Which MLB stadium is the coolest and why?

Answer 1

Wrigley is great because of the nostalgia and history as well as the atmosphere and attitude of the fans. There are no more dedicated fans than Cubs fans. In the summer time with the green ivy on the red brick, the score board, and the flags in center you can't find a better seat in the world to watch baseball than somewhere in the friendly confinds. You cannot go to Wrigley field and not have a good time and Wrigleyville surrounding the Wrigley Field make it that much better. Honestly, 1060 W. Addison on the North Side is probably the best place in the world for baseball.

Fenway is nice for the history but face it, its a crumbling relic that is small and poorly designed. I love Fenway for all of that it represents to baseball, but it is a step above an eyesore as far as architecture and styling. The Green Monster was nice and I enjoyed the fact that because the park is smaller and more compact that no matter where you sat you really felt like you where right there on the field. I also enjoyed the surrounding area of Fenway - the bars, resturaunts, etc make for a nice environment and Boston over all is a great town to visit.

Yankee stadium - see above note on Fenway about age. It's the house that Ruth built and it looks old enough to be. At least it was laid out better than Fenway (because the landscape of the Bronx at the time allowed for it). God forbid if you go to Yankee stadium as anything but a Yankee fan.

Mets fans - sorry but Shea Stadium is a landfill. Love the Mets, love watching them play but Shea needs to be bulldozed and replaced. And I haven't met too many Mets fans that disagree with me.

New Busch stadium (St. Louis, MO) is beautiful. There is a great view of the arch out of right / center field. The park has limitless amenities and is easy to navigate through. There is not a bad seat in the house, even standing room offers a great view and the people of St. Louis are some of the nicest I've met during my tours of different parks. Regardless of whether or not you're a Cardinal fan, every baseball fan should visit St. Louis at least once to see a game at Busch. It is impossible to not have a good time in that town and you have to respect a town that loves their team as much as Card fans do.

For a park that is over 30 years old, Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City, MO) is a really nice park to see. Its still in really good shape (though I hear that renovations have been approved), has a gorgouesly architected outfield (the waterfalls never get old) and has a classic design that doesn't date the park. Its definatly worth seeing even if the Royals aren't looking too good.

My visit to Minute Maid park in Houston was even better than I expected. The park looks nice on TV but you can't fully appreicate all of the detail put into the park until you see it in person and its placement in Houston makes for easy accessability (not that anything in Houston is easy to get to, its all relative...). I used to love the Astrodome until I got to see Minute Maid. Between the train and the glass, and the roof it really makes for a great experience.

My home stadium is Rangers' Ballpark in Arlington. Regardless of how my team is doing, its always a great place to take in a ballgame. The stadium is beautifully designed and is easy to make your way through. There are some odd corners to sit in but overall the layout is great and offers great views regardless of where you're sitting. Also, because of the location in Arlington (in between Dallas and Ft. Worth) there was more land afforded to the construction of the park. The surrounding landscape makes for a nice ambiance. There are rolling green fields and a creek that seperate the park from the parking lots on the North side of the park. It makes for a longer walk but its much nicer than gazing at decrepid concrete warehouses and rundown appartment buildings.

I've made plans this summer to hit Baltimore (Camden Yards), Phillidelphia (Citizens Bank Park), Milwaukee (Miller Park), back to New York (visiting friends at Yankee Stadium again) and back to Chicago (visiting friends at Wrigley again and trying to get to the South Side to see U.S. Cellular Field) and I am dying to see a game at Coors field (Denver, CO) - the view of the Rocky Mountains surrounding the park looks breath taking.

All in all, every park has its unique features that make it enjoyable and everybody is going to love their favorite team's homefield. My goal is to see as many stadiums as possible and I always make that suggestion to anybody that asks. Its always worth it and besides a bad day at the ball park is still a heckuva lot better that a good day anywhere else.

Answer 2

I don't live in Chicago but I can honestly say, Wrigley Field.

A lot of people like to think the new ballparks are "retro" but that's just a marketing ploy.

Wrigley Field only has 2 decks. The upper deck is directlly above the lower deck which means that even fans sitting in the upper deck are close to the action.

If you look at the "retro" parks, you will notice that they have 3 or even 4 decks and each deck is set back from the one below it. So, you don't get the cozy atmosphere and it totally kills the home-field advantage.

Have you noticed that even the new "retro" parks just don't have the same buzz and electricity and vibe that the old parks do?

I've been to every park in the country and nothing beats Wrigley. It's the most fan friendly place. Plus, it's in a beautiful neighborhood and has great bars and restaurants around it. Baseball is all about the ambiance and excitement. You don't get that when a "stadium" is located on top of a parking lot, right off the interstate. Even though the team stinks the fans always root for their Cubbies. You have to admire that.

What's your favorite?




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Answer 3

well - as opposed to the "cookie cutter" stadiums, the stadiums today each have their own unique thing about them that make them cool.
Honestly, no list of "cool" MLB parks would be complete without putting KC's Kauffman stadium on the list. It's gotta be one of the best parks in the leauge. Yeah, it's old, but it's Intimate, clean...and the waterfall is top-notch. Once they got the AstroTurf out of there, it became a pretty decent stadium.

I used to think Chase Field in AZ was pretty cool - now it looks like a monstrous warehouse. What were they thinking over there?

I like Jacobs Field in Cleveland...it's a nice size, in a great location and the industrial look is nice - it fits the revitalization of downtown Cleveland very well.

PNC Park in Pittsburgh is nice as well. Small - not too many frills, nice view of the Alleghany River (that bridge just over Center Field adds a nice picturesque touch)...I reckon PNC is going to be the new "Camden Yards" standard.

Answer 4

Yankee stadium...for all the history behind it, not to mention monument park. It is unlike any of the stadiums in baseball. With the exception of Fenway Park, where else have all the greats played over such a long period of time and been so honored? It's history and majesty make it the coolest park in the Majors.

Answer 5

Camden Yards! The designers looked at all of the classic ballparks across the nation and came up with a design that incoporated the best elements. Builders come and study Camden yards to get ideas for the new stadiums. I really like the fact that it feels like a classic ballpark, but still has all the necessities that modern people need like lots of bathrooms, comfortable seats, and not a bad seat in the park. Now only if we could get our owner to stop micro-managing the team then we would have a real reason to enjoy it.

Answer 6

Miller Park in Milwaukee and AT&T Park in San Francisco are cool modern stadiums that are flashy and a lot of fun to attend. Wrigley and Fenway are the older, small, kind of physically crappy parks that can't be beat in terms of nostalgia and atmosphere.

Answer 7

Yankee Stadium is my sentimental choice since I'm a Yankees fan, but the stadium in Kansas City is far and away the most awesome stadium in the major leagues.

Answer 8

i liked fenway a lot (and that says something coming from a yankee fan). there's a ton of history behind the stadium, and there's a story for everything from the one seat in right field, the manual scoreboard, and the box seats. and those seats on the green monster are awesome.

Answer 9

Camden Yards was pretty cool...no bad seats..and a nice food court beyond the right field wall...I live in NY. Can't wait for the new Mets ballpark..(Citi Field)) can see it being built now..looks like it's going to be beautiful..they have a nice 3D virtual tour on the Mets.com website.

Answer 10

The Metrodome, because of the air conditioning.

Oh, culturally? Um, plenty of choices, I'll go with Kansas City for the outfield fountains, and because Royals fans need something to be happy about in these dark times.