Fields Of Dreams - Flavor Wrapup - 2012

Our Field of Dreams reports mightiness non last complete, but they’re up-to-date, pregnant that every existing Major League Baseball stadium that we’ve seen a game inwards has been posted. 

Meanwhile, nosotros soundless convey 4 stadiums that nosotros either convey visited but non seen a game in, or…in the illustration of Oakland…it’s been such a long fourth dimension that the data is no longer valid. Here are those 4 stadiums together with our express impressions of them…

Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan – Great looking stadium inwards downtown Detroit. Whether that’s skilful tidings or bad tidings depends on your view of the city. There’s a kid’s play surface area inwards the outfield featuring a piffling Ferris bike together with the tigers on each side of the scoreboard permit you lot know what the dwelling solid squad is.


Here are the stats:
Opened: 2000
Surface: grass
Construction cost: $300 million
Capacity: 45,010
Field dimensions: Left Field – 345 ft.; left centre – 370; Center Field – 420 ft.; correct centre – 365; Right Field – 330 ft.
Home team: Detroit Tigers (American League, MLB) 2000 - present
Events attended: none, simply visited the stadium when the squad was away.

The View from the Former McDonald's

U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, Illinois – H5N1 fairly unloved replacement for the legendary Comiskey Park, dwelling solid of the White Sox. Steep, the upper deck is gear upwardly fairly far back. The front end row of the upper deck is further away from the plain than the terminal row of the one-time stadium. It’s too famous for its exploding scoreboard, which shoots off fireworks when the Sox striking a dwelling solid run.

Here are the stats:
Opened: 1991
Surface: Bluegrass
Construction cost: $167 million
Capacity: 44,321
Field dimensions: Left Field – 330 ft.; left centre – 375; Center Field – 400 ft.; correct centre – 375; Right Field – 335 ft.
Home team: Chicago White Sox (American League, MLB) 1991 - present
Events attended: none, simply visited the stadium when the squad was away.

Wheelchair seating is spread out, to a greater extent than oft than non inwards the transcend row of the lower deck together with into the outfield. The seats nosotros examined await similar they’d last a skilful identify to picket a game from. There’s a really skilful ADA data page on the team’s website, including a map of wheelchair accessible seating. It’s i of the best we’ve seen.

Transit is fantabulous amongst an adjacent, wheelchair accessible Red Line station of the Chicago L.

Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada – The kickoff successful retractable roof stadium. Notable features include the hotel inwards the outfield together with artificial grass that causes no small-scale amount of consternation together with injuries to visiting teams. Located correct following to the CN Tower.

Here are the stats:
Opened: 1989
Surface: AstroTurf GameDay Grass
Construction cost: $570 million
Capacity: 49,539
Field dimensions: Left Field – 328 ft.; left centre – 375; Center Field – 400 ft.; correct centre – 375; Right Field – 328 ft.
Home team: Toronto Blue Jays (American League, MLB) 1989 - present
Events attended: none, simply visited the stadium when the squad was away.

When nosotros went here, nosotros went inwards a side door to come across if nosotros could instruct access. We walked correct in…no i was in that location together with the entrance went correct to the seats. This was simply earlier 9/11 hence I assume the safety has improved since then. That day, though, nosotros wandered throughout a completely deserted department along the tertiary base of operations line. Originally, nosotros had planned to come across a game but when nosotros constitute out they charged to a greater extent than for wheelchair accessible seats than comparable normal seats, nosotros declined.

According to the squad spider web site, wheelchair seating is dispersed throughout the stadium. The squad has i of the weakest ADA data sections on their site, hence you’ll wishing to telephone telephone them at 416-341-3004.

While they are improving slowly, electrical flow Toronto transit is weak inwards accessibility.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Bryce Edwards nether CC-BY License

Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California – Actually, my married adult woman together with I saw a game hither agency dorsum inwards the 1980’s. The stadium has undergone massive changes since then, hence it wouldn’t last fair to review the stadium on such one-time impressions. I create recall in that location beingness really piffling shade, however. Oakland is a squad dating dorsum to 1901 when it started inwards Philadelphia. The Athletics moved hither from Kansas City inwards 1968. The squad has had simply about good known together with controversial players such every bit Jose Conseco together with Mark McGwire. Others to habiliment the A’s uniform include Hall of Famers Dennis Eckersley, Catfish Hunter, together with Reggie Jackson. It’s too a multipurpose stadium, shared amongst the NFL’s Raiders, hence it has simply about of the largest foul ball territory inwards the league.

Here are the stats:
Opened: 1966
Surface: Bluegrass
Construction cost: $25.5 million
Capacity: 35,067 (artificially limited)
Field dimensions: Left Field – 330 ft.; left centre – 367; Center Field – 400 ft.; correct centre – 367; Right Field – 330 ft.
Home team: Oakland Athletics (American League, MLB) 1968 – present, Oakland Raiders (NFL) 1966 – 1981, 1995 - present
Events attended: one

A few things stand upwardly out nearly the Coliseum. First, the squad has problem drawing a skilful crowd, fifty-fifty when it is playing well. I recall seeing them inwards the playoffs amongst tickets soundless available at the gate. To alleviate this, the transcend deck was covered amongst a tarp taking those seats away from fans together with artificially limiting capacity to nether 36,000. Football capacity is almost double.

A new, together with inwards my opinion, really ugly upper deck was added to centre plain to adjust Al Davis’s wishing to sell to a greater extent than tickets to football game games. This deck has give-up the ghost known every bit “Mount Davis” inwards his honor.

The squad had a proposal to movement to nearby Fremont a few years agone that brutal through. Now, it is inwards talks amongst San Jose to movement the squad there.

Wheelchair seating is available on most levels. The squad maintains a really skilful ADA page on their website that includes a map of wheelchair seating. Call (877) 493-BALL for tickets.

Transit is really skilful to the green via BART, a underground that services the station via a pedestrian pair solely opened upwardly on game days.

-Darryl

Copyright 2010 - Darryl Musick
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