Been There, Done That

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

1. Shea
2. Citi
3. The Vet
4. Citizen's Bnk
5. RFK
6. Nationals Park
7. Three Rivers
8. PNC
9. Wrigley
10. Municipal (Cleveland)
11. Skydome
12. Coors
13. Miller
14. Target
15. Busch II
16. Busch III
17. Comiskey II (or whatever the current one is called)
18. Memorial (Baltimore)
19. Camden Yards
20. Turner
21. Minute Maid
22. Arlington
23. Bank One (or whatevs they call Phoenix)

I've never done any version of MFY Stadium (for baseball) or Fenway. I'm predicting the next new park I'll hit will be Miami, but Fens and Dodger Stadium are high on the wish list.

[Benjamin Grimm]

These are the 17 parks in which I've seen a regulation major league game, along with the year of my first visit. One asterisk means I've seen games that involve the Mets as well as games that don't involve the Mets. Two asterisks means I've only seen Mets games there.

I have no idea what might be next. It's not likely that I'd plan a trip around the Mets schedule (although I did do that with Puerto Rico in 2010), but if I happen to be on vacation somewhere where the Mets are playing (as happened with me in Seattle in 2014) then I'd certainly try to get to a game. The most likely baseball cities where I might vacation are Denver, Phoenix, and California, but nothing is planned.

(EDIT: Make that 18 parks. I had forgotten about Olympic Stadium.)

1. Shea Stadium (1971) **
2. Memorial Stadium (1983)
3. Yankee Stadium II (1984)
4. Veterans Stadium (1986) *
5. Fenway Park (1986)
6. Comiskey Park (1988)
7. Tiger Stadium (1988)
8. Olympic Stadium (1991)
9. Camden Yards (1992) *
10. Fulton County Stadium (1992) **
11. Riverfront Stadium (1992)
12. Wrigley Field (1993)
13. Citizens Bank Park (2004) **
14. Citi Field (2009) **
15. Nationals Park (2009) **
16. Hiram Bithorn Stadium (2010) **
17. PNC Park (2014) **
18. Safeco Field (2014) **

[bmfc1]

1. Shea Stadium
2. Citi Field
3. The Vet
4. Citizen's Bank
5. RFK
6. Nationals Park
7. Wrigley Field
8. Current White Sox
9. Memorial (Baltimore)
10. Camden Yards
11. Sun Trust (ATL)
12. Bank One (or whatevs they call Phoenix)
13. Current Marlins ("Jeterville"?)
14. Fenway
15. MFYS 1
15. MFYS 2
16. Dodger Stadium
17. Current SFG (ATT)
18. Current AZ (Chase Field)

[Ceetar]

Let's see..

1. Shea*
2. Yankee II*
3. Citi Field
4. Yankee III
5. Fenway
6. Citizen's Bank Ballpark
7. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
8. RFK
9. Dolphin Stadium*
10. Wrigley
11. PNC
12. AT&T
13. Oakland Coliseum
14. Dodger Stadium
15. Angel Stadium
16. Petco#
17. Coors#

*closed
#tours, no game

It's been years since I added a new stadium. Minute Maid Park is probably next unless I stumble down to Nationals Park next season for some reason.

[seawolf17]

Not too many for me:
Citi Field
Citizens Bank Park
Marlins Park
Miller Park
Nationals Park
Fenway Park
Whatever The White Sox Stadium Is Called Now

tour, but no game:
Wrigley Field

plus:
Shea Stadium
Old Yankee Stadium
Olympic Stadium
The Vet

[Benjamin Grimm]

Oooh! I forgot about Olympic Stadium! I'll have to amend my list. (I made my list while looking at the current standings, and obviously, there was no listing for Montreal to trigger my memory.)

[Guest themetfairy]

I've been to all of the current stadia. D-Dad and I are now on maintenance and keeping up with the new ones.

Off the top of my head, I've also been to these that either don't exist anymore or aren't currently used for MLB games -


Olympic Stadium (our first road trip - in 1986)
Hiram Bithorn Stadium
Turner Field
Fulton County Stadium
Astrodome
Kingdome
Jack Murphy Stadium
Three Rivers Stadium
Riverfront Stadium
Metrodome
Joe Robbie Stadium
JFK Stadium
Veterans Stadium
Busch Stadium II
Old Yankee Stadium


If I've forgotten any I'll edit as they come to me.

