Overview: We visited Kauffman Stadium (KS) in May of 2019. It was an impromptu weekend getaway trip (it’s only 3 hours away from us). We went against our usual policy and purchased tickets from Stubhub on the day of the game (on a Friday vs. the Yankees). We were met with a severe thunderstorm with a tornado warning as we pulled up to the stadium, so we had to make a harrowing escape through the interstate mess that was KC in a downpour with no visibility. So we had to hastily sell our tickets on Stubhub and repurchase tickets for the day game of the doubleheader the next day. We were so glad it worked out because we all loved this stadium.

KS was built in the late 60s, but had a makeover in the mid 2000s, and it was incredibly well done. It has some 60s “groovy” architecture. The stadium sits outside of downtown, which some people knock. It didn’t bother me at all. There was plenty of parking (see below) and none of the mess that a downtown park can bring (ie. rundown buildings, crime, one way streets, hard to navigate neighborhoods). Some of the touches that we really liked with KS included the extra concourse “behind” the regular concourse with some really nice green space. The fountains were amazing- I could have spent the whole game standing behind the fountains looking toward home plate. The “Outfield Experience” was amazing, housing the Kids Zone (see below) and the Royals Hall of Fame in right field. A Hall of Fame inside the park was a great idea. Another thing we really liked were free refills on the souvenir cups. We never had a concession stand worker remove the sticker that allowed for refills, so we had plenty of cold soda for everyone all game.

Parking: The parking is plentiful and easy to navigate. KS shares a parking lot with Arrowhead Stadium. There is SO much space and it is SO easy to navigate. I think parking was $12, which I was completely okay with. When I go back to KS, I would definitely consider tailgating. There was a lot of tailgating going on. Those people were having a great time out there.

Kid Activities: The Kids Zone is expansive. It covers almost the entire outfield area of the ballpark. They had the standard playground and pitching machine, but they also had other cool additions. There was a baseball related carousel, batting cages, a mini whiffle ball field, mascot meet and greets, and a myriad of things I’m forgetting. You had to buy tokens for some of the attractions, which were affordable. We spent a good amount of time at the Outfield Experience and the kids were entertained. Free first game certificates are offered. They also handed out mascot baseball cards.

As I stated above, the Outfield Experience also included the Royals Hall of Fame, which is FREE with your admission. It’s not massive, but it’s a really cool feature and it has AC. We walked through the museum in less than 15 minutes. It had some cool interactive features for the kids, and a rather skewed view of the 1985 World Series (no mention of Don Dinkenger here). It was a great idea. I’d love to see more Hall of Fames inside of ballparks.

Player Accessibility: Given that the Yankees were the opponents, and the Royals are in a rebuild, we decided that the Royals would present the best opportunity for autographs on this day. We all headed to the outfield side of the first base dugout at gate open and found a prime piece of real estate. At the time of our visit, the nets went to the end of the dugout. Nolan and Sam obtained about 6 autographs each, which is spectacular for a Major League Team (sadly). We also noticed that there was a small area between the dugout and the field seats where a player would occasionally stop and sign, but it wasn’t wide enough to fit more than a few people. We were glad to stick to the spot we had. On the other side of the field, there were several Yankees signing throughout the warm ups, but mobs formed quickly. We were very excited with our results and happy to see a team that was generally happy to sign.

Conclusion: Going into the summer of 2019, I fully expected PNC Park to firmly take the #1 spot on my “Favorite Ballpark” List. It didn’t. Kauffman Stadium is my #1 Favorite MLB Ballpark to date. It was refreshing to see what a modern rehab can do for an older stadium. I enjoyed everything about the park. The fans were cool, the customer service was good, the Outfield Experience was great, incorporating the Hall of Fame into the park was thoughtful, the players were accessible AND nice, the parking was easy, the fountains were unique, the tailgating looked super fun, and the architecture was groovy. The experience was awesome. Kauffman Stadium is a Must See.

Ratings:

Parking********* 9/10

Kid Activities******** 8/10

Player Accessibility******* 7/10

Atmosphere********** 10/10

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

Overview: We visited Citizens Bank Ballpark (CBP) in 2019. CBP is a 15 year old ballpark, and is a car ride or uber ride south of the historic parts of downtown Philly. It felt like it was pretty removed from the downtown area. The outfield area is known as Ashburn Alley, and it opens exclusively 1 hour before gate open, which is 2.5 hrs prior to gametime (more on this below).

