This came up in the new stadium thread. I thought it would be a good discussion among people here who have been to multiple MLB parks outside of Chicago to get everyone's thoughts, likes, dislikes, observations, etc. about other ballparks. I'd like to limit this to MLB ballparks only (past and present). Discussing stadiums in other leagues (including minor league baseball) will end up with apples to oranges comparisons.

I've been to a dozen of the current MLB ballparks. I think it'd be too arbitrary for me to simply rank them 1 to 12. Instead, I'm going to give some general observations. I'm going to start off with the ballparks that I think are top-tier.

Oracle Park: Nice ballpark, but location, location, location. The backdrop view is incredible and from the concourse, I got a great nighttime view of the Bay Bridge. The outfield concourse is pretty good too. I was able to take light rail from my hotel right to the park, so transit access was good in my experience.

PNC Park: The best designed ballpark of all the parks I've been to. Nice simple layout with only 2 decks, great views of the field from the lower concourse (much better than at Rate Field) and great outfield concourse with a view out onto the Alleghany River. Food was really good with some local favorites: pierogis, Primanti Bros sandwiches, and a a concession stand operated by Manny Sanguillen. Backdrop is top-notch with the Clemente Bridge and the city skyline. Location is great with the riverwalk right there and downtown right across the bridge. I was able to walk from my downtown hotel to the ballpark. The area around the park seemed fine with some bars, restaurants, hotels, and residences, but it wasn't nearly as bustling as i've seen around other ballparks. Too bad the Pirates are so perpetually bad. This place could be electric if the organization could field a more competitive team. I think they've made the playoffs only 3 times (3 years in a row) in the 25 years since this place opened.

Petco Park: I'd say this one is the best overall of the ones I've been too. Great ballpark. The backdrop isn't as stunning as the other two above, but the historic warehouse in the LF corner is a nice touch. There's a city park just beyond CF that is part of the gated ballpark area during games, but then it appears to be a public park all other times. Hard to beat that beautiful San Diego weather. Location is great in the Gaslamp District. Food was really good too. It's no surprise to me that the Padres draw 3M a year here. I was able to take light rail from my hotel in Old Town to the stadium, so again transit access was good for me.

Ballparks I’ve been to, first year visiting and number of times.

Comiskey July 15, 1955, 200+ games including 1959 World Series game 2, my all time favorite, very close to the action. Worked at Comiskey and Wrigley as a vendor in 1962.

Wrigley Field 1955, 30 games, great for Bears games

Yankee Stadium 1965, once, the original house that Ruth built

Metropolitan Stadium 1966, once, giant erector set, wasn’t impressed

Shea Stadium 1967, once, big and dual purpose with baseball suffering

Connie Mack Stadium 1967, once, a real dump

Anaheim Stadium 1975, at that time it was pretty bland, 3 more times after the remake, much better.

Fenway Park 1978, once, cramped and old with some seats with bad sightlines

Milwaukee County Stadium 1978, 3 times, pretty nice ballpark

Comiskey Park ll 1991, 10 times, pretty bad when it opened but now pretty good.

Pro Player Park 1997, 3 times including 2 World Series games, made for football

Tropicana Field 2000, 10 times, not all that bad, pretty dark, the rings are the problem, when it’s full, it’s loud.

Dodger Stadium 2009, once, great setting but as a ballpark no better than the Rate, still looked like new as it was built in 1962.

Edited 7 hours ago7 hr by The Mighty Mite

Safeco

Oracle Park

Dodger Stadium

first two Rangers

Comiskey & GRF

Wrigley

new Twins

Busch II StL 20ish games

Royals/Kauffman 50ish games

Tiger Stadium & Comerica

Memorial Stadium Cleve

Memorial Stadium Baltimore

Atlanta Fulton County

Three Rivers & PNC

Yankee Stadium

LAA

Comiskey

New Comiskey, US Cellular, GRF

County Stadium (Brewers)

Wrigley

Jack Murphy Stadium (Padres)

Dodger Stadium

Big A original stadium (Angels)

Big A (reconfigured for Rams)

HHH Dome (Twins)

Tiger Stadium

Comerica (Tigers)

I’ll stick to current stadiums:

