MLB stadiums

[Captain Ice]

Dodger Stadium is a favorite of mine too. If you ask me, it's one of Walter O'Malley's greatest accomplishments. That stadium is one of the best and most unique places to watch a game. And I love authentic Dadger Dogs....

Shame they pulled the Unocal station out though. Looking out to center and seeing that always brought a laugh for me.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I know it's a few years old, but Safeco Field in Seattle is absolutely gorgeous.

 

[bigdaddy]

i guess they couldn't do a full renovation in the offseason...

Never been to Fenway Park? Every year they redo a section of it and it looks great now, looked like crap 10 years ago.

 

[tomalak301]

I know it's a few years old, but Safeco Field in Seattle is absolutely gorgeous.

I've toured Safeco but never saw a game there. It's a beautiful stadium, but I would love to see a game there one of these times. Heck, I would love to go to Seattle again. It's such a beautiful city.

 

[Tim]

i guess they couldn't do a full renovation in the offseason...

Never been to Fenway Park? Every year they redo a section of it and it looks great now, looked like crap 10 years ago.

Though I'm very glad that the present owners did away with the plan to tear it down and build a new park. Personally, I think their renovations (especially the somewhat-controversial Monster seats) have been just the right sort of changes to make.

 

[Scout101]

i guess they couldn't do a full renovation in the offseason...

Never been to Fenway Park? Every year they redo a section of it and it looks great now, looked like crap 10 years ago.

Though I'm very glad that the present owners did away with the plan to tear it down and build a new park. Personally, I think their renovations (especially the somewhat-controversial Monster seats) have been just the right sort of changes to make.

Yep, that's pretty much the entire argument that you CAN fix up an old stadium to make it work. The ownership group has done AMAZING work to update the old girl in recent years. they're stuck with basic dimensions, can't add TOO many more seats, but they've done a lot to update the park, add sections, modernize things, and get the most they can out of it without losing any of the charm that makes Fenway so special.

Also makes Fenway annoying as all hell, with small seats, narrow aisles, f'ing poles in the way of some things, etc, but they've been doing a lot to clean it up.

Just in the past couple years:

Monster seats (overpriced, but amazing seats)
Right Field Roof tables
Removed the god-awful .406 club and fixed up that whole section.
Rennovated and extended the Pavillion section (2nd deck)
Updated/replaced Bleacher section
Wider concourses, way more food areas, new bathrooms
Those old press boxes by both foul poles are now gone

A lot of work has gone into updating the park while trying to make the new stuff look like it's always been there, and the planner (woman who designed Camden Yards) has done a great job. Can't imagine any of these things having not always been there, and it's actually odd to look at older pictures of the park (even a short while back, like the '99 All-Star game) and see the way it used to look. The old pictures just look WRONG, like it's missing parts that were always meant to be there...

In a lot of ways, a new park would have been better. Modern facility, comfortable seats facing the right direction, no obstructions, capacity about 15k people per game higher, etc. On the other hand, there's a LOT of history in Fenway (opened the same day the Titanic sank), and despite all its warts, there's a lot of charm there, and having it so small, with you right on top of the players (and the other fans) certainly adds something to the experience that you don't get in the bigger ballparks.

 

[SmoothieX]

I know it's a few years old, but Safeco Field in Seattle is absolutely gorgeous.

I've toured Safeco but never saw a game there. It's a beautiful stadium, but I would love to see a game there one of these times. Heck, I would love to go to Seattle again. It's such a beautiful city.

Same here. My in-laws live in WA and I took a trip to Seattle while visiting once. Great looking facility. Too bad it was January and I couldn't take in a game. This was pre-new Seahawks Stadium but my FIL raves about it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Somebody recently said that there would be one way the Cubs could get away with building a replacement for Wrigley Field:

If they win the World Series.

Then, just set the fans loose in the old ballpark, and by the time they're through with the place, there wouldn't be a piece of it left that's bigger than a matchstick.

 

[bigdaddy]

i guess they couldn't do a full renovation in the offseason...

Never been to Fenway Park? Every year they redo a section of it and it looks great now, looked like crap 10 years ago.

Though I'm very glad that the present owners did away with the plan to tear it down and build a new park. Personally, I think their renovations (especially the somewhat-controversial Monster seats) have been just the right sort of changes to make.

Well if you ever read the history of Fenway Park it has changed so many times anyways. The Green Monster used to be on top of a hill, it was all weird.

The only thing I HATE is the Green Monster ads. They have those ads above the seats and they block the view of the Citgo sign! Thats a no no.

