In visiting three parks on our trip, Mike and I came up with a points system rating each stadium. The scale ranges from -50 to 50 and covers 20 categories. Hence, the best possible score is 1000. Upon returning to the East Coast, I was at Shea that night, so of course, I have ratings for Shea as well. We’ll start with
Stadium Grounds: -20
Seriously, take Shea Stadium and Giants Stadium, mix them in a bowl and place what you get out of that combination in the middle of
Are you kidding me?
Are we in Oakland or Elizabeth?
Parking: -15
There really didn’t seem to be that many spots around. Fifteen dollars to park a car is ugly.
Seat Value: 50
I know it was getaway day, but we walked up to the window and asked for the best seats at around thirty dollars a pop. We got about 8th row behind home plate. All Mike kept saying was “Are you kidding me?” Good job by the ticket people there.
Interior Design: -20
There was just nothing to this place. Chop off the top two levels and you have yourself a minor league ballpark.
Tribute to Jackie: -30
This just made me sick. Most places I’ve been to, teams have displayed Jackie’s retired number in the same fashion as their other retired numbers, including them on the same wall and such. In
Sightlines: 15
We walked around the whole stadium and there really wasn’t one bad view, except for the fact that it is a football stadium where a baseball team plays, meaning that some seats are way out there, you never really lose sight of anything.
Concessions: 50
They had a fish and chips stand, a ribs stand and a phenomenal sausage stand. On top of that, there were multiple beer stands and liquor stands. It was too hot for me to drink Jack though.
Prices: 0
Not great, not bad.
Scoreboards: -25
Considering the fact, once again, that it is a football stadium with a baseball team playing there, some might need binoculars to see the scoreboards at the top of the stadium.
Weather: 30
I know it was only April, but the weather was good. The sun was beating down, but it was bearable.
Staff: 25
I’ll tell you what, you can never go wrong with nice, courteous, friendly people who speak fluent English. It really does have its advantages.
National Anthem: -20
The only reason I say this is because they used a recording. What are we in high school?
Promotions: 15
They do have 3 fireworks nights. I’m really beginning to think this IS minor league park. Plus Eric Chavez bobblehead night is always a plus.
Crowd Support: -10
Once again, it was getaway day, 12:30 on a Thursday afternoon, but I expect a little more than heckling your own pitcher when he’s throwing a shutout.
Crowd Personality: 25
I have to make the same comment here as I did for the staff. Very nice, approachable people who like to talk baseball. And the Marco Scutaro chant was awesome.
Speaker System: -30
Just bad.
Stadium DJ: -25
I dunno what happened here, but this guy just didn’t have it.
Crowd entertainment: -5
Maybe the only positive thing that fell here was that before the game, they showed the live feed from the Texas-Cleveland game. Other than that, I can see why these fans had no enthusiasm. Where’s the Pepsi Party Patrol when you need them?
Location: -20
This ties in with Stadium Grounds, just nothing here at all.
Transportation: 0
We didn’t see any means for mass transportation, but could be wrong. There really wasn’t any traffic, but that’s because it seems as if no one cared. No score here.
Total Score: -10
Ouch. I hope you proud of yourselves. New ballpark in better area needed IMMEDIATELY!!!
Stadium Grounds: 50
This place was incredible. What a nice area around the stadium, nicely done, clean, just a beautiful sight.
Parking: -5
Tough call here, more expensive than
Seat Value: 40
We had good seats in right field for a reasonable price.
Interior Design: 50
Basically, everything about this place was beautiful, from the light towers to the brickwork in left field. It just had a nice feel to it.
Tribute to Jackie: 45
They did it right. They retired his as they would anyone else’s. And the Dodgers are their sworn enemy. You stay classy,
Sightlines: 40
From what I could gather, they were good. I didn’t go upstairs, however. But you could always see the field no matter where you were.
Concessions: 40
Pretty sweet concessions, I had the BBQ pork sandwich. Mike had the Diego Dog. The ride to LA the next day, sucked, but hey, the food was good.
Prices: 0
I get the feeling not many stadiums are gonna get high or low ratings here.
Scoreboards: 35
Pretty good scoreboard, however, it could use a little revamping to replace the amber lights with a color scoreboard, other than that, pretty good.
Weather: 40
Again, I know it was only April, but the weather was still okay. It was a little chilly and got a little drizzly after the game, but it’s
Staff: 45
From the ticket takers, to the concessions to the team store, all around, nice and friendly people.