[Edgy MD]

Uh:

Shea Stadium (New York City)
Citi Field (New York City)
Yankee Stadium II (New York City)
Veterans Stadium (Philadelphia)
Camden Yards (Baltimore)
RFK Stadium (Washington)
Nationals Park (Washington)
Wrigley Field (Chicago)
PNC Park (Pittsburgh)
Harbor Park (Norfolk)
NYSEG Stadium (Binghamton, they had nice eggs)
Prince George's Stadium (Bowie, but I'm no royalist)
Municipal Stadium (Hagerstown)
Keyspan (now MCU) Park (Brooklyn)
Hunter Wright Stadium (Kingsport)

I'm sure there are others. I have completionist impulses but I resist them when it comes to ballparks.

[Guest themetfairy]

If we're including minor league stadiums, I've been to -

Trenton
Binghamton (asterisk - we were in the park but the game was rained out)
Buffalo
Las Vegas
Port St. Lucie (for Single A and for spring training)
Scottsdale, AZ in 1995 (I can't remember which team)
Lakeland, FL
Lakewood, NJ
Jupiter, FL
Al Lang Field and wherever they played the games in St. Pete

ON EDIT - Brooklyn Cyclones (have seen a game there and also run on the field)

Independent League - Somerset Patriots

Edited September 6, 2017 by Guest

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'll have to think about the minor league stadiums. I've been to a bunch, some for official minor league games, and some for spring training games, both in Florida and Arizona.

[Ceetar]

been to the Cyclones and the Ducks. Had intentions of seeing the Rockland Boulders or (and now no longer possible) the Bridgeport Bluefish this summer, but didn't.

Spring? I lose track. it's fluid.

Pirates home
old Red Sox home.
Tigertown
PSL
Marlins home
Nationals home.
Cardinals home.

[Benjamin Grimm]

These are, I think, all of the non-major league games that I attended. When I was in West Palm Beach in 1986 I attended home games for both the Expos and the Braves. For the Braves game, the Mets were the visiting team. I remember the Texas Rangers' facility in Pompano Beach as being a run-down out-of-the way dump.



GRAPEFRUIT LEAGUE: West Palm Beach, Pompano Beach (1986) Port St. Lucie (2008)
CACTUS LEAGUE: Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler (1988)

INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE:
Norfolk Tides (1997), Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (2013)

EASTERN LEAGUE:
Reading Phillies (1990, 1991, 1992, 2011)

SOUTHERN LEAGUE:
Knoxville Blue Jays (1987), Memphis Chicks (1993), Tennessee Smokies (2005)

NEW YORK PENN LEAGUE:
Oneonta Yankees (1984), Brooklyn Cyclones (2009)

CAROLINA LEAGUE:
Carolina Mudcats (1987)

INDEPENDENT LEAGUE:
Camden River Sharks (2010)

[G-Fafif]

No longer with us (in the MLB sense)...

Shea
MFYS II
The Vet
The Big O
Comiskey Park
Old Busch Stadium
County Stadium
The Murph
Tiger Stadium
RFK
The Ted

With us still...

Citi Field
Fenway Park
Kaufman Stadium (then Royals Stadium)
Rogers Centre (then SkyDome)
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Guaranteed Rate Field (then new Comiskey)
Wrigley Field
Coors Field
Angel Stadium (then Anaheim Stadium, aka The Big A)
Dodger Stadium
Globe Life Stadium (then the Ballpark in Arlington)
Chase Field (then Bank One Ballpark, aka The BOB)
Progressive Field (then Jacobs Field, aka the Jake)
Oakland-Alameda Coliseum (then Network Associates Coliseum, which a local friend referred to as "the Ass")
AT&T Park (then Pac Bell)
PNC Park
Great American Ballpark
Minute Maid Park
Citizens Bank Park
Busch Stadium
Miller Park
Nationals Park
MFYS III

Also, Grapefruit League games in St. Pete (Al Lang), Tampa (Al Lopez) and Plant City; minor league games in Haines City, Fla. (Boardwalk & Baseball), Coney Island and Central Islip; and whatever was going on at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown.

[seawolf17]

Minors/others for me: Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Norwich CT, New Britain CT, Lakewood NJ, Somerset NJ, Brooklyn, and the Ducks.

