by BretMan » June 19th, 2008, 11:03 am
Boy, some of you guys have been around! Kind of makes me feel like a rookie...
- Riverfront Stadium (Cincinnati). My first Major League game was there in it's innagural season (1970).
- Cleveland Municipal Stadium. What a rickety old cavern. A prime example of early 20th century football stadium architecture.
- Great American Ballpark (Cincy's new stadium).
- Jacob's/Progressive Field (Cleveland's new stadium).
- Old Detroit Tigers Stadium. Saw one of the last games played in that cozy old structure.
- Tampa Bay's home dome (Tropicana Field). One of the most miserable places I've watched a game. I didn't realize that it was a domed stadium until we got there. I'm in Florida and was expecting a nice day in the sun! The place was dark and dreary. We were sunburned from being at the beach the day before and they had the air conditioning cranked inside. We were freezing the whole game!
Those are the only Major League venues I've ever been in. I hit spring training every year and have seen games at the home fields of the Reds (Sarasota), Indians (Winter Haven), Red Sox (Ft. Myers), Twins (Ft. Myers) and Yankees (Tampa).
My wife, who isn't a particular fan of baseball, has even been to a few stadiums I haven't. She travels a lot for work and has been to Chase Park in Arizona (she works for Chase Bank), new Comisky in Chicago and Minute Maid in Houston.
We have a pretty decent triple-A facility here in Columbus. The stadium opened in the 1930's and had the Cardinals minor league team for many years. The Pirates came in during the 1950's, then the Yankees in the 1970's.
It's a great place to see a game and the stadium has been refurbished and well-maintained over the years. At one time in the early 90's, it was voted the best minor league stadium in the country. But as other cities upgraded their facilities, it dropped down the list.
Here's one more reason to hate George Steinbrenner (as if we needed any more!). While the Yankees were here, Steinbrenner made threats that he would pull the team unless the city built a new stadium. We went through the usual debates about location and financing (he didn't want to pony up his own money).
Finally, the decision was made and the new park got the green light. And what happened next? Old George pulled the team anyway! We were forced to scramble to find a new tenant and we were stuck as the AAA-affiliate of the Washington Nationals.
But, the story should have a happy ending. Next year, our beautiful new "retro-style", state-of-the-art, 30,000 seat venue will open (right next to our fairly new NHL hockey arena), in a bustling urban setting filled with adjacent bars, restaurants and tourist attractions. (The old stadium was outside of town, next to a dilapidated industrial area and a huge cemetary.)
To top it off, it looks like the Nationals contract will run out the same time as the Indians current minor league arrangement, and Cleveland wants to move their team to Columbus. It's not a done deal- yet. A tie-in with the Indians would be a definite boost to fan interest.