Municipal Stadium, San Jose
Giants
Built
as a WPA project in 1942, Municipal Stadium, the
home of the San Jose Giants (High Class A;
California League), is a beautiful old park in a
suburban setting. There are palm trees behind the
outfield fence, and redwoods and other large trees
all along the first-base side. The grandstand is
reinforced concrete with art deco trim and extends
from first to third, with stand-alone grandstands
along the left-field and right-field lines.
This is one of the
finest parks in the California League to enjoy a
ballgame, especially if you like older parks. It’s
very fan friendly, especially for kids, and the
team really goes out of its way to promote their
long local baseball history.
NYSEG Stadium, Binghamton
Mets
NYSEG Stadium,
the home of the Binghamton Mets (Class AA; Eastern
League), may not
be the flashiest facility in the minors, but may
be the most family-friendly facility we've run
across in a long time. It's a ballpark where kids
can run the bases in the middle of the fifth and
it's a ballpark where dollar hot dogs are
available every night of the week. With a host of
attractions geared toward kids, NYSEG Stadium is a place where families of all
sorts can go out and have a safe, affordable time.
Arvest Ballpark, Northwest
Arkansas Naturals
There's still an unfinished feel to Arvest
Ballpark, the new home of the Northwest Arkansas
Naturals (Class AA; Texas League),
but it's
not that the Naturals were behind in making sure
things worked -- they did, perhaps a little
smoother than the average ballpark opening -- as
there's an unsettled
quality to the area, and
we're guessing the
ultimate feel of the ballpark will be shaped by
what happens in the area. While Arvest Ballpark is
certainly worth a visit today -- it's a sleek,
modern facility currently somewhat at odds with
the surrounding farms -- we're excited to watch
how the facility evolves with the rest of the
Springdale community.
Recent
Visits
Municipal Stadium, San Jose
Giants
Built
as a WPA project in 1942, Municipal Stadium, the
home of the San Jose Giants (High Class A;
California League), is a beautiful old park in a
suburban setting. There are palm trees behind the
outfield fence, and redwoods and other large trees
all along the first-base side. The grandstand is
reinforced concrete with art deco trim and extends
from first to third, with stand-alone grandstands
along the left-field and right-field lines.
This is one of the
finest parks in the California League to enjoy a
ballgame, especially if you like older parks. It’s
very fan friendly, especially for kids, and the
team really goes out of its way to promote their
long local baseball history.
NYSEG Stadium, Binghamton
Mets
NYSEG Stadium,
the home of the Binghamton Mets (Class AA; Eastern
League), may not
be the flashiest facility in the minors, but may
be the most family-friendly facility we've run
across in a long time. It's a ballpark where kids
can run the bases in the middle of the fifth and
it's a ballpark where dollar hot dogs are
available every night of the week. With a host of
attractions geared toward kids, NYSEG Stadium is a place where families of all
sorts can go out and have a safe, affordable time.
Arvest Ballpark, Northwest
Arkansas Naturals
There's still an unfinished feel to Arvest
Ballpark, the new home of the Northwest Arkansas
Naturals (Class AA; Texas League),
but it's
not that the Naturals were behind in making sure
things worked -- they did, perhaps a little
smoother than the average ballpark opening -- as
there's an unsettled
quality to the area, and
we're guessing the
ultimate feel of the ballpark will be shaped by
what happens in the area. While Arvest Ballpark is
certainly worth a visit today -- it's a sleek,
modern facility currently somewhat at odds with
the surrounding farms -- we're excited to watch
how the facility evolves with the rest of the
Springdale community.
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Broadcasts
Virtually every MiLB team now streams broadcasts over the
Internet, which makes it easy to follow your favorite team when
you're on the road. In addition, you can catch MLB game broadcasts at
MLB.com or via XM Radio.
More
on Internet radio and TV broadcasts here!
The
Tampa Bay Rays formally unveiled their plans for a
new waterfront ballpark that could open as soon as
2012 if things go smoothly. The new ballpark, to
be built on the current site of
Al Lang
Field, would seat around 35,000 and jut
directly onto the waterfront, giving power hitters
a chance to jack the ball into the water a la AT&T
Park. The $450-million ballpark would be paid
through $150 million paid in rent by the Rays, $60
million in proposed sales-tax rebates from the
state, and the proceeds of the sale of the current
Tropicana
Field site. The design is interesting, to say
the least: a 320-foot-high mast (which reminds us
somewhat of the tower at Montreal's
Olympic
Stadium) supporting a fabric, sail-like
covering that could provide shade to fans in the
grandstand. As an added bonus, the mast would
appear to be like the mast of a giant ship,
perfect for a ballpark located on the bay. Also,
interestingly, the HOK Sport design totally
eschews anything retro: not a single brick will
need to die to build the ballpark, and the
emphasis is on sleek, nautical-like materials. If
you're been at
Al Lang
Field you know it's
located on a small site, but in reality it's not
too small: the 15 acres projected for the ballpark
site is larger than
the
site of the Minnesota Twins ballpark under
construction and would have room for the
ballpark, 45,000 square feet of retail space, a
small parking garage and a terraced park. There
are several things that need to happen before the
new ballpark opens. First, St. Petersburg voters
must approve a zoning change for the
Al Lang
Field site. Secondly,
city officials would need to approve the sale of
the
Tropicana Field to
private developers (the Rays are working with
Hines on this already) and then balance some
delicate financial matters: the city still owes
over $100 million on
Tropicana
Field and the Rays want
to some sort of tax-increment financing from the
Trop redevelopment to pay for the new ballpark.
Third, the state must approve $60 million in
sales-tax rebates, but Rays officials say this
isn't a crucial step, and approval would be iffy
at best, even with the support of Gov. Charlie
Crist.
Images courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays and HOK
Sport.
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