Your local ballparks, arenas and football fields

[King Kamala 0]

"Nearby" national sports arenas)

 

Fleet Center: Not a bad seat in the house, comfortable seats but fairly generic looking and not much to do besides the game. 7 out of 10.

 

Fenway Park: Whoever said you can't polish a turd hasn't seen Fenway's renovations. It's still got the hard ass seats and obstructed views and is still a shitty ass ballpark...but it has created a nice event atmosphere. Even games with crap teams like Tampa or Baltimore feel special. 7 out of 10.

 

Gillette Stadium: Haven't seen it yet. Probably won't until the Patritots have 4-12 seasons. Which hopefully won't be for a long long time.

 

(Local minor league arena teams)

 

Hadlock Field: Home of Red Sox AA affiliate Portland Sea Dogs. Exterior looks like a mini Coors field. Interior is rather generic with aluminum bleachers so they can pack in as many people. It's loud as hell when you're in the concourse and people are stomping on the bleachers because of some amazing Sea Dogs hit and/or play.

 

Cumberland County Civic Center: Home of Washington Capitals minor league affiliate Portland Pirates. 25 years old and people are already demanding a newer arena. Was built in the "Build First, Ask questions later" era of the early to mid 70's. It doesn't help the fact that only 1500-2000 people usually show up in the 8,000 seat arena for Pirates games. Has ugly ass yellow and black seats which are the colors of Portland's former minor league hockey team.

[treble 0]

Air Canada Centre: Only been there once for wrestling, so I haven't seen a Leafs or Raptors game there so it's hard to give it a fair rating, but it seemed nice enough. 7/10

 

Corel Centre: Nice location for someone like me, bad for most people in Ottawa. I've been there a bunch of times for wrestling and hockey games, and I like it, even though it's nothing special. 7/10

 

Olympic Stadium: Yeah, I don't mind it all that much. It get's dumped on a lot, and even though it isn't a great place to watch baseball (or football, either, really), it's not bad for what it is. 5/10

 

Molson Stadium: Where the Alouettes play in Montreal. It's all benches and stuff, and it's rather small, but man, that atmosphere at that place is awesome. Best sports experience I've probably ever had. 9/10

 

SkyDome: I don't know if I can give it a fair rating, since I haven't been there for a while. It's not bad, and I think I actually like the Big O a little more, but it's where the Jays play, so I'm biased. 5/10

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I'm the same as treble_charged, although I would give Olympic Stadium a 1. It has been a disaster since it was built.

 

Also, I love Lansdowne Park. 10/10 for both the Ottawa Civic Centre and Frank Clair Stadium. Plus it is easy to get to, and parking is plentiful and cheap. I also like the smaller arenas as opposed to the cavernous and usually 3/4 empty SkyDome

[the pinjockey 0]

I won't give an out of 10 grade, because I don't have anything to compare to.

 

First Union Center: Love this place. Beautiful inside and out, plenty of bathrooms (At least to me), plenty of seat room.

 

Veteran's Stadium: I like the Vet. When I go to a game, I go to watch the game. If you were there for any other reason, you probably didn't like it as there wasn't any flare to the place.

[Dr. Tom 0]

Oriole Park at Camden Yards: The first of the retro-themed ballparks, and probably still the best. There's not a bad seat in the house, Eutaw St. and the B&O Warehouse give the park a distinctive feel, and it's still a great stadium more than a decade after being built. A+

 

M&T Bank Stadium: A wonderful complement to Camden Yards. It doesn't have things like the warehouse going for it, but football doesn't need that kind of stuff anyway. Great sightlines, video, and PA, and like the baseball stadium, a terrific downtown location. A+

 

First Mariner Arena: Remodeled a decade or so ago, it now has so much glass on its exterior that I've taken to calling it the Glass Menagerie. Whoever approved the fixed stage should be stabbed in the face, since having it prevented Baltimore from getting an NHL team, and caused the Bullets to jump to DC. It's clearly a second-class citizen among arenas now, with the USAir Arena in Landover and the MCI Centre in DC. Not every seat is good, either, as the nosebleeds REALLY suck. D-

[MarvinisaLunatic 0]

