Before I begin, let me say I enjoyed all four ballparks, and it's been fun to go back and remember some of my favorite and least favorite things from each one. So let's begin. Rating System: 1 out of 5
Washington Nationals Park-D.C.
Stadium (design, view): 4 (2 years old, some neat designs, small ballpark feel, very clean, not much view, seemed away from everything and just another new stadium)
Seats: 4 (Front row, RCF, good view)
Food: 3 (Chili nachos were good, but not a lot of selection and several stands closed)
Fan Atmosphere: 1 (low attendance, not much participation, boring atmosphere
Misc:2 (Positive-Free t-shirt night, Negative- Scoreboards went out for over 4 innings, stadium workers were strict on seating, and our section was probaly 25 % full. Also couldn't see the big scoreboard very well.
PNC Park-Pittsburgh
Stadium: (Design, view): 4 (very nice and clean, stadium design was cool, small ballpark feel. Similar design and feel as of GABP, but the view of the yellow bridge over the river was amazing.
Seats: 4 (3rd row, left field, real close to the action, felt like we were on the field.)
Food: 4 (Primanti Brothers Roast beef sandwich, with fries and slaw on the sandwich. Great!
Fan Atmosphere: 2 (low attendance, medium participation, atmosphere was better than Nats game.
Misc:3 Negatives: Only stadium that didn't sell programs , didn't sell souvenir cups which we were collecting, and attendants in LF were rude about where you could take pics. Positive, you could see the big scoreboard from the outfield, where you couldn't in Washington and Philly.
Citizens Bank Park: Philadelphia
Stadium: (Design, View) 4 (similar to Washington's design, and also had a small ball park feel. I liked the design of the LF and RF sections, and their unique design was a giant liberty bell that lit up and moved when home runs were hit.
Food: 5 (Tony Luke's Cheesesteak was amazing! They had a lot of different food choices as well, and they also offered $1 hot dogs that night, which is always a great promotion.
Seats: 4 (LF, great view,
Fan Atmosphere: 5 (The only sellout on the trip, and the fans were passionate and loud. Great baseball atmosphere, which also was helped by the fact it was a matchup of to of the top NL teams.
Misc:4
Provided flat screen tv's in the OF seats, so you could see the replays on the TV broadcast, which came in handy. Fans were nicer than expected, especially for the reputation Philly fans have. Also, had a random occurence happen when the fan ran on the field, making it an even better game and story! Negative: Couldn't see big scoreboard from the outfield seats.
Camden Yards, Baltimore:
Stadium: (Design, View) 5 (The nicest and most creative of all the ballpark designs. You walk in to the stadium in RF, between the field and the old warehouse that Camden is known for. Lots of statues of their old players, and a statue of Babe Ruth at the entrance. When you first enter, you think it's a smaller ballpark. But as you move around, you realize, it is a large ballpark witha small ballpark feel. The first stadium designed like an old time stadium, with Ivy on the centerfield wall to go along with the warehouse.
Food: (5 )(Boog's BBQ was great. If I had known their was BBQ for the pork sandwhich, even better. I also was very impressed with the food choices inside and outside of the stadium.
Seats: (5) (Our seats were a great view off the 3rd base side. A huge positive is it's under an overhang, which helped shield the heat, and it was hot. Also great on a rainy day. The only negative is it did obstruct view of warehouse, but did not obstruct view of play. Also, had the positive of tv's right in front of our seats to help follow the action closer, replays, etc. We moved later to the upper deck outfield and though they were high, that view was amazing, not only of the field but of the warehouse and city, which is why I give the seats a 5.
Fan Atmosphere: (4) Though it wasn't a massive crowd, still a decent attendance. Only negative is alot of them were for Boston. But it still made for a good game atmosphere, especially when the game went into extra innings.
Misc: (4)I was impressed with the feel of the stadium, as I mentioned earlier, like you were back in time. Also, you could not only see the scoreboard, but we noticed they were creative in their advertising and videos promoting the Orioles and creating excitement, including a cool video in the bottom of the 9th to pump up the crowd using movies such as Lord of the Rings, Braveheart, etc. Another positive was their souvenir prices. Though they weren't cheap, they were very affordable and I looked up a couple items on line this week and they were the same price at the ballpark as retail, which is unusual. Last but not least, there was a lot of history at Camden. Not only the design, but recognizing their history, and honoring it. The stadium was build on Babe Ruth's Father's Bar, and they honored the babe with a Statue. Also, Boog's was named after a famous Oriole, Boog Powell. Overall, Baltimore was my favorite city as well.
Overall Ratings: Out of 5
Washington, 3.25 average rating, Pittsburgh, 3.75, Philadelphia, 4.25, Baltimore, 4.5
If I went just on design of the stadiums, I'd go Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington.
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