 

[RAMA]

The new stadiums are nice... but there is something magical about walking into the current Yankee Stadium... or for me, Dodger Stadium.

The new Yankee stadium will actually have an exterior more like the original Yankee Stadium, before the renovations of the 1970s.

Limestone, granite and gold:

RAMA

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The new Yankee stadium will actually have an exterior more like the original Yankee Stadium, before the renovations of the 1970s.

Also, Citi Field (the new Mets ballpark) is being built to resemble Ebbets Field (former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers) on the outside. Linky

 

[Nerroth]

I assume you mean, Nationals Park, cos RFK Stadium no is more a baseball stadium than Wembley is an NFL stadium

Yep, that's right. I didn't know what the actual name of the new Nationals park is.

As for RFK: Bleah. What a fucking eyesore. They have only one tenant left - the DC United - and even that's doubtful. (I know they're at least in negotiations to build a new place to play, I don't know how far they've got with it.) RFK is the perfect example of "stadium of all trades is master of none" that's the problem with the cookie cutters.

D.C. United want a new 27k-seater in Anacostia, as part of a new development project for the area - which is commonly referred to as the Poplar Point project.

MLS' website has a page with concept images of what the place might look like here.

With luck, they might actually get the project approved - but the District aren't all that helpful, it seems.

Ironic, since United have been the most successful team to play in D.C. for quite some time (with more titles to their name than any other MLS side) - and are at the forefront of representing MLS internationally (the most recent example of this will be in April, when Mexican powerhouse Pachuca will be playing in RFK, in the second-leg of a CONCACAF Champions' Cup semi-final) - plus United help the District's underpriviledged through the United for D.C. charity.


Oh, and as far as RFK goes - apparently the anemities are in a poor state, but at least the brand-new pitch laid down for the 2008 season looks great!

Plus, the United faithful are never slouches at building the right atmosphere for their home games.

 

[nevermore]

^There's a soccer team in DC? You learn something new every day, I guess... Anyway, the city just funded the building of the Nationals park, and actually came in on budget and on time, with some pretty innovative funding policies, so maybe you'll get your soccer field someday.

I hear the view of Capitol Hill from the nosebleeds at the new Nationals park is pretty astounding. Might be worth a trip just to check it out. As far as Camden Yards goes, I think it's great the way they integrated it into the cityscape. A lot of people don't even notice it until it's pointed out. Also, it has a nice bar where the drink are actually cheaper than at the concessions.

 

[SmoothieX]

The new Yankee stadium will actually have an exterior more like the original Yankee Stadium, before the renovations of the 1970s.

Also, Citi Field (the new Mets ballpark) is being built to resemble Ebbets Field (former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers) on the outside. Linky

I've been checking out the construction photos on mets.com from time to time. (As an engineer, I'm a sucker for construction pics!) The exterior brickwork is looking nice and the stadium itself is starting to come together into something almost recognizible. I'll be interested to see how their rotunda they've been going on about looks.

 

[Malcom]

It's called Welfare for the Wealthy. Let's say it together, "it's called 'welfare for the wealthy'." There, that's better.

In Penn. the citizens of Philly and Pittsburgh voted against funding new sports facilities and the cities did it anyway at taxpayers' expense.

The new Nats stadium - like all new stadia has an upper deck not worth sitting in. In order to not have pillars and to give the levels of luxury boxes unimpeded views the upper decks are so far up and so far back as to not be worth sitting in. They should have put $50m into RFK instead of $600m+ into the new stadium.

 

[Malcom]

The new Yankee stadium will actually have an exterior more like the original Yankee Stadium, before the renovations of the 1970s.

Also, Citi Field (the new Mets ballpark) is being built to resemble Ebbets Field (former home of the Brooklyn Dodgers) on the outside. Linky

Shea stadium is really nasty, I have to admit. My Beloved Metropolitans deserve better.

 

[Malcom]

^There's a soccer team in DC? You learn something new every day, I guess... Anyway, the city just funded the building of the Nationals park, and actually came in on budget and on time, with some pretty innovative funding policies, so maybe you'll get your soccer field someday.

I hear the view of Capitol Hill from the nosebleeds at the new Nationals park is pretty astounding. Might be worth a trip just to check it out. As far as Camden Yards goes, I think it's great the way they integrated it into the cityscape. A lot of people don't even notice it until it's pointed out. Also, it has a nice bar where the drink are actually cheaper than at the concessions.