[HahnSolo]

1. Shea
2. Citi
3. YS 2
4. YS 3
5. Veterans Stadium, PHA
6. Olympic Stadium, Mon
7. Fenway Park
8. RFK Stadium
9. Nationals Park
10. Atlanta Fulton County Stadium
11. Oriole Park at Camden Yards
12. PNC Park, Pitt
13. The Big A *
14. Petco Park *
15. Coors Field *

* visited / or toured Stadium without seeing a game there

[Centerfield]

1. Shea
2. Citi
3. YS II
4. YS III
5. Three Rivers
6. Olympic Stadium
7. Camden Yards
8. Fenway
9. Citizen's Bank
10. Marlins Park
11. Wrigley Field
12. PNC
13. Busch Stadium
14. Dodgers Stadium
15. Angels Park
16. Petco Park

[seawolf17]

I've spent some time logging things at Sports Passport, and I highly recommend it: https://sportspassport.com/travelers/cdorso

[Guest 41Forever]

I love the Pass Port. And the guy who runs the business is really nice!

Attended games at parks no longer with us:

1) Shea
2) MFY II
3) Veterans Stadium
4) Comiskey Park
5) Riverfront Stadium
6) County Stadium
7) Cleveland Stadium
8) Busch Stadium
9) Memorial Stadium
10) Tiger Stadium
11) Joe Robbie Stadium

Snuck into former park and took photos
1) Astrodome

Walked around outside closed former park and took photos
1) Turner Field
2) Three Rivers Stadium

Attended games in active parks
1) Citi Field
2) PNC park
3) Comerica Park
4) Citizen Bank Park
5) Fenway
6) Wrigley
7) Guaranteed Rate
8) Miller Park
9) Great American Ballpark
10) SkyDome
11) Coors Field
12) New Busch
13) Progressive Field
14) Marlins Park
15) Nationals Park

Got ballpark tour of active park when team was on road
1) Minute Maid Park
2) Dodger Stadium (Upper Deck only)

Walked around active park, took photos, went in gift shop that is part of stadum
1) Target Field
2) Kaufmann Stadium
3) Angels Park

Got hard hat construction tour of active park:
1) Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Minors:

1) Bee Hive Field in New Britain (No longer with us)
2) Fifth Third Park in Grand Rapids
3) Fifth Third Park in Dayton
4) Cooley law School Stadium in Lansing
5) Ned Skeldon Stadium in Toldeo (NLWU)
6) Victory Field in Indianapolis
7) Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla.
8) St. Lucie, Fla.
9) Peoria, Ill.
10) C.O. Brown Stadium in Battle Creek, Mich.
11) Fort Wayne, Ind.
12) South Bend, Ind.
13) Silver Stadium in Rochester, N.Y. (NLWU)
14) LaBatts Park in London, Ont.
15) Franklin County Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
16) Springfield, Ill. (NLWU)
17) Dodgertown, Vero Beach
18) West Palm Beach Stadium, West Palm Beach, Fla.

Edited September 7, 2017 by Guest

[Guest d'Kong76]

I told KB last night I want to go to at least one or two Mets games on the
road next couple of years. She said alright; then she turned her head, smirked
and rolled her eyes. Sometimes you don't have to see things to know they've happened.

My lists are short:

RFK
Camden
The Vet
Orig Yank
Second Yank
Fenway
Whatever Pac Bell is Called Now
Arlington

Dutchess
Lowell
Binghamton
Syracuse

[Guest themetfairy]

We'll be heading back to Texas in a few years when the Rangers get their new place.

[Guest Mets Willets Point]

Roughly in chronological order of first visit. Places I've seen the Mets play a game are marked with a +

Current MLB parks:
* Camden Yards +
* Fenway +
* PacBell +
* Citizens Bank +
* Wrigley +
* Comiskey II
* Miller +
* Petco +
* Dodger +
* Citi +
* YSIII

Retired MLB parks:
* Shea +
* YSII +
* Veteran's +
* Olympic +
* Tiger
* RFK +

Minor League:
* Met Memorial, Norfolk
* Harbor Park, Norfolk +
* The Diamond, Richmond
* Dodd Stadium, Norwich
* LaLacheur Park, Lowell
* McCoy Stadium, Pawtucket
* KeySpan Park, Brooklyn
* Hadlock Field, Portland, ME

Spring Training:
* JetBlue Park, Ft. Myers

[Fman99]

Major league parks, current and former:

Citi
Shea
YSII
Fenway
SkyDome
Olympic Stadium
RFK (Nationals game pre Nationals Park)
Nationals Park
Camden Yards

Tons of minor league parks and spring training games, too many for me to want to try and tabulate.