National Anthem: 25
We barely caught the tail end of this, but at least someone was actually singing it.
Promotions: 50
It was Trevor Time Desk Clock Night. ‘Nough said.
Crowd Support: 50
I know it was a Friday night against the Dodgers, but it’s still April and these fans were just as fired up as they would be in October. The “Beat LA” chants were resounding, almost deafening at times. They REALLY hate their Dodgers. If only Dodger fans gave a crap about the Pads.
Crowd Personality: 45
Very nice people again. We sat next to a nice couple who watched our stuff when we got up to get beers and such. They actually were planning on coming to
Speaker System: -20
I’m sure this was an isolated incident, but there was no sound system between innings 2-6. I don’t know if there was a malfunction or it was planned, but I have to take a negative on this one.
Stadium DJ: 15
The only thing keeping this in the positive is the reaction of the fans to “Hell’s Bells.” Other than that, I got nothing because there was no music for 5 innings.
Crowd entertainment: 40
Definitely a great job here. I would say it started with the grassy knoll area behind centerfield where fans can park their butts on a the grassy hill on picnic blankets and watch the game on a big screen TV behind the wall in centerfield. I pray the Mets took notes on this one. They also had their version of the Mets’ Pepsi Party Patrol, complete with a t-shirt launch. You really can never go wrong with the t-shirt launch.
PLEASE tell me the Mets picked up on this.
Location: 40
Right in the heart of downtown
Transportation: 10
We didn’t give this a high rating because of the fact that it is in the heart of downtown San Diego and the traffic moves like Midtown Manhattan, however, from what we heard, there are trains in the area that drop you off right at the stadium. So we’ll go on the assumption that there is solid mass transportation
Total Score: 635
This could be even high if it weren’t for the speaker system not working. I think if we came back again, maybe took mass transit, they could score in the 700’s. You stay classy,
Coors Field,
Stadium Grounds: 50
Much like its counterpart in
Parking: 25
We actually walked to the stadium from our hotel, but we did take notice of the abundance of reasonably priced parking lots/garages. They charged $4 for event parking!!! Now we KNOW we’re getting ripped off at Shea.
10 dollar cheaper than Shea, and this is inside the city
Seat Value: 50
No-brainer here. $40 for 2nd row down the right field line. You can’t beat that.
Interior Design: 45
Just a beautiful ballpark with lots of nice touches. The Mile High row in the upper deck is a cool feature, the fountains add a nice backdrop during a homerun and you have to love the open concourse. Nicely done.
Tribute to Jackie: 45
Sightlines: 45
From what we can gather, there isn’t a bad seat in the house. Once again, I’d have to sit upstairs, but from where we were, not a single blind spot anywhere on the field level.
Concessions: 50
Unfortunately, I was too hung over to enjoy any concessions other than a hot dog, a water and a large Powerade (Damn that Rock Bottom Brewery!). I will say this though, as you enter the stadium, there are vendors outside selling peanuts, sunflower seeds, sodas, waters and Gatorades for no more than $2 each, which is well below the prices inside. What’s even better is that you can bring them into the stadium. Where else in the country do they allow this? This is where they get their concession points from me. I swear the METS ARE RIPPING US OFF!!!!!
Prices: 20
The prices go hand in hand with the concessions. The fact that you can spend 3 dollars for a bottle of Gatorade and bag of peanuts that you can bring into the stadium really impresses me and irks me that my team REALLY does not give a crap about their fans to the extent the
Scoreboards: 40
Really nice scoreboard, not too much going on, simple, yet colorful. I like the
Just had to put the one that shows that Larry lined into a triple play.
Weather: 40
Believe it or not, but this was the best weather day of all three. If I had told you we went to ballgames in Oakland, San Diego and Denver and on one day, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the weather was perfect, and it was about 85 degrees for most of the day, until a few clouds blocked the sun late in the afternoon, which city would you have thought I was talking about? It may have been too good as the sun eventually got to me and I had to walk around the stadium for 3 innings to cool off. Or it could have just been the hangover.
Staff: 45
I really think it’s just an East Coast thing to have nasty, non English speaking staff members working at baseball games. We really need to work on this.
National Anthem: 20
I was in the bathroom, but it sounded good.
Promotions: 20
2 fireworks nights (both against the Mets), $1 hot dog days and 5 free toppings at Papa John’s if the Rockies score 5 runs or more. I’d say they do some good things for the fans.
