metrodome experience is to make a side trip to a St. Paul Saints game. A Saints game was a unique experience, there were promotions during every inning and locations in the stands where you could get a haircut or a massage from a nun. My wife and I attended a game on Gilligan's Island night, where Ginger was portrayed by some guy in drag.

You can make a cheap night in the Metrodome by getting a general admission pass in the outfiield that comes with a Papa John's pizza. If you get there early enough, you can get seats with a decent sight line. One of my best Dome experiences was during the 2002 season. One of my wife's friends got us corporate tickets and we sat six rows behind home plate. Matt Stairs hit a couple of bombs and Jose Cabrera pitched a gem.

[Brewguru2]

This is one of my favorite subjects.

 

1) Comerica Park....Beautiful stadium, the marble statues out front clinch it.

2) Camden Yards...If you haven't eaten at Boog's Barbecue, you haven't eaten.

3) Jacobs Field....Great park, lots of stuff to do within a couple blocks.

4) PNC Park.....Scenery second to none.

5) Ballpark in Arlington.....Maybe a little biased because I was at the first game at the place in '94 (vs. Brewers), but a very nice place to see a game.

6) Citizens Bank

7) Pac Bell Park

8) Petco Park

9) Miller Park

10) Minute Maid Park

11) Bank One Ballpark

12) Dodger Stadium

13) Great American Ballpark

14) Turner Field...an orgy for the ears...when i was there, they had 2 bands playing within 50 feet of each other.

 

15) Wrigley Field

16) Fenway Park

17) Yankee Stadium

18) Old Tiger Stadium

All 4 of these old stadiums are decrepit, but the history and the fans are awesome. Fenway's concourse is as big as my living room, but seeing the Green Monster for the first time is bone chilling. Yankee Stadium doesn't allow video cameras inside ever since 9/11 (not sure if that's still the case, haven't been there since '05)

 

19) Angels Stadium

20) Coors Field.....unlike others, I was thoroughly unimpressed with this stadium

21) Old Busch Stadium.....the fan atmosphere puts this way over the other cookie cutter ballparks.

22) County Stadium

23) Old Cleveland Municipal Stadium...sitting in the last row of the upper deck in right field was like being in another zip code.

24) Royals Stadium

25) Old Baltimore Memorial Stadium

26) Skydome

27) New Comiskey

28) Oakland Alameda

29) Qualcomm Stadium

30) Mile High Stadium

31) Kingdome

32) Veterans Stadium

33) Riverfront Stadium

34) Three Rivers Stadium

35) Astrodome

 

From here on down, you can blow them all up:

36) Olympic Stadium

37) Joe Robbie

38) Atlanta County Stadium

39) Old Comiskey

40) Metrodome

41) RFK Stadium

42) Candlestick Park

43) RFK Stadium

44) Shea Stadium

45) Tropicana Field

 

 

The only stadiums I have yet to see are Safeco, the new Busch and the new one in Washington.

[wisconsinfan47]

Wow guru, I certainly envy you....Is Shea Stadium really that bad?

 

Welcome to the site, by the way!

[mothershipconnection]

Caught the last two games of the Brewers series last year. Saw Braun's first MLB home run, that was pretty cool. Sat in the upper deck behind the plate for one and in the lower deck in right field for the other.

 

I was there at that time, too, and it was awesome. Maybe it's the significance I attach to seeing Braun's first homer, but I really loved that ballpark and the surrounding area. I also sat in the upper deck behind home, and the view of the city was very nice.

[Brewguru2]

Wow guru, I certainly envy you....Is Shea Stadium really that bad?

 

Welcome to the site, by the way!

 

Thanks.

 

Yes, Shea Stadium is bad. It's tough to get to, you have planes flying overhead all the time, no atmosphere, you have to deal with rude New Yorkers and you're afraid the stadium is going to collapse at any moment.

 

 

My travels started slowly. First opposing stadium I went to was old Comiskey when the Brewers were 13-0. I went to the 14th game. The loss sucked, but after the game, I was on CNN, ESPN, Channel 4 and Channel 6. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

The next stadium I saw was Baltimore in '89. I was at the Brewers game on Sunday afternoon in late August. At the all-star break, the Brewers were something like 12 games out of first. After this Sunday game, they were down to a 1/2 game. I said to a buddy, I'm going to the series in Baltimore! He said he'd go with me and off we went.