When looking forward to buying tickets for our game, we realized that is was actually more economical to purchase the Kids Club Memberships. Those memberships were $20, and included 2 game tickets and a swag bag of Philly Phanatic merch. The cheapest seats that we could find on StubHub were $16.90/ticket after fees. We took our vouchers to the box office the day we arrived and were given 4 tickets without issue. I asked the box office attendant for seats out of the sun, and unfortunately, he put us directly in the sun, in the right field/third base corner in the lower bowl. We were on the move for most of the game anyway.

Parking: We spent the day in downtown Philly doing the typical history stuff (Liberty Bell, Constitution Hall, etc.) . We opted not to drive into downtown Philly because we were worried about parking a van downtown and dealing with traffic. We took an Uber into the city in the morning and took an Uber to CBP that evening. It was around a $15 Uber ride for the 4 of us, but we felt that it was worth it. There was plenty of parking. CBP shares a parking lot with other sports complexes. I did not catch the parking prices, but there were more than enough spaces to park.

Kid Activities: As I stated above, Ashburn Alley is the outfield area of CBP and it opens 2.5 hours prior to gametime. For one hour, you can walk the area between the foul poles. There are restaurants and an area where you can see plaques of the retired numbers and hall of famers, statues, and restaurants.

The most awesome part of Ashburn Alley (something we did not know beforehand) is that you can watch batting practice and actually attempt to catch home runs. Once we noticed this, we spend the remaining hour at the left center field wall trying to catch homers. We came very close, but didn’t get any. If we ever make it back, we will bring gloves.

CBP housed the Phanatic Zone in the right field corner of the park. It is VERY well done. They had a Philly Phanatic themed rock climbing wall, radar gun, a fully pneumatic powered hot dog shooter game, and a mini ballpark to play whiffle ball on. The best part, it was ALL FREE. The kids loved it.

There was also a second kid area for smaller kids that had a large playground on the third base plaza.

Player Accessibility: At the time we went, there was netting only to the end of the dugout, so there was an opportunity to get player autographs. Nolan and Chris waited for the gates to the whole park to open (1.5 hours prior to first pitch) and ran to position near the end of the third base side of the Phillies dugout. We found ourselves in an enviable position for autographs. We held out hope for Bryce Harper, but were really hoping for anybody. Unfortunately, nobody signed except for Bryce Harper, but a very pushy mob developed quickly and we didn’t get it. He signed 2 or 3 and went back to the dugout.

Atmosphere: Philly fans have a bad reputation in the sports world. They are famous for booing Santa Claus. They were playing the New York Mets on the day we went, so we expected to see some bad behavior, but everyone was pleasant. I didn’t sense anything bad about the fans. While the fans didn’t live up to my expectations of being jerks, the staff definitely overcompensated for them.

First, as I mentioned above, the box office attendant put us directly in the sun after I asked that we get a seat in the shade. Our second incident happened when we tried to take our seats for the first time. The two attendants at the top of the section yelled at Nolan and Chris for trying to walk down to the seats while an at-bat was happening. We weren’t allowed into our seats until there was an out. We apologized for never hearing of that rule before, and they were total jerks about it. Our 3rd incident happened when we went to the upper deck of the stadium, left field corner to get out of the sun. After sitting in our seats (in the nosebleeds) for 2 innings, we asked a couple to take our photo. As that photo was being taken, the usher came down and asked for our tickets. When we said that we moved up to get out of the sun from the lower bowl, he basically told us to get lost. We couldn’t believe it. The game was far from being sold out and there were plenty of open seats that far up.

Conclusion: The stadium itself is very nice. They did do some very nice things here. In this day and age, being able to see batting practice is a rare event. Nolan and Sammy very much enjoyed seeing it. Also, kudos to the design team for angling all of the seats in the park towards home plate. It’s a subtle thing that makes a huge difference. After being in the lower and upper bowls of the park, I think the second deck is actually better than the lower bowl. I wouldn’t splurge on the lower bowl after seeing the upper bowl.

The Phanatic Zone was fantastic. The kids spent several innings there. Between the Phanatic Zone and the little kids playground area, there’s something to do with kids of all ages at CBP.

Minus the ushers, we found the crowd to be easy going and pleasant.

Ratings:

Parking: N/A. There was plenty of parking, but we Ubered.