Crowd Support: 25
It was okay. I think because it was a Sunday against the Braves, a day that also recorded record high temperatures in
Crowd Personality: 40
They were loving our heckling of Jeff Francoeur. Once again, nice, approachable people, one guy even sought me out in the team store to tell me that we had them cracking up the whole game. You just don’t get that back home. Nice
Speaker System: 45
This was on the money, no complaints here at all. And speaking of on the money…
Stadium DJ: 50
Whoever this guy was needs a raise. What an awesome job. He had a good 7 or 8 solid songs for every time the
Crowd entertainment: 40
I think the stadium DJ played a big role in this. The music was awesome, and they had a couple cool features up on the scoreboard. They did a good job of keeping the crowd entertained throughout most of the day.
Location: 50
Just like in
Transportation: 20
Like I said, we did walk, but there seemed to be plenty of public transportation around the area, or so we heard. So I kept this score somewhere in the middle being that we didn’t have a chance to see for ourselves.
Total Score: 765
I really don’t know if you can score much better than this without being perfect. What a great place to enjoy a game. There was a very nice atmosphere, people kept it clean, the prices are reasonable and it’s in a great area for enjoying a night on the town after the game. This was probably my favorite of the three, both stadium and city. I could definitely live in
And finally…..
Shea Stadium,
Our dump
Stadium Grounds: -40
Crappy area, crappy design, just overall crappiness.
Parking: -50
But this is only because half the parking is now gone to make way for the new stadium. $14 to park is a joke though.
Seat Value: 15
You can usually get pretty good seats for decent money.
Interior Design: 0
The stadium is so old and outdated and the color scheme is just so random: orange, blue, green and red. Yet there’s something endearing about the scoreboard and the apple that keeps it from being a negative.
Tribute to Jackie: 45
The one thing this place does do right is the Jackie tribute, right up there with the other Mets greats. #42 in the Dodgers’ color scheme. It works well.
Sightlines: -20
Just try sitting in the last 4 rows of the Mezz or Loge or anywhere down the lines in the upper deck.
Concessions: -15
With the exception of the Italian sausage sandwich, there really isn’t much that is appealing. The prices stink, the food’s usually cold and just ask Matt Cerrone about how they handle hot chocolate.
Prices: 0
Once again, the prices go hand in hand with the concessions. $7.25 for a beer. Hot dogs: 4.50.
Scoreboards: 40
By far, this is still the best scoreboard around. It just gives you so much information. The only knock, like I said before, is that they don’t have room for names on the scoreboard. Other than that, it’s a fantastic scoreboard.
Weather: 30
I’m being generous, only because I know it’ll get better as the summer moves along.
Staff: 10
Most staff workers at Shea really don’t give a crap about who you are or what language you speak, although the guy working the Miller Lite stand right behind Section 15 of the Mezzanine was definitely a nice guy.
National Anthem: 30
We missed it, but you can never go wrong with this at Shea, they’re usually on the money.
Promotions: 15
Promotions are pretty weak this year. I’m not even sure if there’s a fireworks night. Once again, some things are hampered by the new stadium, so you’ll have to bear with them.
Crowd Support: 25
Mets fans are pretty rowdy and love to get behind their team. They also love to let their team know when they are not doing well, case in point, Chan Ho Parking Lot. Apparently there have even been some boos for David Wright. It’s all out of love. Mets fans want their team to succeed in the worst way.
Crowd Personality: 10
Definitely not as hospitable as out West, but you’ll find some nice people sitting around you. We met a guy next to us who’s in on the pack. Seems like a nice guy, very outspoken, as most Mets fans are.
Speaker System: 0
There are certain areas where this thing just doesn’t work.
Stadium DJ: 20
However, when it DOES work, the DJ usually has a pretty good selection.
Crowd entertainment: 30
Mr Met and the Pepsi Party Patrol, Professor Reyes, the Apple, all good times, however, getting rid of the Race to Shea definitely knocks them down from years past.
Location: -50
AWFUL location. Just AWFUL. I can’t wait for the city to buy up those chop shops so at least it looks nicer. Sorry guys, I know that’s your livelihood and all, but you gotta take your business elsewhere.
Transportation: -25
2 trains that I can’t seem to ever get to and severe traffic problems when there’s a big game. They have to do better than this when the new stadium rolls around.
Total Score: 75
So it’s not the worst place I’ve ever been to, but it’s certainly damn near close. As Mike said in
