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Best neo-classical ballpark

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by DanOregon, Mar 31, 2008.

  1. Huggy

    Huggy Well-Known Member

    I saw an Angels game in Anaheim last summer and thought that wasn't a bad yard for a place that had been remodeled since it's days as a multi-purpose venue.
     
  2. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member



    Almost over . . . thank God.
     
  3. doubledown68

    doubledown68 Active Member

    No argument from me, but then again, I'm biased. They're in the process of renovating the park. Changes this year include what they say is the largest HD replay board in the majors, and a video board in the left field wall.

    When it's complete this time next year, I think a new team HOF and giant concourse in the outfield will be the centerpieces. I even think there are supposed to be some seats in left field... but I'm not sure how those will work, because of the fountains and all.
     
  4. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member

    Wait 'til next year, when there's a very real chance Wrigley will be behind police tape, for season-long renovations.
     
  5. I'll add to the chorus on PNC. Unbelievably nice ballpark in a perfect location. Not only that, but Pittsburgh as a city is a delight -- very underrated.

    GABP is, like others have said, a missed opportunity. Nicer than Riverfront, but not as nice as it could have been. If you go to a day game, make sure you sit on the first-base side or else you'lll roast.

    Miller Park in Milwaukee is very good for its purpose. It's in a charmless spot, surrounded by nothing but parking lots, but that's the point -- it serves the Wisconsin tailgating culture perfectly.

    I've driven past Tropicana Field many times and felt the urge to go in only to say I've been there. The new ballpark on the drawing board in St. Pete looks nice.

    And indeed, Houston is the worst of the new parks. A lot of seats have obstructed views, and it seems they just crowded it into a small spot unnecessarily. The restaurant in the ballpark is pretty good, though.
     
  6. Bubbler

    Bubbler Well-Known Member

    I don't really consider Miller Park neo-classical. It doesn't fit the St. Louis/Philly/Detroit mode.

    But Twoback is exactly right about Miller Park's location. I remember arguing with a Brewers beat writer around the time the park was opened. He thought not building downtown was a major mistake, my point was that tailgating is such a part of the Brewers experience that there was no better spot.

    Miller Park is no County Stadium, but someone made the point that ballparks have certain aspects that are desirable to fans of that team which might be overlooked by fans from elsewhere.

    Miller Park can be viewed as a soulless monolith, but I embraced it the first time I went to a game during a downpour. The roof might leak, but it's a roof, and that game was played. I can't stress how important that is, in Wisconsin's climate, to take weather out of the equation and have all 81 games played on time. Moreover, several of them won't be played in 40-degree conditions, when even diehards like me wouldn't go to games.

    It's huge for attendance because fans from around the state of Wisconsin can invest the time in a game when it's guaranteed to be played.

    I think I've been to at least five games that were played with a downpour raining down outside, and since I live several hours away these days, the roof is a Godsend.
     
  7. It's not neo-classical at all, but it is a very nice ballpark.

    And you're spot-on about the dome. I can't believe Minnesota's new park won't have one, especially when you consider what the weather there was like yesterday.
     
  8. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    I can't stand the hill in Houston. It's a hazard. Someday, a player is going to tear a knee trying to run up it. Only then will they take it out.
     
  9. Speaking of Miller Park's roof...is there some sort of rule about if it can or cannot be opened (not closed) once a game has started. I know the NFL has some weird timing rules about this with Reliant Stadium in Houston.

    Anyway, I bring this up because on my lone trip to Miller Park...a 17-inning win by the Cubs on a Corey Patterson home run in 2003...we arrived after having made a six hour drive to some of the worst weather imaginable. I, like Bubbler, was very thankful for the roof. However, probably about five innings into that nearly two full-game marathon, I could clearly see through the outfield windows that the weather had taken a turn for the better...the much better. As we walked back to our car, it was probably in the upper 70s and sunny. To this day, I still can't figure out why they didn't open the roof to let the fans enjoy a rare nice late spring day in Milwaukee.
     
  10. MacDaddy

    MacDaddy Active Member

    I've done a few. Did Seattle/San Francisco (Candlestick)/Oakland/Los Angeles/Anaheim/San Diego (Qualcomm) one summer. Milwaukee (County Stadium)/Chicago (Sox and Cubs)/Cincinnati (Riverfront)/Cleveland/Detroit (when the neighborhood around Comerica wasn't that nice)/Toronto/Pittsburgh (Three Rivers) another summer. Boston/New York (Yanks and Mets)/Baltimore/Philadelphia/Pittsburgh (PNC) yet another summer. Having summers off and being single had its advantages. And fortunately I've been able to go back and hit Miller Park, GABP, Petco and AT&T Park.

    Glad to see the love for PNC and Pittsburgh -- one of my favorite ballparks and, as was mentioned, Pittsburgh is highly underrated as a city. Another nice thing about PNC is it's a bit smaller (about 38,000 capacity) than most of the newer ballparks.

    And there seems to be something about Cincinnati. I was at Riverfront in its final couple of years, and it seemed like they weren't keeping the place up at all. Which didn't strike me as odd until I saw Three Rivers in its final year and it was kept up really well. GABP, even though it's pretty new, also seemed like it wasn't being kept up well.

    Does Miller Park's roof still leak? I was there in '04 during a storm and there was some serious water leakage. It's bad when the TV cameramen have rain gear at an indoor facility.

    Worst ballpark I've been to? Metrodome. By far.
     
  11. NoOneLikesUs

    NoOneLikesUs Active Member

    I wasn't that impressed with PNC when I went. The design is nice, but the atmosphere is banal. I much prefer Jacobs Field which at least has some character.
     
  12. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    Other than the team being 1,000 times better, how does it have more character? I have been to both on multiple occasions, I cannot see either one being different than the other in the character department.

    Yankee and Fenway on the other hand, now that is character.
     
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