• Safeco/T Mobile

• Oracle

• Petco

• Coors

• Kauffman

• Miller/American Family

• Wrigley

• Rate

• Busch

• Comerica

• Great American

• Progressive

• PNC

• Rogers

• Nationals

• Camden

• Fenway

Favorites: Petco, PNC, Oracle, Fenway, Camden, Wrigley (fight me)

Meh: Nationals, Rogers, Progressive, Rate (fight me again)

Ballparks I have been to:

Comiskey

Rate

Wrigley

New Tiger

County

Miller/American Family

Metrodome

New Twins ballpark

Old & New Busch

Coors Field

Dodger

Anaheim (old and new configurations)

Petco

St Pete

Petco and Coors Field in the modern era have provided experiences for my family that are off the charts great! Those ballparks are cool! Just a blast and wonderful customer service! Great fans...respectful and fun! But nothing tugs at my heartstrings like thoughts/dreams of Comiskey (for a lot of reasons)! Seriously...Comiskey still makes appearances in my dreams!

The park I really want to see is:

The Railyards, I will buy Tray a ticket as a guest.

29 minutes ago, Falstaff said:

The park I really want to see is:

The Railyards, I will buy Tray a ticket as a guest.

Better get him a premium experience, as it is the only way he goes.

3 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Better get him a premium experience, as it is the only way he goes.

My list

Old Comiskey

Current Sox Park

Tiger Stadium

Comerica Park

Old Busch stadium

Current Busch stadium

Great American Ballpark

Original Arlington Stadium

The Ballpark at Arlington

Astrodome

Minute Maid Park (whatever they call it today)

Cleveland Municipal Stadium

Jacobs Field

The Skydome

Washington Nationals Stadium

Miller Park

Tampa Dome

Out of this list, there are things I liked at most of them. I think my favorite, mostly because of nostalgia is Comiskey Park. Out of the modern stadiums, I am big fan of Cleveland and Houston for different reasons. I really like the 2nd Arlington Stadium, except for the office building in RF that stopped all airflow through the stadium on 110 degree days, if not for that it might actually be my favorite. The sites and sightlines at Minute Maid were spectacular, and the flow of the stadium was excellent. The Crawford boxes, and the LF bleachers in Cleveland are just great OF seats and experiences. Cleveland municipal was gigantic shithole. Of the new stadiums, I think my least favorite was Detroit's Comerica. It was almost too gimicky, and they didn't do a great job with site lines. Could also be I was in a bad mood because I was in Detroit. Also the SkyDome was an underrated experience, though everything was just huge.

Stadiums I've been to:

Three Rivers Stadium
PNC Park
Camden Yards
Wrigley Field
Great American Ballpark
Progressive Field
American Family Field
Comerica Park
Busch Stadium
The Rate

PNC Park was one of may favorite parks. It's small but beautiful with great views of the city. The river beyond right field is really cool. It's in a decent area with a nice selection of bars and restaurants.

I think the best area around a ballpark is at Busch Stadium. The Ballpark Village is awesome, and that's what I'd like to see around a new Sox park.

Comerica Park is another nice stadium with decent surroundings.

American Family Field is a nice park with absolutely nothing around it.

Wrigley is a dump surrounded by TONS of bars and restaurants. Parking is ridiculous. Much better off taking public transportation.

I lived in Baltimore for about a year and a half, and I kick myself for not going to more games. From what I remember, it's a beautiful park.

I honestly love The Rate. And I have not driven to the park in years. We always take the Metra to 35th Street and walk over. So much easier.

3 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

6 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Better get him a premium experience, as it is the only way he goes.

What is this about? Another foolish attempt at a personal dig? Yea, we don't sit in the nose bleed seats and then complain about our seats or play the wealth inequality card over seats at the ballpark. Truly, one does not have to be wealthy to sit in the 100 level which is unique and fantastic at the Rate. Of course I love premium seating when my group has them, but most of the time the 100 level works out great - that at is where fans can enjoy walking all around the park, meeting friends in the OF concourses and enjoying beers and concessions out there. Of course, if you never or almost never attend games, have never gone to a Home Opener, tailgated with friends, or found a few extra dollars to sit in the 100 level, I understand, but IMO, you are missing out.