[Gwreck]

Still missing a few of the current ones, unfortunately. I'd rank them as follows:

1. PNC Park, Pittsburgh
2. Safeco Field, Seattle
3. Target Field, Minneapolis
4. Pac Bell Park, San Francisco
5. Minute Maid Park, Houston
6. Miller Park, Milwaukee
7. Comerica Park, Detroit
8. Camden Yards, Baltimore
9. Petco Park, San Diego
10. Citi Field, New York
11. Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
12. Fenway Park, Boston
13. Nationals Park, Washington
14. Busch Stadium, St. Louis
15. Rangers Ballpark, Arlington
16. Wrigley Field, Chicago
17. Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
18. Kaufman Stadium, Kansas City
19. Bank One Ballpark, Phoenix
20. Comiskey Park, Chicago
21. Yankee Stadium, New York
22. Great American Ballpark, Cincinnati
23. Angel Stadium, Anaheim
24. SkyDome, Toronto
25. Oakland Coliseum, Oakland

[Gwreck]

themetfairy wrote: I've been to all of the current stadia. D-Dad and I are now on maintenance and keeping up with the new ones.

How would you rank them?

[Guest themetfairy]

PNC is by far my favorite, followed by San Francisco. Tampa is my least favorite.

Perhaps one day I'll rank them all, but I'm not in a position to do that right now.

[Guest themetfairy]

OK - Let me give this a try.

1. PNC Park. It's simply a beautiful place to watch a game.
2. AT&T Park. Best food in the majors.
3. Citi Field - There's no place like home.
4. Coors Field
5. Busch Stadium
6. Arlington
7. Petco Park
8. Miller Park
9. Citizens Bank Ballpark
10. Angels Stadium
11. Chase Field (especially if you stick around to experience the roof opening after the end of a game)
12. Nationals Park
13. Progressive Field
14. Target Field - I found the seating bowl to be way too narrow.
15. Minute Maid Park
16. Fenway Park. I'm not a huge fan of the older parks, but the renovations make it a better place than it used to be.
17. Kauffman Stadium - Everything they say about Dodger Stadium, but much prettier
18. New Comiskey
19. Comerica Park
20. Wrigley Field - the lower bowl is much nicer than the upper deck. It's an experience, but not the most comfortable one.
21. Great American Ballpark
22. Safeco
23. Camden Yards - the seats angled away from the diamond are a major negative.
24. Marlins Park. Although I give it credit for owning its quirks.
25. SunTrust Park - it would rate higher if it had any kind of mass transit options, but the post-game madhouse is horrible.
26. Dodgers Stadium - a bit overrated
27. MFY III - Too much concrete.
28. Rogers Center. It just doesn't feel like a baseball stadium, and the food choices are lacking.
29. Oakland Alameda Stadium. Despite the crumbling structure, it's nonetheless a really fun place to watch a game.
30. Tropicana Field. It's not horrible, but simply nondescript

A lot of these numbers could shift depending on my mood on a given day. I love the top five, the bottom three aren't great, and I generally like most of the modern ballparks.

Edited September 8, 2017 by Guest

[Gwreck]

Nice!

I think you're spot-on about Kauffman/Dodger Stadium - definetly KC underrated and LA overrated for similar parks.

[Guest themetfairy]

Yes - Kauffman was unexpectedly lovely.

[MFS62]

As I posted in the thread suggesting this forum:
Stadia no longer there:
YS
YS II
Polo Grounds
Ebbets Field
Shea Stadium
The Ted
RFK Stadium. At RFK, I saw Washington play the Minnesota Twins, which probably qualifies as some kind of incest.

Places still in use:
Citi
Camden Yards.
Fenway Park - my impressions of Fenway Park inspired my story parody "Anne Rice Reports the Ballgame" which I've probably posted in the CPF.

I've also visited, but no ball game was being played that day:
Hi(ram) Bithorn stadium (San Juan, Puerto Rico)
Skydome
Jarry Park (Montreal)

Later

[ashie62]

Saw a game at.

Shea
Old Yankee Stadium
Tiger Stadium
Jarry Park vs. Seaver
Forbes Field
Busch Stadium

That be it.