Kid Activities: *********9/10

Player Accessibility: ****4/10

Atmosphere: 6/10. ******Ushers bring it down.

Overview: Modern Woodmen Park (MWP) was built in 1931. It has a brick facade, and is well known by Ballpark Chasers because of its unique backdrop. It has a full 360 degree concourse. MWP backs up directly to the Mississippi River, its so close, in fact, that the stadium does flood, as it did earlier this year (2019). The ballpark has views of Centennial Bridge in right field, the Mississippi River beyond the outfield wall, and a Ferris Wheel in left field. It is lit with an amazing LED light show throughout the evening.

Parking: We paid $2 to park in the stadium parking lot. There was plenty of available parking. There was a lot of parking lots along the river walk, its entirely possible that free parking is available. We gladly paid $2. One bit of advice, DO NOT park too close to the stadium on the first base side. There were a ton of foul balls that left the stadium on this side due to the unique layout of the park. I’ll bet one could go home with a bag full of baseballs if you stationed yourself outside the park on that side of the stadium.

Kid Activities: A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. MWP had 2 separate kid zones. In the left field corner, there was a mini roller coaster, 2 level carousel, and a few other rides. In the right field corner, there was an area for smaller children that had a few bounce houses, a mini boat that goes back and forth, a ride that goes up and drops. Also, as mentioned above, a big Ferris wheel in left field. We purchased 2 wristbands for unlimited rides for $10/each! SOLD. They don’t cheat you on the length of the rides either. We made 10 rotations on the Ferris wheel TWICE. They also had zip lines, but they were closed that night. It was as much of a school picnic as it was a ballgame. There was also a video game lounge that had 10 or so Playstation and XBox systems set up for teenagers to play video games on. Needless to say, Nolan immediately claimed this ballpark as his new favorite.

Side note, they do not offer first game certificates as most parks do.

Player Accessibility: We decided to attempt the visitor side before entering the park, and we were glad that we did. The visitor team (1st base side) had an opening in the net on the outfield side of the dugout, which provided plenty of opportunity for autographs. Nolan ended up with 25 autographs, missing only 8 players total from the team. The home side is considerably more difficult. There is netting all the way down to the foul pole, with only a few small windows in which one could pass something through. Those windows are not set up next to the dugout, so a player would really have to go out of their way to stop and sign.

Atmosphere: MWP is part carnival, part baseball park. You will not be forgetting this ballpark. This is the most kid friendly minor league ballpark that we have seen. In fact, with all due respect to Cincinnati, it might just be the most kid friendly park in the United States.

Conclusion: I’m having a hard time deciding if MWP is the #1 or #2 minor league ballpark we have seen. The layout is so good here. It has the charm of an old ballpark with the excitement of a circus atmosphere. If you are chasing ballparks like us, this stadium is a Must See.

Ratings:

Parking: *********9/10

Kid Activities **********10/10

Player Accessibility****** 6/10

Atmosphere **********10/10

Overview: We visited Fifth Third Field in the summer of 2019. They were marking their 20th year in Dayton this summer. When doing our preliminary research on Dayton, we learned quickly about “the streak”. Dayton has 20 years of consecutive sell out games. This caused quite the panic, as we had to break our personal rule of buying tickets at the Box Office to avoid paying service charges. Luckily, we found the Dayton Dragons Kid Club memberships. For $15, the kids each received a jersey, hat, and 2 free tickets to a game. We purchased 2 kids club memberships, and emailed the coordinator of the program. He was able to accommodate us for the game that we specifically needed. He also asked us to email him the week before coming to see if he could do something extra special for us.

When we arrived to the stadium, we met with Brandon, who led us through a series of doors, and into the Dragon’s dugout, pre-game. We got to hang out for a few minutes. A pretty cool experience. Little did we know that this would just be the beginning of the over-the-top Customer Service that we would experience that night.

After getting autographs (see below), we did our customary walk around the stadium. We passed through the Kid Zone (see below) and made our way around the concourse until we reached the left field corner. We struck up a conversation with a gentleman about our quest to see every ballpark. He then offered us 4 tickets to sit in the all inclusive area of the park in left field, which we gladly accepted. Free food, free drinks! The business owner talked to the ushers, and soon enough, we had different representatives from the Dayton Dragons stopping by and giving the kids all sorts of stuff! We ended up with a swag bag of bobble heads and toys. They went way overboard. We felt like kings.

