Top 10 Baseball stadiums

Fenway beats Wrigley by a huge margin, simply because it hasn't been neglected...the Fenway owners put a ton of money into the facility, Wrigley is a dump.

still they both beat all the new cookie cutter "retro" parks by a country mile.

I'd put Dodger Stadium higher on the list too, nice facility with the best views in baseball.

 

Yep!

I like the Ranger's ballpark but I'm a little biased. It's a cool stadium and I always enjoy going and it's a pretty cool stadium.
I've never been to another stadium so I can't compare.

 

Coors Field made the list? That place is a dump! PNC is nice, but the number two spot? Nope. Wrigley is #1 on all of these lists because of history, but truth be told that place is crumbling. I think should hell ever freeze over and the Cubs win the WS, that place will come tumbling down. Fenway belongs on that list. Busch Stadium is nice, and I would have liked to of seen it on the list, but not yet, give it a few years.

 

I don't like the new Busch but the old one was awesome, after DeWitt and Co bought it out and fixed it up a little it had character but was still nice. the new stadium is the sports equivalent of a McMansion.

 

Cool!! Safeco field in Seattle made #8! - been there quite a few times and I have
to agree it's a pretty fancy high-tech place. $30 for a burger/beer/fries and $75
for a Mezzanine ticket make it not quite as appealing but I'm sure they're all that way now.



Jedi

 

yes the entry/parking/exit situation at Dodgers stadium is pretty crappy but I love the retro look and feel to it. upgrading it will make it lose its character.

 

I have been to all of these parks I think...there are a lot of MINOR league ballparks that can beat some of these top 10ers. I have been to Fenway and Wrigley a bunch of times and each has its "CHARM" meaning dark, dirty, claustrophobic, 2 inning long beer and toilet lines, etc. The seats at Fenway and Wrigley are awful (old, wooden slats and god forbid some poor fan has a big butt). People talk about the close in feel of Fenway...try sitting in any of the seats down the right field side from first base outward....you have to twist your neck 90 degrees to see the battery.
But I will say when you are back in the bowels of dark gloomy Fenway, and then you turn up onto the filty cement tunnel of an exit ramp, and you get to the top of the ramp and see that sparkling emerald gem...somehow the 15 minute beer line becomes a distant memory.

 

Even though the Met's stink, I have to admit the stadium is great..

 

"Does this seat make my butt look big?"








Sorry - couldn't resist

Jedi

 

Wow. PNC Park made #2.

Great place to watch a game.

If you've never been to Pittsburgh, you should; it's now a lovely city.

Matt

 

You guys had to pay Ichiro somehow

 

I think there's as much truth as humor in that statement!

Jedi

 

+1

The infrastructure is better and far more profitable, seats are more comfortable, getting in and out of there is far easier. But the old Stadium felt more focussed on the game. Add the fact that the new price structure keeps the diehards away, and you have one cold experience (I'm not sure how much a frantic crowd adds to home filed advantage nowadays but whatever that amount is, it's more or less gone. Execs and the like don't follow every game, don't focus on the day's game, don't scream like crazy, don't paint their faces, don't give the other side's fans the treatment, etc.)

The museum, though, that was a treat. Easily worth the stadium tour fee. (People have waited on line for hours before game time just to be told that the exhibit has closed. The tour guarantees uncrowded, somewhat leisurely access to the museum, Monument Park, etc.)

 

Anyone ever been to Doubleday field in Cooperstown? Not MLB obviously, but that's a classic stadium.

 

I can't believe AT&T Park didn't make that list. If I had the choice to see any baseball game anywhere, I'd choose a Giants game there...and this is coming from a fan of the team that the Giants beat in the 2010 Fall Classic.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I agree - that to me is the "Roman Colosseum" of baseball stadiums... STUNNING place.

I really have no idea how the heck it didn't make it. Doesn't make sense, for anyone who's seen it.
It's the only stadium I know of where the "high-up cheap seats" can be a treat to sit in!

Jedi

 

That place is awesome. Wish the place got more MLB use - it was a shame when they canceled the Hall of Fame game.

Was listening to sports radio a few weeks back just after the all-star game and a caller had one of the best ideas for improving the game that I've ever heard. Move the All-Star game to permanently be at Doubleday Field. Will never happen though, just not enough money to be made on that proposition...

 

FWIW, I grew up in New England as a die-hard Red Sox fan. I have always viewed Fenway with extreme reverence and was disgusted when they were thinking about tearing it down and building a new stadium. Even had one of the 'If you build it they won't come' bumper stickers back in those days. Having said that, even with the money that's been put into the place under current ownership, it's still a bit of a dump. It only makes the list because of its historical nature.

I wasn't that impressed, although the last time I was there was when Bonds was at 698. Perhaps they've done something to make it better since then?

 

+1 "The jewel by the Bay!"

You're the first person I've ever heard say that! Was it the weather that turned you off maybe? [It can be stunningly beautiful and give you sunburn during the day, but night games? Look out!..... Can be colder than Candlestick when the fog rolls in!]

Cheers,
Ian

 

Don't get me wrong - it's a really, really nice place and belongs on the list. Just do not see it as equivalent to "the "Roman Colosseum" of baseball stadiums... STUNNING place." as Jedi indicated.

What I do wonder about stadiums like AT&T is whether people believe they are so great because of the dump they replaced e.g., Citizen's Bank Park is pretty nice, but how must it seem if you spent your life attending games at the Vet? Pretty frickin' amazing I would guess.

 

I've played at Doubleday Stadium numerous times. It's a religous experience..

 

you're a New Englander who went to Auburn?!?! culture shock!

don't know if you've been to Wrigley but it's a lot worse than Fenway. yes both have their issues (already laid out here) but at least John Henry seems to care about Fenway, couldn't say that about Tribune CO and Wrigley. (Not sure if the new Cubs owners are any better about stadium maintenance)