The Hall Of Fame
Best Stadium (Tie)
Camden Yards - Baltimore Orioles
Camden Yards is a beautiful ball park that features a black steel and red brick design throughout the stadium. They had a good selection of great quality food. Very friendly fans and an excellent atmosphere. The stadium has a shopping corridor for fans in right field called Eutaw street and features the historic B&O warehouse which was incorporated into the stadium itself. The stadium made good use of the interactivity to build a strong sense of fan spirit, even though the team was routed 10-3 by the Boston Red Sox on my visit. This is one of my favorite stadiums because it offered plenty of non-seating space for eating food and relaxing before or after the game. The brick design was beautiful and really fit in with the surrounding Baltimore aesthetic.
Camden Yards is a beautiful ball park that features a black steel and red brick design throughout the stadium. They had a good selection of great quality food. Very friendly fans and an excellent atmosphere. The stadium has a shopping corridor for fans in right field called Eutaw street and features the historic B&O warehouse which was incorporated into the stadium itself. The stadium made good use of the interactivity to build a strong sense of fan spirit, even though the team was routed 10-3 by the Boston Red Sox on my visit. This is one of my favorite stadiums because it offered plenty of non-seating space for eating food and relaxing before or after the game. The brick design was beautiful and really fit in with the surrounding Baltimore aesthetic.
Coors Field - Colorado Rockies
Coors field represent the new modern movement in baseball stadium that seeks to drive them away from the retro aesthetic into a sleek modern design. This ballpark really succeeded. The stadium's walkways are the widest in the major league with a wonderful steel design for the structure. The whole atmosphere was wonderfully designed and there were a vast amount of fan activities available. Additionally, for my first (and only) time, I appeared on the big screen during shots of the crowd in an inning break. This stadium is truly awesome, and it offers a peak into the future of modern 21st century stadium deign.
Coors field represent the new modern movement in baseball stadium that seeks to drive them away from the retro aesthetic into a sleek modern design. This ballpark really succeeded. The stadium's walkways are the widest in the major league with a wonderful steel design for the structure. The whole atmosphere was wonderfully designed and there were a vast amount of fan activities available. Additionally, for my first (and only) time, I appeared on the big screen during shots of the crowd in an inning break. This stadium is truly awesome, and it offers a peak into the future of modern 21st century stadium deign.
Most Historic Stadium (Tie)
Fenway Park - Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park is a stadium that you can truly experience. There is nothing like it in the world. While the facility itself is rundown, being more than a century old, there is a spirit in the stadium unlike anywhere else in the MLB. There is only a small electronic scoreboard, with most of the pitch count and other information being provided by good ol' fashion manual scorekeepers. At most stadiums the crowd only stands at the bottom of the 9th when the next hit could determine the game. At Fenway every play is crucial and the fans are heavily engaged in the game - screaming and cheering at every single play. In the outfield stand the infamous "Green Monster" - a 30 foot tall section of outfield wall that makes hitting a homerun a difficult endeavor. While the design and structure are rather poor, the history of the stadium is more than enough to make the experience into a wonderful and unique event. Full disclosure - I am a Red Sox fan.
Fenway Park is a stadium that you can truly experience. There is nothing like it in the world. While the facility itself is rundown, being more than a century old, there is a spirit in the stadium unlike anywhere else in the MLB. There is only a small electronic scoreboard, with most of the pitch count and other information being provided by good ol' fashion manual scorekeepers. At most stadiums the crowd only stands at the bottom of the 9th when the next hit could determine the game. At Fenway every play is crucial and the fans are heavily engaged in the game - screaming and cheering at every single play. In the outfield stand the infamous "Green Monster" - a 30 foot tall section of outfield wall that makes hitting a homerun a difficult endeavor. While the design and structure are rather poor, the history of the stadium is more than enough to make the experience into a wonderful and unique event. Full disclosure - I am a Red Sox fan.
Wrigley Field - Chicago Cubs
Wrigley field is an awful stadium with some amazing history. Our seats for this game were behind home plate, but more importantly, just 2 rows ahead of use was a steel support beam obstructing our view. Old stadiums needed the steel beams to be ale to build them to hold the number of people required, but they surely are a terrible inconvenience for fans watching the game. That being said, the history of this stadium is immense. The outfield walls feature the famous ivy and the surrounding buildings sport a variety of bootleg seats where you can watch the game outside the ballpark on someone's roof top. This is the only stadium that uses no electronic scoreboard at all, embracing the quaint and historical values. It is a unique and interesting experience. This is the first game where I saw a homerun ball thrown back onto the field by a defiant and angry fan. The history of this stadium and the enthusiasm of the seemingly eternally doomed Cubs fans make the experience fun and exciting.
Wrigley field is an awful stadium with some amazing history. Our seats for this game were behind home plate, but more importantly, just 2 rows ahead of use was a steel support beam obstructing our view. Old stadiums needed the steel beams to be ale to build them to hold the number of people required, but they surely are a terrible inconvenience for fans watching the game. That being said, the history of this stadium is immense. The outfield walls feature the famous ivy and the surrounding buildings sport a variety of bootleg seats where you can watch the game outside the ballpark on someone's roof top. This is the only stadium that uses no electronic scoreboard at all, embracing the quaint and historical values. It is a unique and interesting experience. This is the first game where I saw a homerun ball thrown back onto the field by a defiant and angry fan. The history of this stadium and the enthusiasm of the seemingly eternally doomed Cubs fans make the experience fun and exciting.
Worst Stadium
Tropicanna Field - Tampa Bay Devil Rays
This stadium is just terrible. It is the only professional baseball stadium with a permanently closed roof, which require a cheap looking artificial grass. This stadium is also the only one in the MLB with free parking - mostly because they can't get anyone to go to the games. The hallways are cramped and industrial looking with the entire structure having a strong "warehouse" vibe. The reason for the lack of attention to detail, cheap structure, and lousy design is that the owner need to throw up a stadium quick in order to draw the MLB team to Tampa Bay. All of this rush shows. The stadium is an awful experience and I simply hated it. I would have rather watched the game on television then sit in an empty warehouse and watch a mediocre game. The silver lining here is that we got awesome seats right behind homeplate because no one else was at the game. Tropicanna field is the case study of why baseball stadium design matters, and what not to do in order to create a good baseball experience. Horrible stadium.
This stadium is just terrible. It is the only professional baseball stadium with a permanently closed roof, which require a cheap looking artificial grass. This stadium is also the only one in the MLB with free parking - mostly because they can't get anyone to go to the games. The hallways are cramped and industrial looking with the entire structure having a strong "warehouse" vibe. The reason for the lack of attention to detail, cheap structure, and lousy design is that the owner need to throw up a stadium quick in order to draw the MLB team to Tampa Bay. All of this rush shows. The stadium is an awful experience and I simply hated it. I would have rather watched the game on television then sit in an empty warehouse and watch a mediocre game. The silver lining here is that we got awesome seats right behind homeplate because no one else was at the game. Tropicanna field is the case study of why baseball stadium design matters, and what not to do in order to create a good baseball experience. Horrible stadium.