Parking: We found a parking lot directly across the street from the front gates for $5. No need for us to look any further.

Kid Activities: When we arrived at the ballpark, there was a station outside the gates making free balloon animals for the kids.

The center field area behind the scoreboard housed the Dragons Kid Zone. They had a pitching radar machine and a few carnival style games, each costing $1. We found an employee who “assisted” the kids in getting the top prizes, each scoring a pair of mascot bobble heads.

Player Accessibility: Fifth Third Field has netting all the way from home plate to the foul poles, which greatly decreased player accessibility. We started on the third base side for the opponents, and found a small window of netting that was open. Nolan and Sammy got a few autographs, but then the ushers came down to close the windows.

Nolan and Chris then rushed over to the Dragons side of the field (1st base). There was a small window of opportunity at the home plate side of the dugout. It was big enough for maybe 3 or 4 people to use. We were able to catch about 10 players who were walking from the clubhouse into the dugout.

So, even though the setup was difficult, it’s possible to get some autographs if you can get to that spot first.

Atmosphere: It’s really hard for this to not be skewered by the superb customer service that we experienced throughout the ballpark (see above). The stadium itself is an above average ballpark. The concourse was easy to navigate and spanned a full 360 degrees around the park. There was construction going on in the streets behind the stadium. It appeared that the ballpark was bringing revitalization to the surrounding neighborhoods. The between inning entertainment was fresh, we saw some things that we hadn’t seen before. The game did sell out, per the norm, but tickets could have been purchased at the box office. The team has heavy corporate sponsorship, who buy up remaining tickets.

Conclusion: We will never forget our visit here. The employees really shined here. Our kids were spoiled absolutely rotten. It’s nice to see that the corporate sponsors and locals really support the team. The ballpark itself is definitely above average and the player accessibility is slightly below average, but we had an overall experience that we won’t forget.

Ratings:

Parking ******** 8/10

Kid Activities *******7/10

Player Accessibility **** 4/10

Atmosphere ******** 8/10

Overview: We visited PNC Park in June 2019. It is a consensus “favorite park” among baseball fans and ballpark chasers. It was mindfully constructed to show off the downtown Pittsburgh skyline and showcase the Allegheny River. The Clemente bridge is open exclusively to pedestrian traffic before, during and after the game. The Riverwalk area of the park opened 2.5 hours before game time, which keeps you in the area between center field and right field. They open up the rest of the stadium about 1.5 hours before game time.

Parking: We opted to park at a garage across the Allegheny so that we could walk across the Clemente Bridge. We paid $20. I’m certain that there were plenty of other parking options, and probably cheaper ones, but I was NOT going to pass up an opportunity to walk across the Clemente Bridge. It was well worth it. I had goosebumps.

Kid Activities: They offer free first game certificates. There is a mini PNC park configuration and a multi-purpose play set- its in a very sunny area FYI. There is free kids club (silver membership) that includes ticket vouchers, a Chick-fil-A coupon for a freebie, membership ID card and lanyard, and clubhouse discount. You can upgrade your membership for $30 and receive additional goodies. I do wish they offered more kid things to do.

https://www.mlb.com/pirates/fans/kids-club

We have the MLB ballpark app and on the day we attended, we received a free Pirates ball cap.

Player Accessibility: As of June 2019, PNC had netting to the end of the dugout. Nolan and I opted to attempt the visiting team (Padres) this day. We got to the park early, and were limited to only the Riverwalk portion of the park until about 90 minutes before game time. When they opened that gate, we hustled to the third base side of the field to get a front row spot near where they store the tarp. The usher warned us at arrival that he would start removing people 30 minutes before the game, which is WAY too early to stand a chance. We still attempted. Most people were there to try to get Manny Machado or Fernando Tatis, Jr. After the national anthem, Machado signed one or two autographs. The usher came by to tell everyone is was time to go. We stayed. We got lucky and were standing next to a family who knew Franmil Reyes. Nolan got his autograph, and he ran back into the dugout. 1.5 hours and a grand total of 3 autographs handed out by the Padres, TOTAL. Yuck!

From the looks of it, the Pirates team didn’t sign many either, so at least Nolan got something.

I read recently that the Pirates are extending the nets all the way to the foul poles very soon, so I would not plan on having any success with obtaining autographs/selfies there now.

