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| Your Ballpark Guide |
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Cobb Field / Billings Mustangs
The demolition of Cobb Field began after the team played its
final home game on Sept. 9. These photos were taken on Sept.
15 and shows the demolition work being done at the venerable
old facility.
Year Built
1948
Capacity
4,200
Last Visit
September 2007
Next Visit
Never
Web Site
http://www.billingsmustangs.com/
Online Broadcasts
No
Online Ticket Sales
No
Phone
406-252-1241
League
Pioneer
League
Affiliation
Cincinnati Reds
Ticket Prices
Field box reserved, $6.50 (sold out);
general admission, $5; students and seniors, $4
Parking
Small adjacent municipal parking lot fills early,
especially on a hot day where there's a lot of action in the
municipal pool; parking also available on the adjoining streets
Address/Directions
901 N. 27th St., Billings. 27th Street is a main
drag on the eastern side of downtown Billings. If you're coming
from the I-90 freeway, take the N. 27th Street exit (number 450)
and head north. Cobb Field is on the eastern side of N. 27th
Street.
Rating
Description
This is a baseball stadium without pretension, providing one of the purer
baseball experiences in the minor leagues. If you don't have an interest
in baseball, you're not going to like Cobb Field. But if you like
baseball, you'll love Cobb Field. Home to minor-league baseball since
1948, Cobb Field offers the same basic baseball experience that you would
have enjoyed at almost any time in the past.
And the folks in Billings sure love their baseball. The reserved box seats
-- folding chairs expensively priced at $6 per game -- are sold out for
season-ticket holders. The rest of us must do with $5 general-admission
seats ($4 for seniors and students, free for children 5-years-old or
younger). This is a great deal: we sat in the third row of
general-admissions seats directly behind home plate and had a great view
of the game. Seats under the canopy have backs, while outfield bleacher
seats do not. There really isn't a bad seat in the house, and the main
advantage to sitting under the canopy is to stay out of the sun, which can
be quite severe in the midst of summer.
With a steady stream of customers, the Mustangs management hasn't yet been
forced to take a bread-and-circuses promotional approach to games. While
there are the usual game-day promotions like you'd find at any ballpark --
cup, schedule magnet, and cap giveaways -- there's no between-innings
shenanigans, no bat races, no sumo-wrestling matches sponsored by liquor
companies. Indeed, the only diversions to the actual game come when the
boosters sell 50-50 tickets, a raffle where the winner keeps half of the
proceeds and the Mustangs Boosters Club keeps the other half, and a beer
batter (if the designated Mustangs beer batter gets a hit, you can buy
four beers for $5 during the remainder of the inning).
What a scenic backdrop: the
rimrock that surrounds Billings.
Cobb Field has a rather interesting history. It's named for Robert Cobb,
the owner of the Pacific Coast League's Hollywood Stars, in recognition of
his efforts to bring organized professional baseball to Billings. Today,
Cobb is better known as the founder and owner of the legendary Brown Derby
restaurant in Hollywood and as the man who claimed to have invented the
Cobb Salad. (There appears to be some debate over this among foodies;
we'll let it go at that.)
 |
| This is a classic Montana design: you can find a similar grandstand in Helena, albeit on a smaller scale. |
The ballpark will be replaced in 2008
with a new ballpark. And for those fans who regularly attend
Billings Mustangs games, it will surely provide a more
comfortable experience than Cobb Field did. Yes, the
concourses were small and dark, the restrooms a little dank,
and the seating uncomfortable. But there was something awfully
reassuring about Cobb Field: no matter how far you wandered
from Billings and Montana, it was always there waiting for
you, a constant in a sea of change. And as Billings grows out
of its cowtown roots and becomes more cosmopolitan (indeed,
take a walk up and down Montana Avenue to take in all the
trendy restaurants and art galleries), there probably wasn't a
place left for Cobb Field, a wooden anachronism at a time when
fans and team owners want picnic areas, large concession
stands and plenty of merchandise shops.
| Concession Highlights |
 |
| The main concession area in the grandstand is always crowded -- cheap beer and decent food will do that. |
There are a few roving vendors, but they're limited to peddling pop and candy.
The beer selection is better than it's been in recent years and limited to beer stands in the main concourse and down the third-base line. In the main concourse, your selections are Bud, Bud Light, Michelob Amber Bock and Yellowstone Grizzly Wulff (
| Smoking |
| For the Kids |
| Parking |
| Before the Game |
Today, there's a lot of vibrancy to Billings. While there's still an emphasis on the agricultural and railroad economies, tourism is a more important part of the city, as folks heading to Yellowstone or the rest of Montana will find reasons to spend more time in Billings. And the population in Billings has stabilized, meaning that there's a captive audience for some of the finer things in life. Downtown Billings is a mix of stores geared for cowboys (you still can buy custom-made cowboy hats in Billings), the businesspeople who work for the many banks with a sizeable presence (Norwest, US Bank) and the rest of us (coffeeshops, cigar shops, even a brewpub).