Peter Angelos is the Spawn of Satan, but it's a nice park, and they used to - and still might - permit you to bring in your own food. MCI did too until about two years ago. Carried some real meals in there when I had season tickets to the Caps.

 

[Nerroth]

^There's a soccer team in DC? You learn something new every day, I guess...

D.C. United are only the most successful team in Major League Soccer, the flagbearer for MLS internationally, a club which has been supportive of charity work in the District, through the United for D.C. organisation, has arguably the best fan support in MLS, and is one of the few teams from the United States taken semi-seriously overseas - oh, and happened to be tenants at RFK before, during and after the Nats' time there - so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that you've never heard of them...

...as it happens, I have my United jersey on now, and I'm hoping that tonight, they can do some of that flag-bearing well, as they take on Mexican giants Pachuca at eight thousand feet above sea level!

Anyway, the city just funded the building of the Nationals park, and actually came in on budget and on time, with some pretty innovative funding policies, so maybe you'll get your soccer field someday.

And if the Poplar Point stadium does get built, you're welcome to come down and cheer for a D.C. team that is an on-field success!

Or, maybe pop down to RFK this season, and see the Black-and-Red in action - such as next week, when Pachuca come a-knocking.

Sadly, I live in Ireland, so I can't go - sigh.

It's called Welfare for the Wealthy. Let's say it together, "it's called 'welfare for the wealthy'." There, that's better.

In Penn. the citizens of Philly and Pittsburgh voted against funding new sports facilities and the cities did it anyway at taxpayers' expense.

The new Nats stadium - like all new stadia has an upper deck not worth sitting in. In order to not have pillars and to give the levels of luxury boxes unimpeded views the upper decks are so far up and so far back as to not be worth sitting in. They should have put $50m into RFK instead of $600m+ into the new stadium.

Interesting note - the new MLS franchise in Philadelphia is actually having their new stadium built in Chester, as part of a full-scale economic revitalisation project for the area.

And I wouldn't have minded the District spending a little less effort trying to help out a less-than-successful team just because they play baseball (not that I don't mind the new stadium, mind you) or cooking up grandiose schemes to woo back an American Football team who absconded to Maryland (and who are not at all guaranteed to want to move to a new stadium at the RFK site...) and a little more thought about supporting a D.C. team that they should be proud of, in terms of their accomplishments.

That said, I was impressed when listening to a recent podcast, when the former mayor spoke of how, while he wants a Poplar Point deal to be at a fair price for all concerned, he does feel that soccer has a place within the District.

 

[BenRoethig]

^There's a soccer team in DC? You learn something new every day, I guess... Anyway, the city just funded the building of the Nationals park, and actually came in on budget and on time, with some pretty innovative funding policies, so maybe you'll get your soccer field someday.

They could try to tack it on to funding for some sleep survey.

 

[Malcom]

^There's a soccer team in DC? You learn something new every day, I guess...

D.C. United are only the most successful team in Major League Soccer, the flagbearer for MLS internationally, a club which has been supportive of charity work in the District, through the United for D.C. organisation, has arguably the best fan support in MLS, and is one of the few teams from the United States taken semi-seriously overseas - oh, and happened to be tenants at RFK before, during and after the Nats' time there - so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that you've never heard of them...

...as it happens, I have my United jersey on now, and I'm hoping that tonight, they can do some of that flag-bearing well, as they take on Mexican giants Pachuca at eight thousand feet above sea level!

Or, maybe pop down to RFK this season, and see the Black-and-Red in action - such as next week, when Pachuca come a-knocking.

Sadly, I live in Ireland, so I can't go - sigh.


Interesting note - the new MLS franchise in Philadelphia is actually having their new stadium built in Chester, as part of a full-scale economic revitalisation project for the area.

And I wouldn't have minded the District spending a little less effort trying to help out a less-than-successful team just because they play baseball (not that I don't mind the new stadium, mind you) or cooking up grandiose schemes to woo back an American Football team who absconded to Maryland (and who are not at all guaranteed to want to move to a new stadium at the RFK site...) and a little more thought about supporting a D.C. team that they should be proud of, in terms of their accomplishments.

That said, I was impressed when listening to a recent podcast, when the former mayor spoke of how, while he wants a Poplar Point deal to be at a fair price for all concerned, he does feel that soccer has a place within the District.

The Untied's games are a lot of fun to attend. I saw "El Pibe" - Carlos Valderamma play. I've been to a few games and thoroughly enjoyed them. I saw Toronto FC's stadium at the Ex just last week. I'd like to attend one of those too.