Atmosphere: We went to a Sunday day game. We chose seats were in the lower level, 1st base/left field corner, but it was hot and in direct sunlight. We (wisely) chose to move to the upper deck, and found shade under and overhang behind home plate. Those seats were beyond awesome. It really showcased that breathtaking view of the river/downtown. If you are going to PNC, choose these seats, you will not regret it

Our only real gripe with PNC is the concourse. The lower level concourse is narrow and the concession stands are concentrated into one area. It was very difficult to maneuver with kids and the lines are extremely slow moving. When we got to the upper level, we didn’t really see many concession options, granted we stayed strictly on the 3rd base side once we found those seats.

Conclusion: PNC Park should be on your baseball bucket list. Heck, simply walking across the Clemente Bridge should be on your baseball bucket list.

It certainly lives up to the hype, but it did not take the number 1 spot on my personal list of stadiums, as I expected it to do. The narrow concourse, heavy congestion at the concessions, and the lackluster kid zone keep PNC at personal favorite ballpark #2 for me.

Ratings:

Parking: ******6/10

Kid Activities **** 4/10

Player Accessibility: *** 3/10 (soon to be 1/10)

Atmosphere: 9/10 *********

Overview: We last went to Blue Wahoos Stadium (BWS) in 2018, when it was then a AA Affiliate for the Reds. It has since become an affiliate for the Minnesota Twins. We attended this game without kids, and went before we thought about blogging our adventures, so we did not check out the kids related activities for this park.

https://www.milb.com/pensacola/team/about

BWS is roughly a 15 year old ballpark. All seating is in the lower level. The concourse wraps 3/4th of the way around the stadium. In Ballpark Chaser circles, BWS is renouned because it has Pensacola Bay as it’s backdrop. The view of the bay was really breathtaking and the breezes were numerous and comfortable. A walking path enveloped the edge of the outfield, facing the water.

Parking: As stated above, we really overestimated the drive time to the stadium. We drove in from Gulf Shores on a family vacation, and found that it was a very easy drive. The only traffic we experienced was along the main strip in Gulf Shores. We parked in the Stadium parking lot, and because we were so early, we didn’t have to pay. Parking was in the neighborhood of $7 had we arrived later. The stadium lot seemed to have ample parking.

Kid Activities: As stated above, we got to go to BWS as a couple without kids, and before we thought about blogging our ballpark experiences, so we are going to have to N/A this section.

They do offer free first game certificates. According to their website, the kids club is $35. On Sundays, they offer kid related activities.

Player Accessibility: Player accessibility was very unique and very cool. We opted to try to get autographs from the home team, and promptly went to the third base dugout to scout out our location. We were met by an usher who told us to follow him. He ushered us onto the field and around the corner to an area under the stands, where the locker room was. We got to wait basically steps away from the locker room! The access was amazing. We got around 15 autographs, including manager Jody Davis and Hitting Coach, Lenny Harris, the all time leader in pinch hits. He gladly signed a ball inscribing it “Pinch Hit King”. Hands down, this was the most player accessible stadium I’ve been to.

Atmosphere: The local community really supports this team. The stadium has definitely a happening place on a weekday night. Kudos to the staff, as well. We never came across a single crabby employee. The were all WAY over the top in friendliness, all seemed very happy to be there, and proud of their community support. It was so refreshing to see. The atmosphere was very pleasant.

Conclusion: BWS consistenly ranks high with most Ballpark Chasers, and does well in “Best Stadiums in the Minor Leagues” list. The view of the Pensacola Bay was great and player accessibility exceeded expectation.

To us, the most memorable things about BWS were the amazing player access and the over the top staff. It’s a fine, above average park.

Ratings:

Parking ******* (7/10)

Kid Activities N/A due to not traveling with kids this visit

Player Accessibility********** 10/10

Atmosphere******* 7/10

Overview: Ft Wayne, Indiana….sounds underwhelming, right? Ft Wayne just happened to be on the way home from our crazy baseball road trip of 2019, and I viewed it as just a pit stop that happened to have Minor League Baseball. It quickly became apparent that Ft Wayne, Indiana, houses one of the best kept secrets in baseball: Parkview Field.

Parkview Field is a 10 year old stadium. It has a really awesome backdrop, a full 360 degree concourse, and is fully integrated into the heart of its downtown. There are restaurants that have patios that back to the inside of the park. There are apartments, where you can watch baseball from your backdoor patio. (I’d love to rent one of those apartments if any are AirBnBs) There are hotels steps away from the park, some of which probably have a decent view of the field. There is an expansive center field area that looked like it stretched on for blocks. In right field, there was a parking garage, with additional seats that probably also offered great views.