If you have time, spend it wandering around downtown Billings. Shop where the cowboys shop at Lou Taubert Ranch Outfitters (123 N. Broadway) or Connolly's Western Wear (2911 Montana Av.), which has been selling spurs that jingle jangle jingle since 1912. Before the game we ate at the Montana Brewing Company (113 N. Broadway), which has a good selection of microbrews and your typical bar fare (burgers, fries, pizzas, pasta). Also recommended is Todd's Plantation Coffee (115 N. 29th St.) or the McCormack Cafe (2419 Montana Av.) for your daily shot of caffeine. In addition, the McCormack features Internet access.
Two downtown museums are worth a visit. The Western Heritage Center (2822 Montana Av.) explains the history of the region, from the arrival of settlers to the 1940s, while the Yellowstone Art Museum (401 N. 27th St.) displays a fascinating collection of contemporary Western art. Snobs might snicker at the notion of Western art, but anyone interested in art will get something out of the Yellowstone Art Museum.
If you're into American Indian history, a visit to Pictograph Cave State Park (located seven miles southeast of Billings on I-90; take the Lockwood exit) is mandatory, with 4,500-year-old cave paintings showing life on the prairie, which at that time included the hunting of the now-extinct woolly mammoth.
Those up for a more ambitious day trip should make the 59-mile trek to Red Lodge (take Highway 212 from the Laurel exit west of Billings) or the 100-mile trek to Cody, Wyoming. Red Lodge is now a tourist destination, and its main street is full of trendy little shops, coffeeshops, good restaurants, and a good brewpub. Highly recommended is the Montana Candy Emporium on the northern end of the main drag. It features Montana specialties (such as huckleberry taffy, huckleberry preserves, and other assorted huckleberry delicacies) and retro candies that are hard to find in a larger city (like Skybar, Necco Wafers, Mary Janes, and Chuckles). The place is huge -- occupying most of an old movie theater -- and as a bonus they make their own fudge.
Due south from Billings is Cody, Wyoming. It was
named after Buffalo Bill Cody (no surprise there) and at the end of his
life Buffalo Bill made this area his home base. There are tribute to
Buffalo Bill everywhere: the Irma Hotel was named after his daughter, for
instance. The more lasting and more surprising tribute to Cody is the Buffalo
Hill Historical Center, probably the best museum dedicated to the Wild
West. The center actually houses five different museums, all related to
the Western Experience. There's the
obligatory museum dedicated to the legacy of Buffalo Bill, featuring
mementos from his long and varied career as a scout and an entertainer.
This museum does veer toward hagiography, but it's fairly well
contained.
The other four museums should convince you that there is some serious work done at the BBHC, however. The Cody Firearms Museum is a history of firearms in America, beginning at the Revolutionary War Era to the modern day. You don't need to be a gun freak to get something out of this museum, as it's much more interesting than you'd expect. The Plains Indians Museum is an unsentimental history of American Indians in the region, both before and after the arrival of whites. The Whitney Gallery of Western Art is a first-class collection of Western art -- which includes a large collection of works by Frederic Remington and C.M. Russell. And the newest museum, the Draper Museum of Natural History, is an ambitious attempt to explain the ecosystem of the Yellowstone region is a concise and understandable fashion, and by and large it succeeds admirably.
If you're truly ambitious, you can make the trek
over the Beartooth Pass to Cooke City, which sits four miles outside of
the northeast entrance to Yellowstone Park. The Beartooth
Pass was called the most beautiful stretch of highway by none other than
Charles Kuralt, and it's a wonderful drive, encompassing breathtaking
mountain views and glacier fields. Cooke City is little more than a main street with a few decent
restaurants and quaint, turn-of-the-century general store. Be warned that
you're entering Yellowstone Park from one of the most remote points, and
you'll need to spend some time on the road before hitting the geyser
fields in the western part of the park.
| After the Game |
If you yearn for dark taverns and country music, check out the Crystal Lounge (101 N. 28th St., downtown Billings). There's live poker games and video gambling, as well as cheap drinks and live music.
For a more refined atmosphere, check out Club Carlin (2501 Montana Av.), housed in a restored 1912 hotel building.
A good place to look for Billings information is the Billings Area Chamber of Commerce Web site.
| Where to Stay |
A little further away -- but still within walking distance on a nice day -- are several downtown hotels, including the high-rise Sheraton Billings Hotel (27 N. 27th St., 800-588-7666) and the Radisson Northern Hotel (19 N. 28th St., 800-333-3333). The Northern Hotel is a mainstay in the business history of downtown Billings, first serving as one of the first true hotels in Billings and then being rebuilt as a luxury hotel after a fire burned the original hotel in the 1940s. All the rooms have a western decor and are large.
If you're travelling with children, you may want to consider one of the many chain hotels on the western side of town, off of exit 446: C'Mon Inn (2020 Overland Av., 800-655-1170), Quality Inn (2036 Overland Av., 800-228-5151), Holiday Inn Billings Plaza (5500 Midland Rd., 406-248-7701), or Comfort Inn (2030 Overland Av., 800-228-5150). We stayed in the Quality Inn, mostly because it features affordable two-room family suites and made-to-order breakfast.
| More Pictures |
As you can tell, Cobb Field borders on a residential neighborhood. If you arrive late to a game, you'll need to park on a nearby street.
The party deck is a popular place on a warm Billings evening.
Historically, the Cincinnati Reds have run a pretty decent farm system and they send better prospects to Billings, so it's not unusual to see scouts at the game.
