Overview: We went to Louisville Slugger Field (LSF) in the summer of 2019 as part of a weekend getaway. We ended up going to the Louisville Slugger Museum (which we may talk about in a separate post someday), LSF and Churchill Downs in a 24 hour period.
LSF was about a 20 year old park when we visited. We bought our tickets at the box office before the game to avoid service and convenience fees and chose the cheapest seats in the house. It was a Captain Marvel bobble head night, so there was a line to get in. The entryway was impressive. It used to be an old train shed. They converted it into a large banquet area on one side, and had a side entrance into the Team Store on the other. It was a very cool idea, and it was done very well. The gates opened, we got our bobble heads, and were greeted by a very average, very meh minor league ballpark.
LSF has a full 360 degree concourse. From the 3rd base side, it had views of the bridge that went over the Ohio River. But it was distant enough to not make a big impact on me. LSF had a small upper deck and seating in the outfield, making it one of the larger capacity minor league parks that we’ve seen.
Parking: We paid $10 to park in the lot directly across the street from the ballpark. We weren’t sure if that was the normal price because there was also a festival going on. We paid the $10 because there were a lot of one way streets and we weren’t sure if we would find other parking any cheaper.
Kid Activities: The Kid Zone included a small carousel that Sammy enjoyed. They offered a small play ground. That’s about it. The Kids Club is $25 and includes a drawstring bag, jersey, and free admission to 39 games. They do offer free first game certificates.
https://www.milb.com/louisville/tickets/kidsclub
Player Accessibility: At gate open, Nolan and Chris went immediately to the 3rd base dugout, outfield side, to attempt to get the home team. We seriously did not need to rush, nobody else even bothered to attempt to get autographs, save for a few kids for a very short amount of time. The dugout layout was a little different in that the bullpen was attached to the end of the dugout, so we were further away from the main dugout than the norm. It turned out fine, Nolan got 15 autographs, a lot of the bullpen staff and a decent mix of position players. As of June 2019, there wasn’t any restrictive nets in the way.
Conclusion: Honestly, if I hadn’t gone back and looked at the pictures that we took, I would have easily forgotten this stadium. Besides the entryway, the inside was just very average. That fact that I still can’t remember the kid’s area is also disheartening. It’s not a terrible ballpark, it’s just not memorable.
Ratings:
Parking ****4/10
Kid Activities ***3/10
Player Accessibility ******* 7/10
Atmosphere *****5/10
#Baseballfamily: A Guide to Visiting Professional Ballparks with Kids 