 

Then in '93, I set a goal of seeing every stadium. So I left on a Friday morning to go to the Brewers game that night in Detroit. Saturday afternoon I saw Cleveland hosting Baltimore. Pittsburgh is only an hour and a half away, so after that game, I drove to Pittsburgh for the Mets game (Ted Simmons resigned as GM after that game). Sunday afternoon I was in Cincinnati for a Dodgers game.

 

Every year, I would go to more and more stadiums. One time, I had nothing to do on a Saturday, so I looked at the paper, noticed the Royals were playing that night and drove to Kansas City for the game.

 

Now that I'm a home owner, the trips might be coming to an end. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[TerraceReserved]

brewguru, what you've done is exactly what I hope to do. Just keep going to 1 or 2 parks every summer, and in a 15-20 years I'll have seen 'em all. It's an awesome thing to do.

[Brewguru2]

I drove to every park I saw (at least the first time) except Phoenix. It's a great way to see the country.

My 2 biggest and best trips were:

1997, my first trip to the West Coast, I left early on a Friday morning (rental car) towards Seattle. I drove to Mount Rushmore and slept Friday night somewhere in Wyoming. I continued on to Seattle. Got there mid-afternoon on Saturday. Saw the Space Needle and a litlte of downtown. Saw Randy Johnson pitch at the Kingdome on Sunday afternoon. After the game, drove towards Northern California for a Monday nighter in Oakland. Saw Alcatraz, Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge, Presidio, etc. After the game, went to LA. Got a hotel and went to a game Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium. Met some great fans who told me the easiest routes to see everything. Venice Beach, Hollywood, OJ's house, etc. even went to where it all began for Robin Yount, Woodland Hills High School. Wednesday, saw a game in Anaheim. Wook up early Thursday, drove to San Diego, went to Tijuana, Sea World and the zoo before the Padres game that night (I'm a power traveler....I see what I have to see and move on to the next thing). Friday I drove up to San Francisco for a Giants game at Candlestick and drove home through Reno and Salt Lake City.

1999, Robin's induction into Cooperstown. I flew to Rochester on Friday and drove to Toronto for a Saturday afternoon game. Got a chance to see Niagara Falls for the first time. After the game, drove towards Massachusettes. Sunday morning, saw the Basketball HOF in Springfield and went to Fenway in the afternoon. This was Pedro Martinez's first game after his all-star performance when he was dominant. On sports radio before the game, there was talk of him pitching a no-hitter since he was facing the sad sack Marlins. Well, he got shelled and was taken out in the second inning. I had tickets right behind the plate on a 105-degree day. This was also the day that JFK, Jr. died. I tried to get a Boston Globe newspaper but couldn't find one. After the game, I drove to the Meadowlands for a Springsteen concert. After the concert, I drove to Atlantic City to sleep. Monday, I saw all the sites in Washington DC and went to a game at Camden Yards. Then I drove into Pennsylvania. Tuesday, I drove into Ohio and saw the Pro Football HOF and an Indians game at the Jake that night. Wednesday was seeing the Rock & Roll HOF and other sites and drove back towards New York. I arrived in Cooperstown on Thursday (actually couldn't find a hotel closer than Syracuse) and spent the weekend there.

Every fan should visit Cooperstown at least once on induction weekend.

[SeriesFinale]

Count me in as another bf.netter who got to personally witness Braun's first homer.

 

Definitely the highlight of that crummy weekend!

[brwrsfan]

Me and a buddy are trying to get to every park, not necessarily to see the Brewers, but that would be pretty sweet too.

 

So far, in order of best to worst:

 

Yankee Stadium

Camden Yards

Turner Field

Wrigley Field

Metrodome

 

Going to see the Brewers in both Boston and Houston this year. I'm pretty stoked about both of them. Yankee Stadium was crazy, though I only went to one game and sat in the bleachers. Wrigley sucked....

[AmyintheSouth]

Camden Yards is one of the best roadtrip stadiums, in my pretty limited experience. The food is great (Boog's!), there were some nice hole-in-the-wall bars nearby and ESPN Zone if that's not your thing, and the Baltimore Sports History Museum and Babe Ruth Museum were right across the street and a lot of fun. My friends and I drove down for a weekend series against the Yankees, so the park was rather overrun with fans of the opposing team, but the O's fans we did meet were friendly and knowledgeable and just a lot of fun. There's not a bad seat in the house there, either. Turner Field was not nearly as much fun.

 

Hopefully I can add Miller Park to my list this summer.