Sheesh can’t even roll out the red carpet for a guy

9 minutes ago, tray said:

What is this about? Another foolish attempt at a personal dig? Yea, we don't sit in the nose bleed seats and then complain about our seats or play the wealth inequality card over seats at the ballpark. Truly, one does not have to be wealthy to sit in the 100 level which is unique and fantastic at the Rate. Of course I love premium seating when my group has them, but most of the time the 100 level works out great - that at is where fans can enjoy walking all around the park, meeting friends in the OF concourses and enjoying beers and concessions out there. Of course, if you never or almost never attend games, have never gone to a Home Opener, tailgated with friends, or found a few extra dollars to sit in the 100 level, I understand, but IMO, you are missing out.

Son, I have been to hundreds of baseball games in Chicago. I have literally sat everywhere in the new stadium from the 550s all of the way down to right behind homeplate, and every premium experience offered by the team. I am not going to be gaslit by your attempted fake "I AM A BIGGER FAN THAN YOU BECAUSE I GO TO GAMES!", when I have a great personal history, plus about 20 OTHER ballpark experiences around the country to compare it to. My favorite part is you missing the irony of "if you don't like it, just spend more money" while claiming to care about the common man is not lost on me.

23 minutes ago, tray said:

What is this about? Another foolish attempt at a personal dig? Yea, we don't sit in the nose bleed seats and then complain about our seats or play the wealth inequality card over seats at the ballpark. Truly, one does not have to be wealthy to sit in the 100 level which is unique and fantastic at the Rate. Of course I love premium seating when my group has them, but most of the time the 100 level works out great - that at is where fans can enjoy walking all around the park, meeting friends in the OF concourses and enjoying beers and concessions out there. Of course, if you never or almost never attend games, have never gone to a Home Opener, tailgated with friends, or found a few extra dollars to sit in the 100 level, I understand, but IMO, you are missing out.

I have been fortunate enough to visit more than a handful of MLB ballparks...I just can't come up with a single "unique" thing about the Rate. It might not be THE worst ballpark and yes the 100 level provides a great view of the game...but it is not unique! It is as standard as a ballpark can be...even the 100 level!

5 minutes ago, BrittBurnsFan said:

I have been fortunate enough to visit more than a handful of MLB ballparks...I just can't come up with a single "unique" thing about the Rate. It might not be THE worst ballpark and yes the 100 level provides a great view of the game...but it is not unique! It is as standard as a ballpark can be...even the 100 level!

Perfectly Fine Field.

1 hour ago, Falstaff said:

The park I really want to see is:

The Railyards, I will buy Tray a ticket as a guest.

How will you get him there? Helicopter or jet pack?

52 minutes ago, hogan873 said:

PNC Park was one of may favorite parks. It's small but beautiful with great views of the city. The river beyond right field is really cool. It's in a decent area with a nice selection of bars and restaurants.

I think the best area around a ballpark is at Busch Stadium. The Ballpark Village is awesome, and that's what I'd like to see around a new Sox park.

For anyone who goes to Pittsburgh to see PNC Park, I recommend checking out the Andy Warhol Museum if you have the time and you're the least bit interested in art. It's only about a block away from the stadium. It was a great way for me to spend a rainy morning when I was there

The Ballpark Village is awesome....and it's rather compact too. They pack a lot into what appears to be (as far as I could tell) one city block. There should be enough room on the rest of the Railyards and 78 sites to have something at least as good.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by 77 Hitmen

Can type out details later but:

1. Citi Field

2. The Cell (this is its name as far as I'm concerned). Obvious bias, but the concourse, dining options and lower level boost it hard.

3. Busch Stadium

4. Chase Field

5. Fenway Park

6. Camelback Ranch (Spring Training)

7. Sloan Park (Spring Training)

8. Tempe Diablo Stadium (Spring Training)

9. Kauffman Stadium

10. New Yankees Stadium

50 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

Sheesh can’t even roll out the red carpet for a guy

Nice try. You probably bought that carpet from the Target on Roosevelt instead of somewhere in Bridgeport.