The atmosphere was lively and friendly. There were a lot of people there. This is a Single A Team that is absolutely killing it. We saw the game from a lot of different angles and spots along the concourse and there wasn’t a bad place in the house. Parkview Field is a centerpiece. An absolute gem. One of the best kept secrets in baseball. It was so good, I actually inquired about housing costs.

Parking: We paid $5 to park, 2 blocks away from the park. There was a plethora of parking options, from parking lots to parking garages. The convention center is right next door, so parking is plentiful and easy to spot.

Kid Activities: Parkview Field has a Kid Zone on the concourse near the left field foul pole. It had 5 or 6 inflatable attractions: A slide, hitting, throwing, bounce house, etc. It also had a very price friendly Team Store. The prices were well below the Minor League average. Johnny Appleseed was available for photos on the concourse in the 6th inning.

Also- the basic Kids Club is free! https://www.milb.com/fort-wayne/events/tincaps-kids-club

Player Accessibility: Again, ideal. Both teams enter the field at the same spot: On the home plate side of third base dugout. No worries about intrusive netting here. We took up a spot at the corner of the dugout and focused only on the TinCaps. Nolan cleaned up, getting 21 autographs. The opposing team may be a little tougher, as they walk down the center aisle on their way out to the field, but it’s certainly not impossible.

Conclusion: This is the best Minor League Park we have visited to date. It’s apparent that the developers put a lot of thought into this park. It is going to be very tough to beat.

Ratings:

Parking ********** (10/10)

Kids Activities ********** (10/10)

Player accessibility ********** (10/10)

Atmosphere ********** (10/10)

Overview: Guaranteed Rate Field is the home of the Chicago White Sox. It’s located on the South Side of Chicago in a rough neighborhood, according to most everyone. Having heard of that reputation, we have stayed very close to this stadium (not venturing in the surrounding neighborhoods) on our visits. We have visited this stadium more than any other stadium besides our home park, Busch Stadium.

The stadium itself is very generic. It’s really lacking in atmosphere. We have sat in the upper level, lower level, suite level and have even done the all inclusive pre game party in right field. All disappointing.

We have found the fans at the park to be the most asinine fans, in general. At the last game we attended vs the Red Sox, we witnessed two separate brawls in the stands and a drunk running onto the field. There are more angry drunks per capita than I have ever seen at a baseball game. We are by no means adverse to foul language, but it always seems to be WAY over the top here.

Another quirk to the stadium: If you buy an upper level seat, you are stuck on the upper level, and vice versa. You are not allowed to go to the lower level concourse. You are trapped. You can get around this when the crowd is super light, because they will close the upper concourse off completely and let you sit in the lower level. But I’d imagine that at games with decent attendance, you are going to have a problem.

Parking: The nice thing about GRF is that there is an L station within walking distance of the Stadium. You can take the Red Line and get off at the Sox Station. The walk is about 3 blocks and you will be fine, as you are walking with the baseball crowd. There are parking lots, too. I believe that they are in the $15-$20 neighborhood. We saw some tailgating in the parking lots. The Red Line is the way to go here.

Kid Activities: In left field, you will find the Kid Zone. It includes a youth sized whiffle ball diamond with batting and pitching cages. The basic kids club is free here for kids 13 and younger and you can sign up ahead of time online. They actually offered a ton of goodies as part of this program. It’s a one time sign up and you do not need to renew each year. They offer first game certificates. When we went, the lines were short and staff was friendly.

Player Accessibility: We have never tried to get autographs at GRF, but it appeared to us that it’s possible IF AND ONLY IF, you are going to buy a lower level ticket. I have heard that some players Uber in and enter near the front gates, but we have never attempted that either.

Conclusion: GRF ranks at the absolute bottom of our list of MLB Stadiums. It lacks personality and aesthetics, and the few bad apples in the crowd make for an unsavory game atmosphere. If you have to choose between Wrigley or GRF while in Chicago, it’s not even close, go to Wrigley.

Ratings:

• parking ******** (8/10) (because you just take the L)
• kid activities **** (4/10)
• player accessibility (did not attempt)
• atmosphere * (1/10)