Rank the ballparks

Pro Sports MLB
1

I’ve been to probably 12 or 13 different major league stadiums, and here is how I would rank the best.

  1. Wrigley Field - As a White Sox fan, it pains me to put this as number one, but as a baseball fan, I can’t justify ranking it anywhere else. INCREDIBLE atmosphere, no matter what game. The area surrounding the stadium is really cool too. The ivy, the rooftop fans, the history… it’s just an awesome place.

  2. Fenway Park - Pretty much same as above, awesome atmosphere, great fans, lots of history. The seats in the stadium are really little, which gives you an idea of just how old the park is (back then people werent all fat asses like they are now, so seats were made much smaller).

  3. Yankee Stadium - Off history alone. The atmosphere sucks, their fans aren’t near as loud and passionate as Cubs and Red Sox fans, the stadium is very boring, but the history of that place is overhwelming. “Moneument park” is really cool, not too many other teams that can boast so many past stars that they could add a monument park.

  4. Camden Yards - This is a great place to watch a game. Beautiful stadium, and very unique surroundings with the old warehouse.

  5. Turner Field - Gotta put this on the list just off of how much cool stuff there is in this new park. Definitely is very family friendly with TONS of stuff for the kids, but also has a really good variety of different places to eat.

2

  1. Yankee Stadium- Not sure what Chi is talking about the atmosphere sucking? The history is amazing and the electricity that occurs in that place is tremendous. Like Fenway and Wrigley they have no bells and whistles, but they make up for it with intangibles. The new stadium is a sad necessity.

  2. Wrigley- for the reasons you stated. Cool place. It loses points because it closes in September. :biggrin:

  3. Fenway- again, you hit it on the head. The only down side (like Yankee Stadium) is they built the stadium and them put in seats where the fit. New stadiums are designed from the stands out. No obstructed views in the new parks.

  4. Dodger Stadium- good fans, Dodger Dogs really are as good as advertised. The only down side is you leave reeking of garlic. If anyone around you gets garlic fris you stink for a week.

  5. Minute Maid Park , Citizens (Philly), and PNC (Pitt). All fun places to see a game.

Worst place to see a game:

  1. Dolphins Stadium- I went last year, thought they were going to be able to do a 1 minute bio for every fan in the stands. The Marlins should demand a park that can reasonable host a baseball game. Terrible layout.
  2. Turner Field- Great place, apathetic fans. With all the success it is a shame to see the crowds there some nights. I’ve been there too many times with miserable attendance.
3

  1. Yankee Stadium

  2. Yankee Stadium

  3. Yankee Stadium

In all seriousness, I have only been to Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium and Olympic Stadium, so I guess my top 3 list is accurate.

Come on Chi, you can’t even compare the passion and electricity in the Bronx with Wrigley. Wrigley is full of yuppies who are there for a social event and some beers, not to raucously cheer for their team, that is part of the reason they are called the lovable losers. Besides the Yanks will draw 50k on a weekday and the upper deck isn’t for the faint of heart.

I am hopefully going to make it to Fenway this summer, so I guess there is a chance my #3 could change.

4

i know the redsox are approaching a new attendance record for consecutive sellouts going back to every game since may of 2003, granted fenway holds less than 40K…

is there any other park that has this kind of record…? i woud think the only one that could rival it would be wrigley…i dont think yankee stadium sells out every game…

5

I’ve only been to games at Camden Yards, and it really is a nice park with a great layout, with good views. Also, the number of other places around there (Aquarium, museums, etc.) make the area family friendly.

I’ve been to Wrigley, but not in it, same for the White Sox Stadium (sorry Chi, can’t recall the name). Wrigley’s nice with a good surrounding area, the WSox though are right next to the ghetto. Land is cheap in that area I guess.

6

My favorites that I have been to are pretty close to yours.

  1. Yankees Stadium

  2. Camden Yards

  3. Wrigley Field

  4. Fenway Park

  5. PNC Park- It’s a shame that the Pirates suck because this is a very nice ballpark. Right on the river with the skyline view in CF. Very nice place.

I also just recently went to the new Nationals Park. That place is really nice. I really like the way they have it set up. The concession areas are so open that you can stand in line and watch the game at teh same time. There is not much out in that area of DC now, but they have big plans to develop that area. It will be a great place in a few years.

I’d also add the new Phillies park above Turner Field.

7

Of the ones I’ve been to…

  1. AT&T Park - amazing view, the weather’s always great, best PA announcer in MLB not named Bob Sheppard, and they have Anchor Steam on tap. FTW.

  2. Turner Field - as ChiSox said, great stuff to do. Also, gotta love the food. Skip & Pete’s BBQ is choice.

  3. Minute Maid Park - this is the only indoor game I’ve ever been to. I really liked the atmosphere.

  4. Camden Yards - AWFUL part of town, but a really nice park.

I’ve also been to Atlanta-Fulton County and Shea. I think I’ll catch a game at Nationals Park this summer.

8

I still need to go to Camden Yards, don’t know how I’ve not seen a game there.

9
Come on Chi, you can't even compare the passion and electricity in the Bronx with Wrigley. Wrigley is full of yuppies who are there for a social event and some beers, not to raucously cheer for their team, that is part of the reason they are called the lovable losers. Besides the Yanks will draw 50k on a weekday and the upper deck isn’t for the faint of heart.

Yes I can, because I have been to all of them. The fans at Wrigley and Fenway were loud the entire time, and at the Yankees game, the upper deck was quiet and boring… pretty tame. By the way, the game I went to was on a weekday (as were the Cubs and Red Sox games, and the crowd at yankee Stadium was pretty small, not sure where you get 50k on a weekday.