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

My list

Old Comiskey

Current Sox Park

Tiger Stadium

Comerica Park

Old Busch stadium

Current Busch stadium

Great American Ballpark

Original Arlington Stadium

The Ballpark at Arlington

Astrodome

Minute Maid Park (whatever they call it today)

Cleveland Municipal Stadium

Jacobs Field

The Skydome

Washington Nationals Stadium

Miller Park

Tampa Dome

Out of this list, there are things I liked at most of them. I think my favorite, mostly because of nostalgia is Comiskey Park. Out of the modern stadiums, I am big fan of Cleveland and Houston for different reasons. I really like the 2nd Arlington Stadium, except for the office building in RF that stopped all airflow through the stadium on 110 degree days, if not for that it might actually be my favorite. The sites and sightlines at Minute Maid were spectacular, and the flow of the stadium was excellent. The Crawford boxes, and the LF bleachers in Cleveland are just great OF seats and experiences. Cleveland municipal was gigantic shithole. Of the new stadiums, I think my least favorite was Detroit's Comerica. It was almost too gimicky, and they didn't do a great job with site lines. Could also be I was in a bad mood because I was in Detroit. Also the SkyDome was an underrated experience, though everything was just huge.

Municipal/Memorial, it was a huge stadium not meant for baseball with terrible winds off the lake.

Late 80’s, it made 2023-25 White Sox games look like Margi Gras, só no wonder “Major League” used that team

Once we sat in the LF bleachers and serenaded Jeffrey Leonard to his annoyance, think he was on Milwaukee

Maybe 2000-3000 in stands

second Arlington Park tried to overplay the Natural soundtrack, but all I remember was the stifling heat at both facilities

First time to Three Rivers, got a bunch of free BP balls from Bobby Bonilla

Second time sat in box seats at PNC with Chuck and Bruce Tanner

Probably favorite memory was befriending Scott Radinsky and Dominican RHP Jose Ventura when they came to the Quad Cities (hanging out in bullpen) and were playing for SouthBend….we really shocked the suburban neighbors bringing Ventura who was about 6’4” with black horned-rim glasses to play pickup basketball in front of my house at midnight

Then we went to a number of games in that magical 1990 season for free at Old Comiskey through will call/comp tickets from Radinsky….had Sosa too, the late (and gangly) Carlos Martinez, favorites in late 80s were Eddie Williams and Ivan Calderon, eventually Lance 1 Dog Johnson

vividly remember a snow delay in April back then as well

Tucson for ST

Tokyo Dome

Kyocera Dome

Want to go to Hokkaido someday, really cool newer stadium

Edited 7 hours ago7 hr by caulfield12

1 hour ago, southsider2k5 said:

My list

Old Comiskey

Current Sox Park

Tiger Stadium

How was Tiger Stadium compared to Old Comiskey? They always seemed similar to me, but maybe that was just a lazy comparison.

22 minutes ago, BrittBurnsFan said:

I have been fortunate enough to visit more than a handful of MLB ballparks...I just can't come up with a single "unique" thing about the Rate. It might not be THE worst ballpark and yes the 100 level provides a great view of the game...but it is not unique! It is as standard as a ballpark can be...even the 100 level!

It is a basic ballpark, with all of the normal amenities. There is literally nothing special, or stand out about it. There is no special experience, unique design, or oddity about the park that makes it stand out amongst its peers. Literally the thing that stands out more to me than anything else when compared to the other parks I have been to, is parking for cars. That's it. All of the things that other designers learned and improved on since this park was created are stark.

-Entering at the top of the 100 section, versus the absolute bottom of the stadium.

-Non-standardized walls and dimensions, including things like outfield seating designs.

-Not completely removing the most upper levels from the ballpark experiences at the 100 level.

-Some special attraction

-Field level premium experiences

-Ballpark village

-Integration into a skyline

-More integration for rideshare and transit experiences

This current iteration of Sox Park is a sterile island in a neighborhood completely disconnected from the ballpark. We can do better next time.

1 minute ago, Snopek said:

How was Tiger Stadium compared to Old Comiskey? They always seemed similar to me, but maybe that was just a lazy comparison.

Not at all lazy. Very much the same era, and the same type of experience. Went there the last season it was open, and it kind of felt like home, aka Comiskey Park.

7 minutes ago, Snopek said:

Nice try. You probably bought that carpet from the Target on Roosevelt instead of somewhere in Bridgeport.

😮

This is a weak attempt at a personal attack!