Oriole Park at Camden Yards: The first of the retro-themed ballparks, and probably still the best. There's not a bad seat in the house, Eutaw St. and the B&O Warehouse give the park a distinctive feel, and it's still a great stadium more than a decade after being built. A+

 

M&T Bank Stadium: A wonderful complement to Camden Yards. It doesn't have things like the warehouse going for it, but football doesn't need that kind of stuff anyway. Great sightlines, video, and PA, and like the baseball stadium, a terrific downtown location. A+

 

First Mariner Arena: Remodeled a decade or so ago, it now has so much glass on its exterior that I've taken to calling it the Glass Menagerie. Whoever approved the fixed stage should be stabbed in the face, since having it prevented Baltimore from getting an NHL team, and caused the Bullets to jump to DC. It's clearly a second-class citizen among arenas now, with the USAir Arena in Landover and the MCI Centre in DC. Not every seat is good, either, as the nosebleeds REALLY suck. D-

I can agree with the first two, but I've never been to the Arena. I heard they were talking about building a new arena if Baltimore could get an Expansion NBA Team, but thats not gonna happen now.

[Cartman 0]

Well since Fenway and the Fleet have been covered(and I agree with both assessments) I will rate:

 

Gillette Stadium: Incredible stadium. Every single seat in the place is aimed at the 50 yard line. Seats are pretty large, to accomodate for the slightly larger New England fans, and each seat has it's own cup holder. Concessions stands of all kinds EVERYWHERE. Even up in the insanely steep nosebleed seats, the view is awesome. I really haven't been to any other football stadiums to compare it to, but I would give it a 10/10 anyways.

 

McCoy Stadium: Home of the AAA Pawtuket Red Sox. Stadium was recently renovated into probably one of the best minor league parks in the country IMHO. Best part about this joint is that it's about 3 minutes away from my house so I go there all summer 8/10

[King Kamala 0]

Forgot to rate on local park

 

 

Fitzpatrick Stadium: Home of high school football state championships, pre season MLS games and the WNFL's Maine Freeze. Basically a high school football stadium converted for other uses. Strangely it has that grass like astro turf that the Devil Rays and Phillies use and like most high school stadiums is aluminum and ugly. 4/10

[Guest Gatornibs]

Ben Hill Griffin Stadium: University of Florida plays its football games here. Nothing to do inside the stadium except watch football. Concessions are pretty standard, and the only way it holds 90.000 is by having bleachers in the entire stadium save for a few thousand in the end zone of all places. The new expansion rules, but I don't get the pleasure of sitting in the $2,000 seats. 6/10

 

Alltel Stadium-Nice stadium. All sorts of food, wide seats, all directed towards the 50 yard line. Tons of entertainment before the game, that's worth it alone. Great atmosphere, new Bud Zone, the city's largest sports bar, JUST opened in the stadium, and u can watch the game at the top of the stadium on the "Sky Lounge" 9/10

 

Stephen C. O'Connell Center-Eh, nothing really special, until the game starts. Then it's LOUD. Has a swimming pool inside, but only for UF swimming. Not a bad seat in the house. Only holds 12,000, and it's a dome, so the noise is kept in. 6/10

 

McKethan Stadium-UF's baseball facility. Beautiful stadium, with the O'Dome and the Swamp in the background. all seats facing home plate, total family atmosphere, press box gives you shade. Real nice. 8/10

 

Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum. Hasn't opened yet, but from the Outside and pics of it tell me it will be 15/10

 

St. Pete Times Forum. Very big. Nosebleeds are horrible, but seats in general are cool. Great for hockey, not so good for wrestling or basketball. 5/10

 

USF Sun Dome-See Stephen C. O'Connell Center, pretty much a replica of it. 6/10

 

Tropicana Field. The shittiest of all MLB parks, but still a decent place to watch a game. 4/10

[MrRant 0]

SafeCo Field: Great park. Good views from everywhere and the retractable roof is great. Wrestlemania XIX was a blast. And GARLIC FRIES OWN YOU~!

 

Seahawk Stadium: Haven't been there yet but it's pretty.

 

KeyArena: Good arena even though it's getting up there in age.

 

GM Place: It's close enough. Very nice for hockey. Can see the rink very well from anywhere.