My brother, who is probably a more passionate Yankees fan than anyone on this board, said he was really let down the couple times he went to Yankee Stadium, because the fans wouln’t get loud to save their lives.

10

I think I am one of the few who don’t care for Wrigley. Yeah it’s all neat to go there every once in awhile but I prefer to see the Sox on the southside. Wrigley just seems dark, cramped and a bit rundown.

My top 5 that I’ve visited.

Pitt
SanFran
Seattle
Milwaukee
Baltimore

11
I still need to go to Camden Yards, don't know how I've not seen a game there.

Make that happen, its an awesome place.

12
I prefer to see the Sox on the southside.

Good man. :biggrin:

By the way, I agree with everyone about PNC Park in Pittsburg. It is absolutely beautiful. I should have it at #5 instead of Turner Field.

13

Living in Denver, I would have to put Coors Field on the list. It is a beautiful park and there is nothing like seeing the Rocky Mountains while sitting in the stands. There are a lot of great bars around the stadium.

It is probably the only stadium in the country that serves Rocky Mountain Oysters (not that I have ever tried them).

14

I’ve been to
Atl 2
Clev 3
Camden 1
Anaheim 4
LA 5
KC 5 tie
Oak 6

Cinci- gone
astrodome- gone

15

safeco field is the nicest stadium ive been too

16

[QUOTE=Chisox17;319917]Yes I can, because I have been to all of them. The fans at Wrigley and Fenway were loud the entire time, and at the Yankees game, the upper deck was quiet and boring… pretty tame. By the way, the game I went to was on a weekday (as were the Cubs and Red Sox games, and the crowd at yankee Stadium was pretty small, not sure where you get 50k on a weekday.

My brother, who is probably a more passionate Yankees fan than anyone on this board, said he was really let down the couple times he went to Yankee Stadium, because the fans wouln’t get loud to save their lives.[/QUOTE]

Yankee Stadium holds around 57,000, while Fenway and Wrigley hold around 40,000. A crowd of 40k packed into Wrigley and Fenway is going to seem more impressive than a crowd of 40k in Yankee Stadium, based on the huge difference in size.

The Yankees average over 50,000 a game this season, they averaged over 52,000 a game last year. In fact they have averaged over 50k every year since 2004. I was at a Wednesday night game a couple of weeks ago versus the Indians and the crowd was 50,718 in attendance.

I had season packages for a few year and attended tons of weekday games, I even witnessed a sellout versus the Rockies on a Tuesday night when the Rockies were awful.

I respect your opinion and I have never been to Wrigley, but I think your Yankee Stadium experience was an exception rather than the rule based on my experiences. Also any game experience depends to some extent the weather, the opposition and how well the home team has been playing during that particular season.

On a side note, a blessing and curse of being the Yankees is that the summer brings a ton of tourists who are not actual Yankees fans, but go for the experience. They take some of the life out of the stadium due to having no rooting interest. It is great for attendance numbers though.

I can tell you from experience I met tons of people in the upper deck from all parts of the country. The most interesting was when we were sitting next to a group of High School seniors from some tiny town in Alabama on their senior class trip…it was something else.

17

I’m actually old enough that I’ve been to 5 ballparks that either no longer exist or are no longer used!

Of the ones I’ve been to…that are still in use…
Wrigley - I hear ya Chisox - I’m a Cardinals fan, so I hate 'em too, but when you walk out in that sunshine in the Summer with the Ivy on the walls…
Great American Ball Park (Cincy) - it is appropriately named
Busch III (the New Busch stadium) - of course, I’m biased
Turner Field
Arlington Ballpark
Comerica - for a new ballpark I couldn’t believe how drab the eating areas were. Nice seating and views, though.

18

[QUOTE=Charlotte2002;319932]Yankee Stadium holds around 57,000, while Fenway and Wrigley hold around 40,000. A crowd of 40k packed into Wrigley and Fenway is going to seem more impressive than a crowd of 40k in Yankee Stadium, based on the huge difference in size.

The Yankees average over 50,000 a game this season, they averaged over 52,000 a game last year. In fact they have averaged over 50k every year since 2004. I was at a Wednesday night game a couple of weeks ago versus the Indians and the crowd was 50,718 in attendance.

I had season packages for a few year and attended tons of weekday games, I even witnessed a sellout versus the Rockies on a Tuesday night when the Rockies were awful.

I respect your opinion and I have never been to Wrigley, but I think your Yankee Stadium experience was an exception rather than the rule based on my experiences. Also any game experience depends to some extent the weather, the opposition and how well the home team has been playing during that particular season.

On a side note, a blessing and curse of being the Yankees is that the summer brings a ton of tourists who are not actual Yankees fans, but go for the experience. They take some of the life out of the stadium due to having no rooting interest. It is great for attendance numbers though.

I can tell you from experience I met tons of people in the upper deck from all parts of the country. The most interesting was when we were sitting next to a group of High School seniors from some tiny town in Alabama on their senior class trip…it was something else.[/QUOTE]

I’ve been fortunate enough to make it to at least 1 Yankee game at Yankee Stadium every year since I was 5 yrs old. Everytime I walk in there I get goosebumps. I’ll be heading up at the beginning of June for my last game at Yankee Stadium before they tear it down.

19

One of the few perks of my job is I get at leat one out of towner per month, I control the schedule for the department so I always check the in town baseball schedules before I assign them out.

Next week I get Yankee Stadium vs. the O’s. I’m hoping to hit both Bay area spots and Arlington this summer.

20
One of the few perks of my job is I get at leat one out of towner per month, I control the schedule for the department so I always check the in town baseball schedules before I assign them out.

Next week I get Yankee Stadium vs. the O’s. I’m hoping to hit both Bay area spots and Arlington this summer.

I need to come work for/with you!