 

Everett Events Center: Brand new arena build for the Everett Silvertips WHL team so I haven't been there yet.

[HurriShane 0]

Key Arena: good views from pretty much every seat but it is kinda old7/10

 

Safeco Field: definitley one of the best stadiums in all of baseball. 10/10

 

Seahwawks Stadium:not as great as it could have been, but still much better than the Kingdome. 8/10

[Guest Anglesault]

Yankee Stadium: I don't care what anyone says, you can't find a better place to watch a baseball game. The atmosphere alone is good enough, but really, there isn't a bad seat in the house.

 

10/10

The Gahden: I don't give three shits about basketball, but Ranger games there are always a blast. Easy to get into and out of as well.

 

9/10

 

Nassau Colliseum: Eh, it fills it's purpose.

 

6/10.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Marine Midland...er....HSBC arena: C+. It's a nice place for wrestling and boxing...but it doesn't FEEL like a hockey arena. The old Aud may have sucked...but it felt like the Sabres home.

 

Ralph Wilson stadium. B. It's nice.

 

Dunn Tire Park. C-. Good for a AAA stadium I guess. Useless for anything else.

[ISportsFan 0]

United Center: Really nice facility, good place to watch a hockey (or NBA) game. The Stadium was better in the sense that it was more intimate, but this is good for a more modern place. 7/10

 

Wrigley Field: Seriously, the only thing that this place has going for it is the history. If you go into Wrigley without a knowledge of it being a "historical landmark" you'd leave right away because it's truly a dump. But, the history bumps it up quite a bit in the minds of lots of other people, and I rate my parks for the masses. 6/10

 

US Cellular Field: Pretty much one of the worst "new" ballparks built, but it does serve its purpose. The main complaint is that the upper decks are too slanted, and that the south side is the worse part of town. Both complaints are minor, since the south side isn't really that bad around "Comiskey." I actually like the Cell better than Wrigley as a ballpark, but once again I do rate for the masses. 5/10

 

Allstate Arena (former Rosemont Horizon): A good place to watch the Chicago Wolves, DePaul Blue Demons, or, of course, WWE. The fans in Allstate are the best at least in the Chicago area for having fun at events, and perhaps for wrestling, at least in the top 3 in the nation. Not too much in the way of ammenities, but not many are needed for college and minor league teams. 7/10

 

The minor league baseball parks: Awesome. The grassy seats, the atmosphere, all of it are really tremendous. And they're cheap tix, too. 7.5/10

 

I, myself, would rate Wrigley a 3/10 (because, as a park, it's crap) and the Cell a 7/10 (not really any bad seats, decent things to do other than the ballgame, just not anything above and beyond, so a "C" grade is adequate), but that's neither here nor there.

 

Jason

[The Czech Republic 0]

I give Wrigley Field a 10! Go Wrigleyville! Go Cubbies! You can't find fault in Wrigley, besides that it's old. You don't expect padded seats or a Jumbotron. I also like the dimensions of the field.

 

Everything else is pretty accurate, though I'd go a little higher on the Rosemont Horizon, maybe 7.5, because they had some very nice bathrooms there. It didn't seem like an arena bathroom. (Maybe I inadvertently wandered into an exectuive suite?) Concessions are pretty decent as well. Good job rating the Chicago venues.

 

For Milwaukee, also known as Chicago Lite:

 

Bradley Center: It's very plain. Standard-issue arena for basketball, hockey, and other such attractions. The interior atriums and lobbies aren't too special, but I will say that the event staff is very helpful and courteous. Milwaukeeans, being simpler Midwestern folk, just seem to be really nice. Also compare Summerfest with Taste of Chicago for backup to this argument.

 

Miller Park: The exterior is very nice, and the roof definitely stands out from the skyline as you're going down whatever the freeways are called there. The park seems decent from the inside, though the roof has been known to leak inappropriately. In this regard the park emulates a Milwaukeean stumbling down the street after one beer too many.

 

Milwaukee County Stadium: It's gone now. But when it was here it was just a non-descript concrete bowl. Nothing noteworthy at all.

 

I haven't been to Lambeau Field and would really prefer not to. I have also yet to make the trek to Camp Randall Stadium.

Edited November 11, 2003 by The Czech Republic